Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-02-11

He crossed the great backbone OF earth,
He saw the snowy mountains rolled
Like mighty pillows, saw the gold
OF awful sunsets, saw the birth
OF sudden dawn upon the.plain,
And every eve would William Brown
Eat pork and beans, and then lie down
And dream sweet dreams of Mary Jane.
The teeter board of life goes up.
The teeter board of life goes down,
The sweetest face must leaan to frown;
The biggest dog has been pup.
Her lovers PASSED. Woves huut In
prcks. - saH
They sought for bigger game: somehow
They seemed to see about her brow
The forky sign of turkey tracks.
o, maidens, pluck not at the air!
The sweetest flowers / have found
Grow rather close unto the ground,
And highest places are most bare.
Why, YOU had better win the grace
OF one poor cussed African
Than win the eyes of every man
In love alone with his own face.
AT last she nursed new desire;
She sighed, she wept for Nllllam
Brown.
She watched the splendid sun go down
Like some great sailing ship a-hre;
Then rose and checked her trunks right
And ia the cars she lunched and
llupched, ,Ef,
And had her ticket punched and
punched,
Until she ca ne to Oregon.
She wore blue specks upon her nose,
She reached the limits OF the lines,
And then set out to reach the mines,
In rather short and manly clothes.
Her right hand held parasol.
Her pocket held Testament,
And thus equipped right on she went,
Went waterproof and water fall.
She asked miner gazing down,
Slow lifting something with spoon,
To tell her true and tell her soon
What had become of William Brown!
He looked askance beneath her specks.
Then stirred his cocktail round and
round,
Then raised his head and sighed pro
found,
And said, He's handed in his checks.
Then care fed on her damaged cheek,
And she grew faint, did Mary Jane,
And smelt her smelling salts in vain;
Yet wandered on wuyworn and weak,
Until at last she sat her down
Upon sloping hillalone;
And there, good gracious. stood stone,
And 10! that stone read William Brown
o. William Brown! o, William Brown!
And here you rest at last, she said, Z
with this lone stone above your head
And forty miles from any town.
l will plant cypress trees, / will,
And I will build fence around, 9
And l will fertilize the ground,
With tears enough to turn mill.
She went and got a hired man;
She brought him forty mile from town
Then in the tall grass she sat down,
And bade him build sShe should plan
But Digger herders with their bands,
They saw, and hurriedly they ran
And told a bearded cattle-man
That some builded on his lands.
He took a rifle from the rack;
He girt him in his battle pelt,
He thrust two pistols in his belt,
Then mounted on his chargers back
And plunged ahead. But when they
showed >-
A woman there, about his eyes
He pulled his hat; and he likewise
Pulled at his beard, and chewed and
chewed.
At last he got him down and spake;
oh, lady dear, what do you here"
Il build q tomb unto my dear,
1 plant some flowers for his sake
The bearded man threw his two hands
Above his head, then bro't them down,
And cried, oh, / am William Brown,
And this the corner of my land
Her specs fell off, her, head fell back,
Some likeia lifted teapot lid -
She screamed this ancient maiden did;
Then fainting, split herself, alack!
Right in the beard of William Brown.
Then all the Diggers were amazed;
They tho't the lonely maiden crazed.
And, ,circling there, they squatted down.
The preacher rode spotted mare,
He gallopped forty miles or more;
He swore he never han before
Seen bride or brfd segroom hall sofair.
And all the miners they came down
And feasted as the night advanced;
And all the Diggers drank and danced,
And cried, Big Injin, William Brown