The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-03-26
TOTTY'S STOCKING.

emptied into the Consumes River
several miles delow. Both the dwell
ing and business houses, or more prop
erly speaking, cabins, were construct
ed of unhewn logs, the creviCes between
the timbers being "chinked" and
plastered with mud. The town con
tanned at least a dozen saloons OF
saloons and gambling-houses cOmbin,
ed, and in these hells much Of the
hard earned money of the miner part
ed company with him, to take up its
temporary abode in the saloon till or
the pocket OF the professional gam
bier. The dwellings OF the town were
scattered along the creek or built on
the side of the mountain, the majority
of them being rough bachelor dens,'
for women were very scarce i'll the
newly discovered diggings.
In a small cabin in the upper end OF
the town sat a woman In widows
weeds, holding upon her knee a bright
eyed. sunny faced little girl Of about
5 years old, while a little cherub OF a
boy lay upon a bear-skin before the
open fireplace. 1t was Christmas eve
and the woman sat gazing ~attractedly
into the fire. She wasyet young, and
as the glowing flames lit up her sad
face they invested it with weird beau
ty.
Mary Stewart was the widow of Al
ex Stewart, and out two years before
had lived comfortably and happy in
a camp on the American river. Alex
was a brawny miner, but the prema-
ture explosion of a blast in an under
ground tunnel had blotted out his life
in an instant, leaving his family with
out a protector and in Strengthened
circumstances. His daily wages had
been their sole support, and now that
he was gone what could they do?
With her little family Mrs. Stewart
had emigrated to the camp in which
we find them (aIl western mining towns
are called campsl and there she earned
a precarious livelihood by washing
clothes for the miners. Hers was a
hard lot, but the brave little woman
toiled on, cheered by the thought that
her daily labor stood between her
darling little ones and the gaunt wolf
of starvation. Their clothes were
patched and shabby, and their food
plain and sometimes seanty, yet they
we're Eve reduced to absolute suffer
Eng.
Jack Dawson, a strong, honest
miner, was passing the cabin this
Christmas Eve, when the voice of the
little girl attracted his attention. Jack
possessed an inordinate love for little
children, and although his manly spirit
would abhor the sneaking prac-
tice ofeaye-dropping, he could not re-
sist the temptation to steal up to the
window just a moment to listen to
the sweet, prattling voice. The first
words he caught were: before papa
died, we always had Christmas, didn't
we, mammal
eyes, Totty darling, but papa
earned money enough to afforded to
make his little pets happy once a
year. You must remember, Totty,
that we are very poor, and although
mamma works very hard, she can
scarcely earn enough to supply Us
with food and Clothes
Little bright-faced Benny raised his
curly head from his soft nest in the
warm bear-skin, and cheerfully said:
"Des wait till / dit to be a man,
mamma, an 90 won't have to work.
Use dom to be a dreat bid miner, ike
papa was, an dit 90 ever SO much
money, but / won't do near 'em hate
full blastin' fngs an dit titled ike
papa did"
Jack Dawson still fingered upon the
outside. He couldnot leave, although
he felt ashamed OF himself for listen
ing.
ssWhy, bless my little man. re-
turned the mother, what a brave
future he has planned / do hope
and pray, darling, that you will grow
up q strong and a good man, and one
who will be a blessing and q comfort
to mamma when she gets old"
I'VE hung up our stockings last
Christmas, didn't we mamma?D ques-
toned the little girl.
eyes, Totty, but we were poor
then, and Santa Claus never notices
real poor people. He gave you q lit
tie candy then. just because you were
such good children
rs we any poorer now, mammal"
'Oh, yes, much poorer. He would
never notice us at all now"
Jack Dawson detected q tremor of
sadness in the widows voice as she
uttered the last words, and he wiped
4 suspicious dampness from his eyes.
where's our clean stockings, mann
ma? I'm going to hang mine up, any
how; maybe he will come like he did
before, just because we try to be good
said Totty.
1T viii be no use, darling. lam