Wichita eagle., 1890-02-27
A TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE.
THE SAD STORY OF A YOUNG GIRLS
STRUGGLE FOR LIFE
Trying to Manage Timber Claim In Da-
kota-Her Young Brothers Death In the
Dusout-TramPing and Beating Her Way
Back to Her Eastern Friends

kota-Her Young Brothers Death In the
Dugout-Tramping and Beating Her Way
Back to Her Eastern Friends.
As the Sioux City passenger train came to
standstill in front of the Webster street
depot, bright, intelligent looking young
woman, with pretty, girlish face, surround
ed by mass OF daSk clustering hair. de-
scended from the platform of the rear coach.
She was about the medium height and rather
slight. but the natural comeliness of her form
was concealed in a sort of jacket made of I'M
tanned sheepskins, which she wore over
dress of some dark material Her head was
covered by jaunty little foxskin cap, while
her feet were incased in coarse leather moe
casins
Notwithstanding her urcouth exterior,
there was an air of culture and refinement
certain Undesirable something about her
walk and manner-which spoke of better
days and showed she was not in harmony
with her attire. A gentleman and his wife
who live on Thirteenth street CHANGED to be
in the room az the time, and TO them the
stranger told this pitiful story-a tale 50 full
OF rare dramatic incidents as to read almost
like a romance.
Her name. she said, was Margaret Conner.
and her home was at Rockford, His. where
she had lived from childhood. Her father
was dead and she had for several years sup
ported her mother, her little brother and her
ieif by teaching. in the public schools About
year ago her mother died and Miss Conner
and her brother Willie, who was now lad
of 16, finding themselves alone in the world,
sold their little homestead, and with their
WORLDLY effects emigrated to Dakota, with
view to taking up timber claim and going
to farming They settled on Turtle creek. in
Sphinx county, about twenty miles south of
Redield
DEATH N THE DUGOUT.
Going into new country and being iSno-
rant OF its ways, they found it necessary 10
buy many things the need of which they had
not anticipated, and they saw with alarm
their little stock of money dwindling rapidly
away under these repeated drains The
neighbols were kind in their rough wav, and
lent willing hands to give the young people
start. A warm sod house for themselves and
outhouses for the stock were built, the requi-
site number OF trees were planted, the stub
born prairie broken, and the spring sowing
done.
The story, at this point, is so full of start
ling incidents that it is best told in Miss Con-
nerS own words.
The crops" said she, 'sas every one knows,
on account of the prolonged droughtS in the
south and west, We're total failure, and all
that we had to show for our hard summers
work was few bushels Of wheat and corn
hardly enough to furnish food for the winter.
"Wel, the fall dragged on into winter, and
Christmas, the season Of glad tidingS and
good cheer, found us reduced to our last
bushel of grain. What we should do when
that was gone was problem beyond our
power to solve. Oh, the gloom and terror of
those long winter nights. without fuel and
without light! For hours and hours we
would lay, hilddled in each others arms. list
.ening to the bowling of the wolves and the
'hrieks of the tempest as it whirled about our
cabin door.
'About this time" she continued, her voice
choking with a sob, poor little Willie took
lick and died, and then it seemed as if my
up of sorrow was full to the brim, and l
hought for time I should so mad from the
very horror of my situation There | was,
alone with my dead brother, in the midst of
desolate Dakota prairie, without the barest
u Iilc anu iIOJ d II 4tIlu vi
oor within ten miles l clearly saw that |
,ould 10 longer remain where was, for to
10 so was to perish, and my only hope was to
ret to Redfield, and there, by interesting the |
abroad officials in my story, obtain trans
,ortation to my friends in Illinois. Slowly |
md sadly dug a hole in the hard ground of |
,ur cabin floor and laid poor Willie away, |
md after kissing his sweet. pale face many /
lines l covered the body with the cold, frosty |
arth and left him.
A JOURNEY UNDER DIFFICULTIES.
''Then, collecting a few things in a little |
land bag, | babe long farewell to the home /
Which had been the scene of so much sorrow
md started on my journey for Redfield, in
he face of a bowling blizzard The wind |
,lew against me and hufeted me so that / |
ould hardly walk; the snow beat with blind
ny force into my eyes and ears, so that often
could not see the road at ALL
Nevertheless, ! headed on, now plunging
through snow drifts up to my waist, now
alling, bruised and bleeding, on the slippery
Dad, till about midnight reached the house
f neighbor of ours, known as the Weather
zee Place Preached Redfield at last, more
lead than alive, and told my story to the
tation agent, and begged him TO give me
Ass to Rockford. He gave me enough to
AIRY me to Sioux City, which place reached
asst Friday
Il now became desperate; / was in a
TRANCE city at night. without money and
Without friends While I was wondering
what had better do | noticed heavy load
d freight train just pulling out of the depot
or Omaha, and hungry and cold as l was,
prang into an empty box car and huddled
own into a corner. The terror of that night !
shall never forget. If | should live a hundred
ears. The dreary darkness, the nonotonous
um of the car wheels. the believing of the
tcck, and the biting cold. all combined 70
make me supremacy miserable To increase
az terror the car next to mine was occupied
" number of tranps, VINO made night hid
Gus by their oaths and foul talk, and treul-
led to think what would have been my fate
ad they found my hiding place.
when the cars stopped at little station
bove here 70 wait for the passenger train I
ould bear if no longer, and getting ont from
nv place Of concealmentI ran into the depot,
there met the conductor Of the train, and
e brought me TO Omaha
Such was Miss Corners story. which was
Interrupted many tiues by sobs and weep
lg.
Mr. Harris, a gentleman who was in the
rafting room, was deeply interested in the
iFi. and succeeded, through his influence
nth the railroad men. in getting her pass
0 her eastern hone.-OInaha Republican.
MARRIED BY PROXY.