Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-06-26
Lots Wife F.:
AND HOW SHE SAVED HIM.

gesnnos In a short time, however, the
i? PA began to derninish somehow it
yis3G;, sesm to tepan out we'll Our
ula 1ntv washings of dust grew scantier
every day. ,...,- -. r.. u,,,,,,oo
mo life we led. We worked hard in
t III 1..diggins" all day, taking our cold
. .nocz al noon and mornings and even
..@s took turns in our culinary duties,
n lI the keeping of our little shanty. Up
anu ,soshinc days-few and far between
Oh ,fter wrestling nightly with soiled
-.,,ents and creek water, augmenting
77,'o.iderablv therein the alluvial deposit,
g,''g we're wont to lounge in triune council,
.mo,inr our pipes of peace, and view
s.n-rromDlacently our renovated apparel,
iTnping and sWaying upon the tops OF
,bp neighbOring bush.
The surrounding ''claims, with the
.yarntion of one adjoining, had been
,.orEed out and abandoned long ago; but
Nth pertnaCity born Of necessity, we
EaJ ching to ours. We had put in every
limo we had, here; and it must be a
Earl struggle which should cause us to
,g-ow it all up. and leave empty handed.
The bovs in the next claim were either
aGarlpr up" or more easily discouraged
than we. for after trying in vain to sell
',rt thew abandoned their claim and left
,Ea mines entirely-all but one man, who
f,r some reason best known to himself
decided to remain behind.
There were no other occupied claims
,rftbin a space of three miles; and our
nearest point of obtaining supplies being
al9ys Journey out, one can easily inn
.,.ra that in our isolated situation the
.in of comrade was not a merely
r.mnal consideration.
Tompkins, the newcomer, or Lot, y
.. he was Familiarity called, was char
ae,rr Originally a New Hampshire
man. and shiftless as only a degenerate
.a.on from the thrifty New England
stock can be, he had emigrated from the
D.. and If steady habits" first to the
west and from thence to our American
~w lnu-lo" Fated to Disappointment,
LamJ drittcd about hither and thither,
mI W one freak and another, until final
y he had settled down in the mines. Lot
&a.a famous stOry-teller, Astounding in
legendary lore, and rich in store of quaint
alI-timc ballads. In the beginning OF
hislfc with us,hc might have been often
heard hiarously chanting, in a higl
nasal tone:
THE sand with golden dust is thick,
flo, boys, no
pick mp humps ~ big rs brick,
OfCailoruy goldH
Humorous. easy, and with strong dasl
of cgotism. combined with persistent
good nature and lively credulity-suCI
WIS Lot, as we first knew him at thu
mines Eventually, however, his en-
thusasm died out for, as Lot himselt
tcdjugly expressed it: THE darn thing
WAS e'en-a-m0st gin eOut."
As | have before stated, for som,
reason best known to himself, Lot haC
considered it expedient to remain be
hind, at the time his partners abandoned
the claim. Our explanation of this was
that to his easy disposition it seemed les
difficult to bear the ills he had than T.
subject himself to the eXertion Of seek
ing those he knew not of. Subsequently
however, considerable additional ligh
was thrown upon the subject.
One afternoon-it might have beer
three weeks after the exodus of Lot
partners-one of our neighbors engaged
in mining three miles further up tn
gulch, reincd into camp on his way bacl
from the city, where he had been to de
post his dust in the Miners bank to &c
ont supplies
"Haloo! George! Chris! Here ar
letters for you" he cried, tossing US tn
welcome missives.
Lot, lettering up with quizzical smile
Terpctrated his standing joke
"Well, say, We amt got nothin' fu
me- now, amt We p
No, | guess not, returned the other
with q peculiar twinkle beneath hi
bushy eyebrows; "but thar's wOma
an four small children on the way, ask
ing for just SIGH alooking Teller as you.
Lots POPULARITY vanished in an instant
his jaw dropped, and with visible agita
ton he blurted out
"Come, naow, none of your foolin
Sc don't pull that on with mel"
Pooling? Nary time! It's sobe
truth"
, sickly pallor swept over the man
cornto nance, end he seemed to shrin
y,,bin hi uself until dwarfed much bC
roo his msrs, diminitive stature.
What? wha.'' that you say ?" h
stammered wildly. ,,,,,.-.
coming this way, search ug Tor a nus
band and father"
"How far behind?' gasped me a!1
ious Lot, whose legs were fast & '''ii'
tremulOus under him.
"Oh, a matter of three miles, or there
abouts ~ and with a nod and knowing
glance and, ''nO further news, boys !
to us, the little mule, answering to th
spur of his rider, struck into brisk ga
Iop, which speedily carried them bot
out of sight.
There we stood, inquiringly facin
Lot. lie gulped awhile; but finally OF
with it,
''The fact is boys-Tm married." An
with this lucid explanation, Lot, with
rapid and somewhat unsteady step oil
appeared within his cabin.
After a few seconds, he hastily emerG
ed,bearing in his hands pack of thumb
ed and greasy cards, a set of dice, sewers
worn dime novels, and an old cOmiqr
sOngster.
Il guess, boys, l shan'tneed these an
longer" he said, flushing painfully-a
ternately standing on one foot, and the
shifting his weight to the other; $50
iist thought I'd clean 'em eOut. Son
winmen folk is partickerlar, ye know
CHS took the articles, and offered
keep them for him.
oval, ifye've mind to. I'd be muc
obleeged to we. 1t mought be possib
barely gossible, We know-they'd con
handy some time" And Lot, his net
Just bending to receive the yoke, look,
forward with a dim expectancy to di
chance of future release.
Plying the poor fellows evident d
comfture, we refraimed from joking
questioning him and impatient
awaited those coming even" which n
50 Enthusiastically least their shadows
fore"
Just at shutdown, novel train W
'een vending its way toward the cam
Lo.' stood in the door Of his cabin, wh
we 4, avn together little in the bac
ground watched for developments.
advance RI, &c q figure in female appar
perched upon the back of gaunt pac
horse, a child just passed the threshc
hold of infancy, ella sped by the arm, a
another. also of tender years. SUI
astride the million. its limited embra