Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-06-01
MINNIE MYRTLE"

En francisco Chronicle. She seemed
seek wreck and storm and separation
Tor us on The arena of lie long before it
came, and even while we were married,
very hopeful, young, and strong, and
happy. And SO, twenty years ago this
spring, while we were living in the top
OF house on Fulton street, San Fran
cisco, No. 42l, with this singular and sad
notion in her head she one evening
half playfully said that whatever came to
us if | died first she would write me
well before the world and let none do
my memory wrong. And she eYacted
.he same promise Of me. And from that
time. 50 far from forgetting the
1ooilsh covenant, she reminded me of
1t ever after. She reminded me OF it in
this city only a few days before her
death, last May. In the fulfillment of
tins promise. l now undertake this
most delicate and most difficult task.
For it is.on my conscience that the oc-
casion is opporlune and that cannot
we'll conclude these sketches of my life
In the Sierras in this journal, without
trying, alter a years delay, to keep this
covenant and solemn promise of twenty
years ago. IL was while | was riding
Mossman y Mlller's pony express from
Maiia Wal.a to Millersburg, in the mines
o. Iaaho, IN the summer of 1861, that l
hrst was attracted by her writings in the
newspapers. | wrote her and had re-
plies. Then when | came down from
the mountains and embarked in journal
Ism she wrote to me, and our letters
grew ardent and full of affection. Then
l mounted my horse and rode hundreds
OF miles through the valleys and over
the mountains till came to the sea, at
Port Oxford, then a ilourishing mining
town, and there first saw "GIinnie
Myrtle"
Tall, dark and striking in every re-
spect tins llrst Saxon woman ! had ever
addressed had it all her own way at
once. She knew nothing at all OF nv
me, except that l was an eXpressman
and country editor. L knew nothing at
all Of hers, but found her with her
kind. good parents surrounded by broth
ers and sisters, and the pet and spoiled
child of the mining aud lumber camp.
In her woody little world there by the
sea she was literally worshiped by the
rough miners and lumbermen and the
heart of the bright and merry girl was
brilnming full cf romance, hope and
happiness. Iarrived on Thursday. Sun
day next we were married. O., to
what else but ruin and regret could such
romantic folly lead? Procuring a horse
Tor her, we set out at once to return to
my post far over the mountains. These
mountains were then as now, and ever
will be reckon, crossed only by a dim.
broken trail, with houses twenty and
thirty miles apart for the few travellers.
The first day out we came upon a
great band of elk. Toward evening
drew a revolver, and with wild delight
we dashed among the frightened beasts,
and following them quite distance, we
lost our way. And SO we had to spend
our first night together, tired, hungry,
thirsty, sitting under the pines on a
hillside, holding on to our impatient
horses. We reached my home ali right,
however, at length, after Il weeks ride,
but only to find that my paper had been
suppressed by the government, and we
resolved to seek our fortune in San
Francisco. But we found neither for
tune nor friends in the great new city,
and so, returning to Oregon, bought q
band of cattle, and we set out with our
baby, and party Of friends and rela-
tlves to reach the new mining cam D,
Canon City, IN eastern Oregon. In fact,
| had gone before to stake out the land
We fought the Indians and got some
foothold, and we selected this location
for our future home.
And what journey was this of ours
over the Oregon Sierras, driving the
believing cattle in the narrow trail
through the dense woods, up the steep.
snowy mountains, down through the
canons! 1t was wild. glorious. fresh, full
of hazard and adventure. Minnie had
made willow basket and swung it to
her saddle-horn, with the growing, and
good-natured baby inside, looking up at
her, laughing as she eaped her horse
over the fallen logs or made a full hand
with whip and lasso, slashing after the
cattle. But when we descended the
wooded mountains to the open plain on
the eastern side of the Sierras the In
dians were ready to receive us, and we
almost literally had to fight our way for
the next weeks journey every day and
night. And this woman was one of the
truest souls that ever saw battle.
think she never, even in the hour of
death, knew what fear was. She was
not only wonderful horsewoman, but
very adroit in the use Of arms. She was
q much better shot, indeed, than N.Y.
self. In our first little skirmish on this
occasion | had taken position on hill
with few men, while the cattle and
pack animals were Corraled by the 9TH
ers in a blight in the foothills below to
prevent u stampede. And thus in
trenched we waited the attack from the
Indians, who held the farther point Of
the ridge on which l had stationed my
men. Suddenly Minnie, baby in arms,
stood at my side and began to calmly
discuss the situation and to pass merry
remarks about the queer noises the bull
lets made as they nattencd on the
rocks about us and glanced over
our heads. / finally got her to go down,
or, rather promise to go down to the
camp for the better safety Of the baby.
But in moment she was back. She
had hidden the laughing little baby in
the rocks, and now. gun in hand, kept
at my side till the brush was over and
the Indians beaten off.
Here is one leaf from her journal, or
rather think, her Tecollections of the
journey, which she left me along with
her other papers when she died.
Cone night of that journey shall not
soon forget. There had been some fight
ing ahead of us and we knew the foe was
lurking in ambush. They made kind
of fort of the freight, and while we lay
down in the canon, baby and l, away up
ON the high, sharp butte, Joaquin stood
sentinel. And / say this tonight in his
behalf and in his praise, that he did
brayely and saved his loved ones from