The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-10-24
A WOMAN OF THE TOWN.
A Story of New Mexico

statlon at the Junction of two southern
railroads. The sun had gone down in 8
crimson splendor, and as it sank from
sight there appeared the opaline tints
peculiar to a sunset sky in the rareied
atmosphere of high elevations in that
southern latitude. A roscate belt en-.
clrcled the h,avens about twenty degrees
o 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 dista Mt mountains, and the
cold blue of the zenith, where the stars
began to march out one by one,
The little settlement, Boosting as vet
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 cree.
ton by the railroad companies, was
but a shnpeless pile Of masonry and
timber. A row of feight-cars, standing
upon q disused side track, with rudely
constructed q ghts of steps affording in
gress and egress, served as abudes for
the more a%ristocrntic element of the
town, consisting at that time of the local
railroad officials and their families, and
thrifty housewives made these unique
Indications tidy and comfortable, sigh
ing meanwhile for the civilized homes
they had left.
The occasional travellers who found il
necessary or desirable to soiourn for a
brief season in this embryonic town
resorted to various expedients to OBJ
tain shelter. a party Of this sort. con-
slstlng of a gentlem III, his wife and little
daughter, with a nursc-girl, on their
way to the sunny orange groves o fSouth-
ern California, had arrived the previous
night, and found themselves the sole oc.
cupants of a1palace-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 was an invalid
and the long ride over the plains had
exhausted her fai ing strength. Forced
to rest and recruit Tor n brief period,
they had wisely concluded to make the
best Of their stay, had %curiously studied
the odd mingling of humanity that
made up the population of thu small
hamlet, and strolled about on the plain.
cleaning odd bits of translucent %cl,alce.
dony and bright crystals FROM the sandy
soil, and making their portable abode
charming with the boughs of mistletoe,
dainty grasses, and hoary tultei plumes
unknown to the conservative botadist.
They had brought in great branches of
mesquite, with its fern-like foliage, and
royal pyramids of the snowy bells OF
the Spanish bayonet.
AS the day drew to a close they were
startled by the discovery that the baby
girl was missing. Heated and tired with
play, she had fallen asleep in the mid
die of the afternoon and been laid care
fully in her berth. with the curtains
drawn to give free play to the soft breeze
which stole down from the north, tenn
pering the scorching air. But when
they went to lcok i'll upon her at night
fall, marveling that the wee creature
slept so long and heavily, their very
hearts stood still as they saw an empty
bed, and realized that the little sleeper
was gone.
The cry that a child was lost spread
like wild-6re through the place. Had
there been q philosopher there it would
have gladdened his heart to see how
tender impulses and forgotten instincts
wakened i'll the hearts OF the rough and
lawless set who formed a goodly pro-
portion OF the population. and one and
all eagerly prepared to join the search.
A week before q train had been
ditched ard robbed, and the engineer
killed, not twenty miles from leming.
A band of mounted lei had organized
from the surrounding country, and
struck out fer the mountains in pursuit
of the robbers, a amous gang, who had
been II terror throughout the whole re-
gion for years. That night the "Rustlers"
as they were called, rode daringIy into
Deming, to defy the authorities and ''set
up the liquor" for the crowd, They
We're in the leading saloon of the place,
'bracing up" with a final drink ali
around, preparatory to takingA hurried
departure when q man came in with
news of the calamity which had over
taken the travellers.
Every man among them knew that to
remain long in n spot menaced them
with a terrible vengeance at the hands
of an Infatuated people. Yet not one of
them put looked assent as their leader
said. gravely:
Reckon we've got to stay, boys, and
look up TIE kid, now we're here"
From a rough bench at one side a
had risen up a moment before,
and pushing back from her face her I'M
kept hair, struggled to rouse herself to
a comprehension of what was being said,
If her face had ever been beautiful in
the freshness of gir,hood, every vcstige
of its charms had been elfuced. Upon
her hapgard features was written with
indelibse imprint the story Of her life.
Vile and sinful, soul and body, she had
fallen SO far below the level of her class
that unchaste women passed her with q
shudder, recognizing in her a prophecy
OF what the future might hold in store
for them, while among men and women
she was known by the %unenviable sobri-
quet of bad Moll."
On that June night she had been on a
spree for a week-a tear" the boys
called it, and mentioned it from day to
day with p%ardonable pride, as an event
full occurrence in their u~norganized
society, destitute of church
wrangles, the charms of litigation, polit-
ical controversies, deGa!cations in office.
or aught that is legitimate in the way of
excitement. That afternoon she had
undertaken to clean out Il Chinese wash
house, and a mob had followed her,
hooting and yelling, al she pursued the
frightened Mongolians, and cheering
her roughly as she reeled. cursing,
through the streets. After the outburst
she had sunk into a drunken stupcr,
from which something she heard seemed
to have aroused her. She had listened.
with a puzzled look, twisting and un-
twisting the ends of q soiled r~ose-colored
shawl that hung about her shoulders.
At length she staggered heavily up to
the bar.
Gimme some water!"
The crowd of men laughed and ieered.
"Cutse you! Quityer foolin.' Gimme
a drink of water, l tell YOU"
The bar. keeper took a glass from a