Stevens County tribune. (Morris, Minn.) 1877-1880, 1878-09-19

"'My old mothers up there yelled
| Slocum, pointin' up the shaft.
MY wife's waitin' fur me- howls
Miller.
"An, with tibet he knocks Slocum
down in the drift an goes up the rope
hand over hand before he others could
stop him-they'd killed him on the spot
OF he hedn't climbed the rope as he did.
Served him right9 Kerrect, mister,
they'd sarved him mighty we'll right an
no mistake, but he beat tibet game. He'd
jist strength enough to tie the slack
round his waist wen he give way all at
once an hung to the end of the rope like
dead weight, an Dandy Ferguson
haulin' him out o. death. Down went
the rope again, an SlCcum was tied on
an hauled up, Ferguson workin' the
win'lass like a giant. The cords stood
out ON his neck like black-snak whips,
an the sweet poured off of him like a
sluice stream. Two Cornishmen stood
by him tryin' to make him let them roll
| up the rope while he rested, but he cuss-
ed 'em and told EN- to dry up; he said
he was at the wheel. an he'd stay there
eft he died fur it. Wen SIocum came up,
the fire was all around an over the vim
! lass, an the two Cornishmen grabbed
Bill an carried him out-they couldn't
stan the heat, Ferguson sent down the
rope agin, an up come Sam Hildreth,
with jist stredgth to make for the door.
"The roof over the biler and the pitch
on the door posts was smokin'. Jest as
the rope went down fur the fourth time,
an we loafin' round on the outside
watchin' Dandy Ferguson standin' there
liky man at the stake, expectin' every
minute to sec him drop, an not man of
US with gumption enough to think what
was wanted, woman rushes into the fiery
furnace an sings wet blanket over the
bravest, gamest man in the State O. Cali
| forny.
"lhet's the ticket shouts FERGUSON.
You're trump, whoever you are, my
girl, an won't furget We, live or die
An he didn't. 1t was Sam Hildreth's
sister Maggie, an wen she came out of
the smoke en- flame with her dress in a
blaze, she calls out sharp to the men.
keep tibet blanket wet. There's
water in the tank. I'll marry the fust
man tibet throws bucket of water over
Dandy Ferguson--I1l marry him eff he's
a Cinnamon
"Them's her identical words, misters
The men didn't need no further orders,
cause Maggie Hildreth was the hand
soonest girl il the country, an the best,
an he'd ev'ry young buck fur miles aroun'
close at her heels all the time, handicap
pin each other for miles. But her
brother Sam saved her from
them galoots-- saved her for better
man, by wetting the blanket himself.
About this time the heat was terrible,
one man IN the drift an another half way
up, crawlin' fast enough in ordinary cir
cumstances, but hardly fast enough with
death racin' down on his savior at two
forty gait. Wen Jack Harmon came out
O. the shaft he stood minute on the
scantlin' swawin' back an forth like a
drunken man, blinded by smoke, an be-
wildered, an eff Ferguson hedn't caught
him led gone back agin. Two more of
Us he'd got in with buckets of water
bout all Their was in the tank; but it
seemed to dry off as fast as we poured it
on, fur the blanket was smokin'. Wen
the rope went down fur the last time, to
maui up Joe Harper, the scantlin' was
burnln an the upper timbers was begin
MIN to blaze. The whirlin' smoke hid
Ferguson from US, but we knoWed tibet eff
he didn't come out soon the whole she
bang d give way an bury him; the sides
was in light blaze, an the place where
the win'lass stood was the only spot
where even Dandy Ferguson could "a
worked.
1t must "a bin an awful strain on him
tibet last pull-but he never owned it,
an bimeby up comes Joe, braYest man in
the camp I reckon, barrin' Dandy
Ferguson, cause you see he wouldn't
tech the rope till they'd all been hauled
up; he tied every man on except the
coward Miller an then came through the
blazin' shaft himself, watchin' the little
tongues O. fire shoot out from the sides
ev'ry once in while. as if they'd lick the
life-t thread in two.
"As Joe grabbed the upper chains the
shaft lit up with a hiss an roar, as If
the fire was mad at losin' its prey. Joe
got out and Ferguson staggered away
from the windlass, but his luck went
back on him at the last minute. He
stumbled and fell jast as he came to the
tramway at the door, an the whole side of
the buildin' came down on him with a
crash. A hundred men forgot danger an
death, an rushed into the flames, but
Miller, the man that played it so sneakin'
mean down in the shaft got to him first
and dragged him out. Everybody thought
he was dead, an the crowd carried him
and Miller-who dropped insensible after
he got Ferguson QUITO the camp. But
Dandy Ferguson lived through it, though
for weeks he lay between life an death,
an fur months he didn't stir out of a
dark room. But there was no lack o.
help an prayers an faithful nurses to
bring him round. No, sir; an there
wasn't man, woman or child within a
hundred miles o. the Chaparal mine tibet
wouldn't a crawled on their hands an
knees to watch one hour at his bedside,
an thought it one O. the brightest kind
o. honors-you can bet yer life on tibet.
eyes, sir, Dandy Ferguson is king in
this yer country. He can hev anything
or do anything he likes. We'd send him
to Congress eff he'd go, but he won't.
We've got him here, though, an guees
he'll never leave. wish I was one o.
them poetry writer's; I'd write the bull
lest poem about Dandy Ferguson you
ever read, you hear me2 Yes, he's mar
ried. Got married after he came out.
Talk about weddin's! That was we'd
din' every body got an invite, an ev'ry-
body piled in to see the gamest man in
the State tied to the gamest woman on
Gods footstool. Who was she2 WHY.
Maggie Hildreth, of course. Who else'd
it be, I'd like to knoW2 What became
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