The Magnolia gazette. [volume] (Magnolia, Miss.) 1872-current, 1886-03-26

snanCy up the bluff there. Idon't know
what they'd done if it hadn't been for
Jake's wife, tearin' smart woman,
who took in washin' and did little
sewin' and mendin' for the neighbors,
while Jake was spendin' what money he
got agin the Golden Gate bar.
"They had little gal, as pooty lit
tie thing as ever you see, with eyes as
blue as a pool on the top of the noun
tains, and hair that shone like streaks
of bright gold in the rock. Her name
it was Maggie, and at the time I'm
tellin' about she must bin seven
or eight years old. She was just as
cute, and pretty and smart as they ever
make 'em, and Jake was mighty proud
of her, as well he might be. Why,
I've seen her come down to the Golden
Gate and take Jake home UP the noun
tain when it was SO late the stars was be-
ginnin' to fade out o. sight before the
sunrise.
Zone night a lot of us was over to the
Golden Gate. 1 was playin' poker with
q Sacramento chap and another feller l
didn't know, but who seemed to be a
friend o. his'n. The creek had riz
about three feet that day, and it
looked mighty scary for every
thing in its reach. Cy Parker, who
owned the saw-mill little above, had
been pokin' round with long pole
pretty much all day to see how high
she was, and how fast she was risin',
and he looked mighty solem, 1 tell
you. Folks livin' in the houses along
the banks had moved out, and Just be-
fore dark everybody in town had been
watchin' the bridge, fearin' every in
stant to see it carried away. 1t was
still rainin', and the wind and the
waters were tryin' to see. which could
ma de the most noise. We KEEP on a.
.playin', me and the Sacramento man
and the other feller, not carin' for the
flood nor any thing else but the game.
Jake and the other boys, who had got
tired watchin', was snoozing around
the hot stove. 'Magine my feelin's
if you can, when / got hand on the
Sacramento chaps deal with four kings
in it. backed her for all 1 had, inst as
you'd a done, stranger, and the Sacra-
mento chap stayed! But fill me with
buckshot if he didn't show over me
with four pesky aces and scoop in the
pot. That wound up the game for me,
| sat down in a comfortable place by the
stove with nlght-cap of my regular
gin and water. Daylight was stealth
in through the the drippin' winders. Il
was still rainin' and the wind was still
| howlin' just about as it is now. All al
once | heard somebody callin'. What
had imagined before was wild, scared
voice some time was now sartin about
| woke up the boys and we went out te
see what was the matter. 1t was hard tt
believe your eyes. The mill was gone
the bridge was gone. Every house tina
stood anywhere near the banks had beer
carried away. Trees that were high ant
dry before were bendin' their boughs be
fore the ragin' waters, and the boilin'
tumblin', foamin' creek was tearin
along full of logs, lumber, drift-wood
wrecks of houses, and every thing yol
could think of. But we didn't stop t.
look round much. For there ON tn
other side o. the creek down to tn
water s edge was Jake's wife, stand
in in the gray mornin' witt
her hands at her chin, clutchin
! and old, faded shawl around her head
and her dress soakin' wet and switchin
in the wind. Jake, she called, in
scared, wild voice, lis Maggie owe
thereP' Jake Civ sudden start, turne
pale as ghost, reeled as if stunned, an,
answered back, No. as it was the hard
I'll never forget, if lives to be hun
dred, the shrek of that poor woman a
she fell in heap to the ground.
Eye see, she'd sent Maggie down +
the Golden Gate to get Jake, fearin' h
might fall into the run if he tried to o
home alone while full. Every bod
thought she must a-ben on the brido
when it went down the creek. Jak
took on awful. We got up party G
us and went sarchin' down both bank
for the poor little girls body. w
didn't find it for purity nigh a week
The rain had stopped, the sun wa
shinin' brighter'n ever and the cree
had gone down agin to where it be
longed. 1t allus seemed to me as
that tree down there was claspin'. ths
poor little dead gal in its arms in kin
o. savin'-like way. For, tangled in th
branches of big fallen tree about
mile down the stream, and partly xiv
cred up with leaves we found her.
was a purity place. There was q littl
OiCnlih uCdl ny III bilc Sllstuc VI SUI
big trees that the first birds {
spring was chipperin' round il
Below was the creek,
murmurin' as if sorry for what he ha
done. On the other side was the mour
} tains, bristlin' with pine trees that shon
in the sun as if they had been varnishet
There wasn't no graveyard here thel
and Jake, who didn t believe in churcht
and regular funerals and such thing
allowed he'd bury her right there in Il
!, little clearin'. One of us went back fo
Jake's wife, and to tell the folks VIII
j hadn't heard she'd been found. Thel
was preacher in the sarchin' party.
, chap that he'd been tryin' to get up SON
religious meetin's in the hall over ii
, Golden Gate. When every body w;
ready he said little prayer, and blame
if what that preacher said about thf
poor little dead gal there didn't start IL
i tears a-fowin' in every body's eye
Then Jake, who said as how no one br
hisself should dig that grave, took pic
than one of us had borrowed from
, mine near by. Almost the first lick |
struck Jake stopped sudden, turne
pale, and rubbed his eyes with his fis
But every body knew Jack was feeli,
mighty bad, and it's purity hard thin,
stranger, for a man to dig
/ grave which he's goin' to bury h
only child in. Then Jake took anoth,
: lick. Then he stopped down and lookt
hard at the gravel he'd just turned u
/ looked thar, too. What was itp Col