The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1892-06-17

weeks at nifty cents meal, and she be-
gan to get ahead little. The grocery
bills were met promptly, and Mr. Ma
honey got the $11O for his work sooner
than he had anticipated.
Then turn came In the tide. The
prospectors who had foated In on tho
story of tie Holy Moses noated away
again. The much talked of railroed did
not appear. It was told that the road
would not be built at all. Times were
,rd at Creede in midsummer, 1891,
ut cheery Mrs. Miller never shed a
tear.
SIT was berry time. those days." she
said: ''raspberries, black berries. do
not know how many. took nv bow
and went every day after berries and
made jam of them. knew I could sell
that any time, but l didn't sell it the
way expected to. Before the berries
were all gone they began to build the
railroad, and then came a rush such as
you never saw"
Meantime. however, Mrs. Miller had
had an eye for real estate speculation.
She had had four logs placed on each
of four lots, on what is now Creede
avenue, including the corner of First
street. There was no town there-noth.
ing but willows and creek bottom; the
land had not then been surveyed out fol
a town, but Mrs. Miller guessed from the
lay of the laud that that would be q
good parcel of land to tie to. The fouH
logs on each lot we're laid together as for
foundations for log houses, and in all
mining camps such foundations are re,
spected as ''improvements" sufficient to
give title. Like improvements were
made in the two lots adjoining her
restaurant. Later in Julv), having a
little money to spare, she had each of
the Creede avenue foundations raised six
logs higher at a cost of S62 SO.
They laughed at that little Dutch
womau,' as they called me, for doing
that, but | knew what I was about" she
says now.
Then came the fall rush, and Mrs.
Miller, having no money, promised to
pay $500 and get her four little log cab
tns finished Then she rented her res
taurant building to ID. r. Smith, who
brought in stock of general merchan-
disc about that time, and she moved to
the little corner building, where she
began taking boarders as we'll as selling
meals at all hours. She had a better
outfit for the business by this time, but
the habitues Of the restaurants about
Madison square would have considered
the place rather crude, nevertheless. The
place was neat, however, for mining
camp, and Mrs. Miller kept herself and
boy looking we'll.
Bat although a prosperous business
was now opening for her, her real
troubles were at hand. Hitherto she
had to do the drudgery of kitchen
from early morning until late at night,
but now she had to do that and fight for
the rights she had acquired as WELL The
novcists and some other mining camp
writer's tell of the chivalry of mining
camp men, but in an examination of
Crecde history one finds that it took a
mighty long time to develop the chiv-
airy. Mrs. Miller's four cabins were
built on plot 125x125, which was reg
u'arly surveyed out in November, 1891,
under orders of the County Judge of
-SaguaGhe County. There was house on
each lot, but between the corner house
aud the corner was a plot about
twenty-five feet square that was vacant.
While Mrs. Miller was still at work COM
p.eting her cabins, there came a man
who hired carpenter at S5 day to
build foundation on Mrs. Miller's va.
cant plot. Mrs. Miller ordered him away,
but he would not go. Creede fouuda-
tons in those days consisted of slender
timbers nailed together so Us to enclose
the space to be built on, and supported
in some cases by blocks of wood. Plenty
of suci foundations are still to be seen.
Mrs. Miller watched with many appre-
tensions the carpenter finish the founda-
tion, but, though worried, she was not
disheartened. In fact, she stood pat, in
the vernacular of the town, waiting her
turn to go stack of chips better that
woald make him draw out in hurry.
While the carpenter sawed aud nailed
Mrs. Miller went to the Mcdonald
Brothers, builders, and contracted with
them to erect slianty on this man'd
foundation. The mau had jumped her
claim to the land, but she jumped his
foundation.
"rhey only charged me S25 for build,
ing that shanty," said Mrs. Miller, "buI
| was so poor had to give them one oil
my lots up by my old building for pay.'
They sold the lot in three weeks for
$500. am glad of it. They did we'll
by me-"
Still her troubles were not over, even
though cash became more plentiful. She
accepted an offer of $1,000 cash for one
Of her lots--the one where D. r. Smiths
store is-aud at once began work on
foundation for building that was
planned to be the best in town. The
railroad hal come in November, and
the right of way had taken part of her
claim. TLen street was laid out next
to the right of way, and thus Mrs. Mil.
lore ,,lot--~as- rsduosd- te-6fty -fset-ia
depth. This had been a benefit, how
ever, for it made possible the building of
a structure facing three streets on what
were now plainly seen to be the most i'm
portant corners of the new city. The
growth of Creede at that time can be ap-
preciatcd only by those who saw oil well
a.