The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-02-12
STACY'S GAL.

The simple Innocence Of Natures Child.
A story of the san Juan Mines.
The Colonel, think, was the first
person to propose to her. He did it in
the oratorical style for which he was
noted in the camp and was promptly
refused, much to his own and the boys
astonishment. believe the Judge was
the next, but as he had fortified his
courage with large quantity of whisky
his breath was strong enough and his
words thick enough to ensure speedy
rejection. He was considerably morti-
fed at it and was never able to explain
the cause Of his defeat, but when Mex
ican woman drifted into the camp
shortly afterwards and engaged in
washing for the men the Judge tried
his hand again and was accepted. 1t
took him a month to get loose from the
bonds and he swore he would "never
give any female critter q chance to
hook him again." After the Judge q
dozen or more of the boys offered their
hands and fortunes to =. Stacy's gal"
and Jared in precisely the same manner,
while old Stacy himself quietly chuckled
and "bet on his gal every trip" as he
afterwards explained. -, : .i.z.ss =.
She had come into camp q week or
two previously to the greatest surprise
Of everybody, including her father.
Old Stacy, a good many years before,
some eight or ten, had lost his wife,
and so great was his grief that he could
not be induced to remain longer in the
place she had made little heaven for
him. $50 he placed his daughter@his
only child-in the fashionable female
seminary of the State, provided her
with everything that was necessary for
her comfort or happiness and then
struck out for the San Juan silver mines
to forget his recent loss among the ex.
elements and privations of the frontier.
Stacy was one of the fortunate few out
Of the unlucky many that enter a min
ing country, and in few years he was
possessed. of properties yielding him an
excellent income from their hard, white
quartz. He regularly corresponded
with his daughter and kept her sup
piled with pocket-money far in excess
Of her needs or requirements, but he
never went back on q visit, and when
that young lady was duly graduated
with high honors she determined to
seek out her long absent paternal pro-
genitor. With an Independence and
courage, the wonderment of the boys,
she travelled across the plains. took
passage on the stages and finally rode
into Mineral City on horseback, the
first white woman IN camp and the OBJ
ject of the shy alteration Of the men.
1t was some time before the boys
could stand their ground and face her,
instead of scampering away at her ap-
proach, as had hitherto been the case;
but the Western miner is not long in
getting accustomed to strange things,
and it was not over ten days after her
arrival that the Colonel immolated
himself on the altar of his affections.
Encouraged by his example and unter-
rified by his unceremonious defeat, the
boys one after another tried their luck
though, as have before mentioned,
with no better success. - - >
Stacy was q partner of mine. in the
Ajax mine, in which there were three
Of us interested, and as we were doing
considerable development on the vein
I was of necessity much in his COM
pany and consequently in that of his
daughter. She was a very pretty girl,
with dainty. delicate ways far more
BETTING house on Walnut street than
. rough mining camp; but she loved
her father with an earnest, clinging af-
AOSsASA edos "oo1o shO0 1iStOh W hCt
leaving him, and SO she continued to
reign Queen of Mineral City all through
the summer OF 1876. i'-. =
don't know when it was that was
unduly attracted towards Nellie.
think it was when she asked me to call
her thereafter by that name. She made
the request SO innocently. SO sweetly,
and so tenderly alleging that as 1 was
her fathers partner, a gentleman by
birth and education, and such kind
friend to her, it would be ever SO much
nicer for me to say Nellie. instead of
Miss Stacy, which sounded SO formal.
that came very nearly adding other
words to the name that our short ac-
quaintance would not justify. After
that 1 spent most of my evenings with
Nellie. and sometimes of an afternoon
we took delicious little rambles to-
gether on the mountain sides and into
the heavy timber lining the valley or
canon of the Uncompahgre. One even
ing as we were returning home, we