The Mineral argus., 1884-02-14
A WOMA OF THE TOWN.
A storr of New MexIoo.

"A story OF new mextCO.
An evening in June, year Of our Lord
1881, in Deming, a little New Mexican
station at the junction of two southern
railroads. The sun had gone down in a
crimson splendor, and as it sank from
sight there appeared the opaline tints
peculiar to a sunset sky in the rarefed
atmosphere of high elevations in that
southern latitude. A roseate belt IN
circled the ht aYens about twenty degrees
ubove the horizon, melting into a fiery
gold in the west and shading off else
where, through prismatic hues, into
dull, leaden tones which lay against the
earth and dists Mt mountains, and the
cold blue of the zenith, where the stars
began to march out one by one,
The little settlement, boasting as yet
but three months growth, was still in a
state of chaos, and consisted Of a motley
array of tents, with here and there an
implanted wooden shanty, which served
as a shop and dwelling-place. The
large Union Hotel. in process of erec-
ton by the railroad companies, vas
but a shapeless pile of masonry and
timber. A ROY of feight-cars, standing
upon a disused side track, with rudely
constructed flights of steps a%ffording in
gress and egress, served as abodes for
the more aristocratic element of the
town. consisting at that time of the local
railroad officials and their families, and
thrifty housewives made these unique
habitations tidy and comfortable, sigh
ing meanwhile for the civilized homes
they had left.
The occasional travellers who found it
necessary or desirable to s%oiourn for a
brief season in this embryonic town
resorted to various ex~pedients to OBJ
tain shelter. A party Of this sort, con-
sisting of a gentlem IN, his wife and little
| daughter, with a nurse girl, on their
way to the sunny orange groves ofSOuth-
ern California, had arrived the previous
night, and found themselves the sole oc-
eupants of a palace-sleeper, switched of
by the railroad officials to do service as
a temporary hotel.
The halt in their journey had been
imperative, for the lady vas an invalid,
and the long ride over the plains had
exhausted her failing strength. Forced
to rest and recruit for a brief period
they had wisely concluded to make the
best Of their stay, had curiously studied
the odd mingling of humanity tina
made up the population of thu small
hamlet, and strolled about on the plain
cleaning odd bits of translucent chalce'
dony and bright crystals from the sandy
soil, and making their portable abode
charming with the boughs of mistletoe
dainty grasses, and hoary tuftei plumei
unknown to the conservative botanist
They had brought in great branches o
mesquite, with its fern-like foliage, anC
royal pyramids of the snowy bells o
the Spanish %bayonet.
j AS the day drew to a close they wer,
startled by the discovery that the bah,
girl was missing. Heated and tired wit
play, she had fallen asleep in TIE mid
de of the afternoon and been laid care
fully in her berth, with the curtain
drawn to give free play to the soft breez
which stole down from the north, tenn
pering the scorching air. But whel
they went to look in upon her at night
fall, marveling that the wee creatur
slept so long and heavily, their yer
hearts stood still as they saw an empt
bed, and realized that the little sleepe
was gone.
The cry that a child was lost sprea,
like wild-6re through the place. Ha
there been a philosopher there it zoul
have gladdened his heart TO see ho'
3 tender impulses and forgotten instinct
| wakened in the hearts of the rough an
I lawless set who formed a goodly pre-
portion of the population, and one an
all eagerly prepared to join the search
A week before a train had bee
= IsAoInI - -NhhoI o-I Aha nnosaA,
) killed, not twenty miles from Ieminj
A band of mounted men had organize
from the surrounding country, an
struck out fer the mountains in pursu
of the robbers, a famous gang, who ha
been q terror throughout the whole n
gion for years. That night the "Rustlers
as they were called, rode daringly INF
Deming, to defyth the authorities and ''sC
I up the LIQUOR" for the crowd, The
!. were in the leading saloon of the plac,
g ''bracing up" with a final drink a
around, preparatory to taking a hurrie
departure when q man came In wit
q news of the calamity which had owe
I taken the travellers.
Every man among them knew that
remain long in one spot menace6 the
with a terrible vengeance at the -hanC
of an infuriated people. Yet not one
them put looked assent as their leadC
Q said, gravely:
n "Reckon we've got to stay, boys, an
look up the kid, now we're here"
From a rough bench at one side
woman had risen up a moment befor
and pushing back from her face her III
kept hair, struggled to rouse herself
a comprehension of what was being sal
II her face had ever been beautiful
: the freshness of cir hood, every vestif
of its charms had been effaced. Upc
her haggar1 features was written wit
indelible imprint the story of her lf
a Vile and sinful, soul and body, she hs