Western appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1885-18??, 1888-12-22

! ~ POPPY'S SICK" SAID THE LITTLE BOY.
| Cheer up, man, We'll soon have you well
again." and the miner walked around tc
the rear of the wagon. s-a
HE'LL never be well any more. He's
dead, friends,n said the widow in choked
voice.
'Deada Well, now, that's rough, ma'am
Blest eff faint" and one of the rystander:
| went into thu house to carry the news
''Sho, now, yer don't sayy" and WASH
Jackson turned griddle cake over ont(
the floor instead Of upon the griddle in his
surprise, TAM his wilder an de little chill
len am at de do wild de corpse. Sho, sho
now, dat am awful 'scouragjng."
''Sher up, yer black yawp, an get ZEN
something to eat,'' said one of the men
roughly; they must be clean tuckered
| out'
The rough, toi1-worn hands of the
miners helped the widow from the wagon
as reverentially as if she had been prin.
cess, and the children were taken to warm
hearts and tenderly cared for, while the
| fathers cold form was prepared for burial
| in another shanty-the one which Dan
| voorhees, has so rece fly scrubbed, little
! thinking for whose reception he was max
| ing it clean.
| Three DAYS after the funeral the widow
was waited on by deputation from the
| camp. 1--WE wanted to ask ye. maam,
| what We was goin' ter do" said the
| spokesman, touching his bearskin cap re-
spectfully.
Indeed, sirs, I do not know, replied
the widow. She had shed all her tears
and could speak of her trouble with dry
coming on" W. ~
"Thet's what we was thinkin'
ma'am," said Dan Voorhees,, eagerly, ian
hopin' you would consent to stay at the
camp. We're rougl set o. men, ma am,
but you can feel jest as safe weth US as eff
| yer own mother was rockin' ye Eff
sry man says word o. sass to We Well
run him out o. camp at the pint of shot
gun"
But what can l do for support" fall
tered the widow. She had been tenderly
brought up and the idea of spending the
winter with these rough men was appau.
ing, deprived of the protecting presence of
her husband
We've wrastled it all out for ye," re-
piled Sam Collins. "Ye see. we'd all on
us calkylated pile hevin' Brad
woman an kids among u.s.. an we're AL
sort o. ratified like at benz disappointed,
am we're willin' to do the square thing
by We.
"Brad's claim amt a pannin' outno great,
but IT'S enough to make We comfortable ar,
We'll all chip in and do our share toward
Workin' it, and pay over the proceeds to We
jest as regular as if he war here. Dan'il
give up his shanty, an we want ter make
We jest ez happy an comfortable as we
can, for we sot heap o. store by Brad"
The Widows lip quivered; the kindness
of these strangers touched her deeply. and
she replied i'll a trembling voice: s.And
what am going to do to repay you gentle
men for all this unexpected kindness?''
She used the word advisably, for in her
estimation they were gentlemen Of the
trIest sort
THAT'S all right. Don't you worrit
about payin', ma'am. We're sorter rough
set an we need a woman around to kinder
pare us down, an eff you'll sing us a song
onct in awhile-Brad said you was a mas
ter hand, to sing-an' lot US hewthe kids ter
love and cuddle little, We'll call it squar.
We've all on US had homes an, it comes
rough on us, this kind % life year in an
year out, an if you'll live among us an
make a home fur US ter kinder look at as
'twere, we shell feel well paidn
She couldn't refuse such a request, com
ing as it did from those who had been
her husbands friends and companions for
the two years past, and so it was settled,
and the few things she had brought with
herwere moved into Dan Voorhees, shanty,
and with her woman's skill she made
such a homelike place of it that Bradley
would have thought it an earthly paradise
could he have lived to see it.
The children took to the kindly miners
wonderfully, and W illie and golden-haired
Katie were as contented as kittens when
Sam Collins or Dick Gowdy entertained
them with stories or yarns, y as they
called them, Of their earlier days. or whit
tied out the curious wooden toys which
they were experts in fashioning
Baby Nell's preference was for Black
Wash, and twas no uncommon sight to
see her little pink hood peeping up over
his battered old hat. as she perched on
his shoulder, her chubby arms clinging
close around his neck as he went to the