The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1890-04-12
A GIRLS SAD STORY.
Her Terrible Experiences in q
Dakota Dugout.

| ~~~ S~~O ~ ~~~~A OA0y R&A00~A6NA "a -
came to a standstill in front of tn
Webster street depot yesterda
morning, bright, intelligent-look
ing young woman with a pretty
girlish face, surrounded by mas
of dark clustering hair, descended
from the platform of the rear coach
She was about medium height, ant
rather slight, but the natural come
illness of her form was concealed il
a sort of jacket made of untannee
sheepskins which she wore over
dress of some dark material. Hel
head was covered by jaunty little
fox-skin cap, while her feet were
encased in coarse leather mocasins
Notwithstanding her uncouth ex.
terror, there was an air of culture
and refinement-a certain indescri-
bable something about her walk and
manner--which spoke of better days
and showed she was not in harmo-
ny with her attire. A gentleman
and his wife who live on Thirteenth
street chanced to be in the room at
the time, and to them the stranger
told this pitiful story-a tale so full
rare dramatic incidents as to read
almost like a romance.
Her name, she said, was Margaret
Conner, and her home was at Rock
ford, ILL.,, where she had lived from
childhood. Her father was dead,
and she had for several years sup
ported her mother, her little brother
and herself by teaching in the pub
lie schools. About year ago her
mother died, and Miss Conner and
her brother Willie, who was now
lad of sixteen, finding themselves
alone in the world, sold their little
homestead, and with their worldly
effects emigrated to Dakota, with
view to taking up a timber claim
and going to farming. They settled
on Turkey creek, in Sphinx county,
about twenty miles south of Red
field.
Going into new country, and
being ignorant of its ways, they
found it necessary to buy many
things, the need of which they had
not anticipated, and they saw with
alarm their little stock of money
dwindling away under these repeat
ed drains. The neighbors were kind
in their rough way, and lent willing
hands to give the young people a
start. A warm sod house for them
selves, and outhouses for the stock
were built, the requisite number of
trees planted, the stubborn prairie
broken, and the spring sowing done.
The story, at this point, is SO full
of startling incidents, that it is best
told in Miss Conner's own words:
"The crops" said she, ''as every
one knows, on account of the pro-
longed droughts in the south and
west, were total failure, and all
that we had to show for our hard
summers work was a few bushels of
wheat and corn, hardly enough to
furnish us food for the winter.
swell, the fall dragged on into
winter, and Christmas, the season
of glad tidings, 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 lay huddled in each
others arms, listening to the howl
ing of the wolves and the shrieks
Of the tempest as it whirled about
our cabin door.
"About this time," she continued,
her voice choking with sob, poor
Willie took sick and died, and then
it seemed as if my cup of sorrow
was full to the brim, and l thought
for time I should go mad from
The very horror of my situation.
There l was, alone with my dead
brother, in the midst of a desolate
Dakota prairie, without the barest
necessities of life and not friend
Or neighbor within ten miles. /
clearly saw that I could no longer
remain where / was, for to do so
vas to perish, and my only hope
was to get to Redfeld, and there by
the railroad officials in
ny story obtain transportation to
ny friends in Illinois. Slowly and
sadly dug hole in the hard ground
If our cabin floor and laid poor
Willie away, and after kissing his
sweet pale face many times, COW
,red his body with the cold frosty
earth and left him.
"Then, collecting few things in
! little hand bag, Ibade long fare
veil to the home which had been
he scene of so much sorrow, and
'tarted on my journey for Redfeld
n the face of q bowling blizzard.
The wind blew against me and buff