Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1889-05-04
MISS PAPA.
~~sAetis Story of sHlnsr ana HHa Katsas
Daughter.


+, call there could be seen, arriving last
: of all, atall, sturdy looking fellow, who
He'd by the hand little girl seven or
eight years old. They were Michel
Pierron and his daughter
Before setting foot upon the platform
of the car to descend the man took the
child In his arms and kissed her. and
replaced her on the ground The little
one cried: Goodbye, papa!"
When he was upon the car she gazed
at him with two little anxious eyes, and
repeated: Goodbye, papam
When the signal for the descent was
given she clasped her hands and kept
repeating the single word papa until
she was sure that papa could no longer
hear her. Then she went on to the
schcOthouse close by, where she spent
she day.
When evening came she was always
ahe first at the opening OF the shaft.
and Michel Pierron was always the first
man who came up. As at his departure.
ne lifted the child in his arms, and she
threw her arms around his neck. cry
ing: '.papar'
The miners had heard her repeat
these two syllables so often, and had
been so struck by the strange passion
which she put into them, that they gave
! her the name of Miss Papa
And certainly no name was ever more
applicable Her father was every thing
TO her. Her mother had been dead so
long time she had scarcely known her;
she had only him. ALI the memories of
her childhood were filed with him. To
hershis great rough hands had been as
gentle las woman's. For her his hard,
/. grimy face always wore tender smile.
For her this man had become woman
: and child at the same time.
All! how she loved her father, and
how terrified she was every morning
when she saw him descend into the
great black hole, of which no one could
see the bottom
One day miner held her over the
mouth of the shaft, and she had gazed
down into the dark depths Uttering
a cry of terror she drew back.
Papa goes down there, " she thought.
S'Oh, if he should never come upi'
And that day, when Michel took her
in his arms as usual and kissed her, she
chung more tightly than ever to his
neck, and said to him:
-'You will come up. won't your"
s'Of course, my little one"
-.Is there any danger, tell me, papa7''
stWhy no, little coward"
docs any one-can any one-die
down there2"
Have no fear, /" replied Michel, laugh.
ing. II will not die without letting
you know"
ttAhi Goodbye, papa,
All that her father said was gospel
truth to her, and she went to school
: completely treasured.
But the memory of that black gull
into which her eyes had plunged could
mot be effaced, and from that time she
was afraid every morning and trem.
bled every evening; she feared thai
her father would never return from
those mysterious depths into which shs
had seen him descend.
Was it a presentiment? Who lrnowsi
One day the report suddenly spreai
that an explosion had occurred in tbs
mine. In moments time CROWD
had gathered at the shaft. From al
directions people, wild with terror
came focking to the spot. OF all those
sburied far below how many would evel
see the light again?
Micheps daughter was at school
z She knew nothing of it, and, besides
az any one had spoken of it before hel
ssshe would have comprehended?
Could she know, poor little one, wha
IAN explosion was? No. But at hel
age one knows already what death is
!. one understands, at her age, when one
sees inanimate, muilated bodies extend
aed upon the ground; and the approach
@s to the shaft were strewn with then
when she arrived that evening to NEE
Z her father.
She was stupefed for a moment, ant
then the truth suddenly flashed upOr
her; she had seen those men go dowr
living, those men whom she knew well
who had kissed her many time; ant
! now they were brought up dead
Would they bring up her father hk'
2&hemP
This thought distracted her. She be
gan to run wildly among the debris
which they had brought up from th'
mime, crying: "Pspai papa! papa!"
There were, 1t is true, many other
who cried and who called ''Papal" Blu
not one in such desperate accents. Tn
others they drove back, but no on
could be found to push her away
z They let her run, poor child, from on
body to another, sometimes stopping
{ before disfgured face, hesitating TO
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