The DeSmet leader. (DeSmet, Kingsbury Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-08-02
his FIRST sI,oOo.
Romantic Incident In the Youth OF q
Col0rad0an.

NOIOTHuOhns
Chicago Evening Post: DO rem
cmber the first 81 900 ever earned?
echoed Henry Westfall, wealthy res
ident of Colorado, in answer to the
question of fellow lodger at the
Grand Pacific hotel. was young
lad at the time and the only child OF
the poorest family in coal mining
town of Pennsylvania One day, while
engaged picking slate, / heard a big
commotion at the top OF the mine.
The men were very much excited, and
the owner, who was the richest and
most devout churchman in the town,
was wringing his hands and imploring
the men to do something. Running
up learned that the men had fired a
fuse attached 10 an extra large car
fridge and had just come from the
mine, when they discovered that they
had left the pretty little daughter Of
the owner behind. She had gonedown
with her father and while the latter
came up Tor anErTanu nHu wnnd6rSd
away. The cartridge had not yet ex-
ploded, as the fuse had purposely been
made long to enable the men to get
up. Her father, as you may imagine,
was agonized He offered $1,000 TO
any one who would 90 down after the
little one. But no one would stir. All
Of them had families of their own--ex-
cept, Of course, myself-and would
not run the risk of death. The sum
was q fortune to me, especially as my
| father was, from sickness, unable to
| work. Jumping on the car called to
he let down, and amid tho cheers OF
| the men | descended. Each moment
| had death i'm il for me unless the fuse
| were longer than was thought. But 1
| tried not to think OF it, and when 1
reached the bottom the child was
| playing at the mouth of the shaft. /
grabbed her, put her in the car and
gave the signal to be hoisted mp. But
the car did not move. repeated the
signal, but still without avail. In an
agony of fear ierked il again and the
car still remaining at the bottom
bade the little girl to stay where she
was, and then ran into the new drift
where the explosion was to takep place.
A little spark revealed the where.
| abouts of the fuse The fuse was still
an inch long, and took hold Of it tand'
| pulled IL out. | tried to cheer, but
had tainted Instead. When | came
to was on top OF the ground, taken
| there by the men who, when in answer
to my last signal--they had not re-
ceived the other two-had raised the
little girl and had then come down af-
ter me.
"Well, the next day thefather thank
ed me, but said nothing about the
| 81 900. The men advised me to ask
| for it. refused. Then some of them
asked for me, and the owner told them
| that they were mistaken; he had offer
ed nothing. So mad were they that
they threatened to throw him down
the mine, but they desisted at my re-
quest. A few weeks later was dis
charged, probably because i was an
eyesore TO the owner. My father hav-
ing i'm the meantime recovered, / went
away and obtained work I'm New York
and after a while secured a fair posi-
ton. One day about fifteen years af-
ter this event a charming young lady
drove up in her carriage, and, coming
in, called for me. She did not at first
give her name, but asked me if Iwould
do her favor. OF course said yes.
She then told me that it was she whom
/ had saved; that her father had died
short time before, and that in look
| ing over his papers she had found q
letter from some Of the men to him,
upbraiding him for not paying me the
81 900. This was the first she had
heard OF the obligation, and she had
Immediately set out to find me. As
she said this she handed me check
| for 81, 500, the extra $500 being, she
explained, the interest. | was about
10 refuse TO accept the check, but she
reminded me that had promised TO
do her favor and that | must keep
my word. SO took it with her card,
and she left. What became OF herr
Well, six months later she became my
wife"