Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-08-12
TOMS WIFE.
a story OF the OH Region.
pY WILL NJ CLEMENS.

. BIZ WILL NJ CLEMENS.
i copyrighted. 1886, by s. s. McClure.l
The cod December winds whistled about
the small shanty like depot at Bigley Station.
The telegraph operator, who also acted as
station agent at night, stood upon the plat
form with his lantern by his side. There
came rumbling sound followed by sharp,
shrill whistle. and moment later the far
away light Of the night express. as 1t rounded
The curve, came into view The station
agent gave a shrug of satisfaction. Inside
a warm FIRE blazed in the litsie round stove
and the agent was an xious to return to his
comfortable quarters in doors
rush, a roar, the rumbling came nearer
and nearer, and the express stopped at the
station The station agent called out in
tones of recognition to the brakeman. No
one boarded the tr,,in at Bigley Station
man and woman alighted The conductor
leaned from the platform of the smoking
car, waved his lantern, the engineer pulled
lever, and away sped the express on its
/ journey into world Of night and darkness
The station agent entered the dingy little
depot followed by two passengers--the man
and the woman. The former found seat
for the lady among the rough wooden
benches In the Whiting room, and, following
The station agent to the open door of the
ticket office, wherein the operator had dis
appeared, drew long sigh as he said:
is there no town here, no hotelr"
mot any replied the operator. @This is
only the station. Bigley's four miles off But
| you zen stay here till mornin', when the
stageM take you over"
that's bad" unused the man as he thanked
The operator and returned to where the
woman was sitting
He was a young man, and she very young
4 woman He was tall and slender, with q
delicate face and light brown moustache
i His dress and manner indicated refinement
and good training in his youth The girI-
one could scarcely call her woman after o
closer inspection--was smaller than her hus-
band, likewise tai and slender. with still
more delicate face; with mild and tender
blue eyes @
"Mary,s said he, addressing her, as he took
a seat on the rough wooden bench by her
side, -the town is four miles of. There is no
hotel here and am afraid we must make
| the best of these quarters until morning Our
baggage wiz come on the morning train, and
we can take IL with us on the stage to Big
| lev"
She spoke to him in the kindest of tones
and uttered no word of dissent at his sug-
| gestions While they chatted on trivial
1 things he removed his overcoat. and with her
/ shawls made a comfortable couch for her on
/ the long wooden seat The door of the OPP
| orators room was open, and the little round
stove within sent its warm rays into the
| waiting room. The girl reposed upon the
| couch, and the young fellow stopped and
J kissed her lightly on the forehead Then he
walked across the room and entered the
| apartment of the man who combined the
duties of telegraph operator and station
| agent
$40 YOU smoker queried the stranger,
and, observing the smile light up the face of
the operator as he nodded his head, he con
I inued:
Swell, if you smoke, twas going to suggest
hat III trade you a good cigar for a chair
here beside your fire,
sThnIs q fair trade, said the operator, as
| he sTn ile on his face increased in dimensions
! and Illuminated bis whole countenance
SMy names Thomas Hayden continued
! the stranger in a matter of-fact way. as he
4 lighted a cigar aud handed the burning
! match to the operator. @My wife Mary and
came up here from Philadelphia TO make
our fortunes in the oil Business II we fail,
why, we fail, that's all, and can go back and
commence life over again, Just where we
1 left oil in the city.
Z Then he fell to plying the operator with
various questions-the cost Of living, the
| ton to the oil business 1t was long past
! midnight and as the two men sat and
/ talked and smoked, time passed quickly.
| Ere they were aware of the fieetness with
which the hours passed, the gray streaks of
| dawn were peeping over the neighboriDg
| nills. Twice did Young Hayden return TO
The wooden bench in the adjoining room to
and his young and fragile wife sleeping
! peacefully and Twice did he softly tlptoe hts
| Nay back TO the conpantonship OF the little
round stove and the smiling operator
The morning came, the day express
! stopped at the station, Hayden's baggage
| was thrown roughly upon the platform and
/ the operator babe goodbye to his acquaint-
1 ance of night and with his lunch basket on
bis arm wended his way down the track,
| whistling in the bright, crisp air of the sunny
/ morning. The station agent who arrived
| shortly before his departure was a large
! hard-featured man, and young Hayden did
not venture to form his acquaintance. His
/ wife had risen early from her hard couch
/ and made her toilet at the battered tin water
| tank in the corner of the room numbering
/ stage was at the dept when the morning
| train arrived, and Hayden, bis wife and his
! three large trunks were safely stored therein.
