Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1893-12-27

! been to blame, however, for the homi-
eide, for Osmund Gait had attacked him
first, and hs had to kill him in self de-
tense. So the judge declared, though he
was by no means favorably disposed to-
ward the defendant, and Hans Mattson
was acquitted. 1t was, as usual girl
that was at the bottom of the trouble,
for Hans and Osmurrl had been aspirants
for the hand of Martha Vik, and she had
preferred Hans. This was the harder to
bear for Osmund, because his rival was
harum -scarum sort of fellow who was
not even born in the valley, and had
therefore no right to carry off one of the
prettiest girls before the noses of dozen
eligible natives. Well, the end of it, as
have said, was sad, and it seemed the
sadder because Osmund, who was a
widower, left two small children to
lament his death.
After his acquittal Hans bought a
ticket for New York, and the story was
told Though some pretended to doubt it)
that Martha followed him to Christiania
and met him on board the steamer when
land was out of sight She was desper-
ately in love with him, people said
However that may be, sure it was that
they were married by Lutheran mis-
sionary in New York, and during the
same spring took homestead land in Min
nesota. But somehow Hans did not
turn out as good farmer as his wife
had expected. He worked by fits and
starts, but was more interested in learn
ing English than in burning stumps
Nearly every cent he had brought With
him went for live stock and agricultural
implements, and when, after miserable
summer in dugout, a simple log house
was completed and sheds were built for
the cattle they had to mortgage the farm
in order to meet expenses. Then Gun
mar was born, and things went straight
for awhile. Hans took hold of the farm
work in good earnest and met the first
payment on the mortgage, but then he
lapsed into meditation again, and his old
restlessness got the upper hand.
He had an idea that if he could break
away from his countrymen and all
Morse associations he had fair chance
Of winning fame and fortune among the
Americans. He preached the idea
cautiously to his wife, who was so ter
rified at it that he repented of having
spoken. She tried to make him promise
never to entertain such preposterous
plan. That he refused to do, however,
but he grew moody and silent, tinkered
at model for an improved threshing
machine which he had invented, and
lost all interest in the farm. When this
had gone on for a couple of years Martha
concluded that his case was hopeless,
and she changed her tactics and began
to urge him to CO. If that was the only
way to secure his happiness she would
no longer stand in his way. And so one
day he took the model to pieces, and
packed it, with some clean shirts and
socks which Martha had made for him,
into his knapsack, and started off for
the nearest railway station, which was
forty miles distant. That was the last
Martha OF her son had seen of him. Half
a dozen letters arrived, to besure, at long
intervals during the first year of his alb
sence, but they told only of mishaps,
disappointment and privations. Martha
wrote urging him to return, but there
was always something new to try, al
ways some tempting prospect which
babe him take heart and not give up the
battle. If this proved delusive he would
acknowledge himself a failure, return to
the Morse settlement, and hide his head
in the chimney corner.
ITO BE CoNTINUEp.)