The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-06-24
HIS FIRST $1,000.
A Romantic Incident i'm the Youth
of a Wealthy COlOradean.

Chicago Evening Post.
"Do / remember the first 81 900
ever earned?" echoed Henry Westfall,
wealthy resident of Colorado, in
answer to the question of a fellow
lodger at the Grand Pacific hotel.
"Well, rather. | was young lad at
the time and the only child of the
poorest family in a cal mining town
of Pennsylvania. One day, while en-
gagged picking 81 te, Ihesrd big COM
moiicn at the mouth of the mine. The
men were very much excited, and the
owner, who was the richest and most
devout churchman in the Town, Was
wriDging his hands and importing the
men to do something. Running up, |
learned that the men had fired fuse
attached to an ezra large cartridge
and had just come from the mine when
they discovered that they had left :he
pretty little daughter of the owner
behind. She had gone down with
her father and while the latter came
up for an GRAND had wandered away.
The cartridge had not yet exploded
as the fuse bad purposely been made
long to enable the men to get up.
The 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 s'i-.
All of them had fami les If their own
except, of course, myself-ahd
would not run the risk of death. The
sum was fortune to me, especially
as my father was, from sickness, un-
able to work. Jumping on the car,
[ called TO be let down, and amid the
cheers of the men / descended. Each
moment had d. a h in il for me unless
the fuse were |. niger than was thought.
But | tried not 10 think of it, and
when l reached the bottom the
child was play ng at the mouth
of the shaft. / grab ed her, put her
in the Car and gave the signal to be
hois'ed up. But the car aid not
move. repeated the signal, but still
without avail. In ag"ny of fear /
jearked it again and the still re-
naming at the bottom. babe the
little girl stay where she was and then
| ran into the new drift where the ex-
plosion was 10 take place. A Ii tie
spark revealed the whereabouts of the
fuse. The fuse was sill an inch long
and | took hold of it and pulled it
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 received the
the other two-h, d raised the little
girl and then come down for me.
"Well, the next day the f.ther
thanked 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 mis-
taken; he had offered nothing. So
mad were they that they threatened
TO throw him down the mine. but they
desisted at my request. A few weeks
later was discharged, p-ob IDLY be-
cause L was an eyesore 10 the owner.
My father IN the mean time recovered,
[ went away and obtained work in
New York, and after awhile secured
fair position. One day about fit en-
years after 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 | would do her a favor.
Of course | said yes. she then tod |
me that it was she whom l had
saved (; that her father had died a
short time before, and that in looking |,
over his papers she had found letter
from some of the men to him up
oraiding him for not paying me the
b, 900. This was the first she had
heard of the obligation and she had
Immediately set out to find me. As
he said this she handed me a check,
or 81 500, the extra $500 being. she
KIP aimed the interest. [ was about
o refuse to accept the check, but she
eminded me that L had promised to ,
10 her favor and that | must keep
nv word. So / took it, with her ,
ard, and she left. What became of ,
er? Well, elk months later she be- ,
anne my wife.
CuJTJs mr. A one NAV no avnida1 If