An hours ride over the toughest of coun-
4 try roads brought the conveyance before the
rough-looking structure that boosted of be-
Ing the finest and best hotel in Bgley--there
/ was no other there. Hayden and wife
1 aIighted, secured rooms and began life in
their new quarters amid strange friends and
surroundings Any one who has visited
| young mining town in the far West can form
4 an adequate picture of the budding town of
/ few weeks IN the upper oil regions The
primitive hotel, q postoftce, store or two,
4 score of frame houses. amid wilderness
Of oil derricks, constituted about all there
/ was in 3igley. 1t was not many weeks be-
fore Thomas Hayden found acquaintance in
| the town. and among them 81 Noffat young
man like himself, but rough in manner and
| dress with q smooth, forid face and large
/ well-knit frame Tom HAYDEN possessed In
y ANA of IL rrln ks in q oh he
Philadelphia bank to the amount of several
thousand dollars, but he had everything to
| learn about farms, gushers and wells and
! torpedos, and the thousand and one mys-
| teries of the oil business 81 Aoffat did not
| know of q dollar in the world he could call
| his own, but he had been born and reared in
the oil country and there was not sgusher"
within radius of hundred miles of which
he could not give an accurate history In
/ est man as one could find in days Jour
/ ney, aud kind, warm heart beat within his
! breast
friendship sprang up between the two
men, followed by partnership It was
/ commercial union of gold and experience
/ and with capital and business sense on the
one hand, and experience and physical
I strength on the other, the new firm entered
! into the race for wealth with vim and enter
/ prise. The town grew the price of oil IN
| creased and in year Hayden had acquired
| considerable experience and Moffat could
boast of small bank acsount
| In two years after their arrival Tom Hay
| den and his wife were comfortably housed
! IN neat little cottage on the edge of the
/ town blue-eyed, sunny haired babe was
/ Just beginning to toddle about the house and
j lisp the name OF @papa." They were SUI
/ premely happy, these three-the tall and
Z slender young man, the delicate wife, and
| the sunny haired child r The little ones
/ happiness was increased, perhaps when
! 81 Moffat brought her candies and sweets
! from the new store. The town had grown
and there were two stores now.
One morning in June Hayden left his
| home, after kissing his wife and prattling
daughter, and, joining Moffat at the post
| office, the two men started afoot for the
! location of one of their new wells Just out
side Of town. The new well was to be shot
that morning The derrick stood in little
| valley few hundred feet from the maip
road wagon load of glycerine wa
already on the ground when the men ar
/ rived and score of square cans containing
the deadly explosive stood about the der
! rick. The preparations were quickly made
and the dangerous substance was placed in
J the we'll Moffat and HAYDEN and the other
| men, excepting one. withdrew, and sat on
! the green sward several rods away. The
man who remained alone at the derrick was
/ a famous character in the oil country He
was known as the most cool-headed torpedo
shooter in all that region. He completed
/ the work of preparation by pouring still
! more of the MISUNDERSTANDING whitish
| nuid into the long tin tubes. and then low
| cred them with the aid Of a reel and line,
4 quickly but carefully, into the depths be-
/ meath the derrick One hundred qu2rts of q
| most dangerous explosive had thus been
! lowered eight or nine hundred feet into the
! bowels of the earth Heavy levers were
| then placed over the iron casing, TO avoid
| any chance Of its being blown out Several
! barrels of water were poured into the well,