The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-02-19
/" "sTACY's GAL.

The Colonel, think, was the first
person to propose to her. he did it in
the oratorical style for which he was
noted m the camp and was promptly re-
fused, much to his own and the boys
astonishment. / believe the Judge was
the next, put as he has fortified his
courage with large quantity of whisky
his breath was strong enough and bis
words thick enough to ensue speedy
rejection. He was considerably NOR
titled at it and never able to explain the
cause of his defeat, but when Mexican
woman drifted into the camp shortly
afterward and engaged in washing for
the men, the Judge tried his hand again
and was accepted 1t took him month
to get loose from the bonds and he
swore he would never give any other
female critter a chance to hook him
again." and he carefully avoided all
Indian squaws and homely senoritas
who occasionally passed through Min
eral City. After the Judge, 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 afterward
explained.
She had come into camp a 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
30 great was his grief that he could not
be induced to remain longer in the place
she had made a little heaven for him.
So he placed his daughter-his only
child-in the fashionable female semi
nary of the State, provided her with
everything that was necessary for her
comfort or happiness, and then struck
out for the San Juan silver miIes to for
get his loss among the excitements and
privations OF the frontier. Stacy was
one of the fortunate few out of the un-
lucky many that enter mining country,
and in 8 few years he was possessed of
properties yielding him an excellent in
come from their hard, white quarts.
He regularly corresponded with his
daughter, and kept her supplied in
pocket-money far in excess of her needs
or requirements, buthe never went back
on a visit, and when that young lady
was duly graduated with high honors
she determined to seek out her long,
absent paternal progenitor. With an
independence and courage, the wonder
ment of the b Us, she travelled across tie
plains, took passage on the stages and
finally rode into Mineral City on horse
back, the first white woman in camp
and the object of the shy alteration Of
the men.
1t was some time before the bows
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 inundated him
self on the altar of his affections. En-
couraged by his example and unterri-
fed by his uneeremonious defeat, the
boys one after another tried their luck
though, as / have, before mentioned,
with no batter success.
Stacy was partner of mine in the
Ajax mine, In which there were three of
us interest d, and as we were doing con-
siderable development on the vein. ]
was, of necessity, much in his company
and consequently in thato his daughter.
She was very pretty girl, with dainty
delicate ways far more beitting a houses
on Walnut street than a rough minino
camp; but she loved her father with an
earnest, clinging affection that would
not listen to her leaving him, and so she
continued to reign queen of Mineral CITY
all through the summer of 1876.
don't know when it was that wa,
unduly attracted toward Nellie. think
it was when she asked me to call hel
thereafter by that name. She made The
request so innocently, SO sweetly, anG
SO tenderly, alleging that as 1 was he
fathers partner, a gentleman by brit
and education, and such kiud friend t,
her, it would be ever so much nicer fo
me to say Nellie, instead of Miss Stacy
which sounded so formal, that 1 cam,
very nearly adding other words to tn,
name that our short acquaintance woul,
not justify. After that 1 spent m ost O
my evenings with Nellie, and sometime
of an afternoon we took delicious Iittl
rambles together on the mountain side
and into the heavy timber lining th
valley or canon of the Uncompahgre
One evening, as we were returnin
home, we stopped TO rest on the rock
crested summit of Mineral Point.
few hundred feet below us lay the littl
mining camp, its log cabins lookin
doubly picturesque in the gatherin
<xIOo oYnino The hIro