Evening journal., 1893-09-09
A MINING CAMP GIRL.
sHE HAS GOOD NERVE, FOR 1T HAS
BEEN PUT TO The TEST.

Did When She AIet a Burglar.
One day not long ago, when heafternoon
train from the south stopped at Socorro,
n. NJ, substantial looking man Of per
haps 80 years of age helped a young and
attractive woman she was not more than
20 at most-to leave the cars. Then charm
ing little lassie of 4 jumped down, and the
three got into the bus and were driven to
the Park House The lady was seen to be
sick and so attracted more attention than
even good looking women usually do in
these towns. At the hotel It was learned
that the man was mining expert on the
way from one Of the camps in southern
New Mexico to Denver with his wife and
child, but had been obliged TO leave the
train by the sudden illness of his wife.
Having made the wife comfortable (she had
not been in great danger at any time) the
husband took the next train north, leaving
the wife, with her little girl, to recover at
leisure. 1t is interesting to note that there
was nothing remarkable about that in this
country, nor is the fact less interesting
when it is said that this wife, although
among entire strangers, was perfectly at
ease, without self consciousness, and pro-
ceeded on the road to health.
Two or three days later chance ac-
quaintance asked her TO 20 with him while
he photographed two of the points Of inter
est in the town-the adobe wall, 2l3 years
old, that fences one side Of Death alley,
and cottonwood tree that shades it.. The
wall when first built served as a fort for
party of Spaniards, who were well nigh
wiped out by the Indians, and the alley got
its name from the fight that then stained
the wall with blood and from the lynching
Of sundry bad citizens who were hanged
from limb of the cottonwood.
The photographs taken were of grewsome
subjects, and the talk naturally ran to from
tier tales and experiences, especially the ex-
periences of the young woman.
did you ever see a man hangedP asked
the chance acquaintance Fancy such a
question to Fifth avenue young womanl
But il was proper here.
mot exactly" she replied, "but ! saw
one hanging / was with my husband in
one of the camps near Denver, and when we
got up one morning and looked out the
bncz door of the dining room, as we were
going to sit down to breakfast, we saw a
man swinging from a tree there on back
street 1t was a desperate, and they had
hanged him over night"
"That was aremarkable experience" j" said
the listener.
"Why, yes, / suppose so; but he was a
| tough and deserved his fate. It did not
seem very remarkable to me- But then
never do think much of what you would
call remarkable experiences until after. l
remember being in another camp near that
one and seeing another man dead from vio-
| lence. l used to ride down every day quite
a distance to the postoliice. We didn't have
any in our camp because it was q new one.
So one day as / cantered along l saw a man
| lying face down beside the trail Ny first
thought was that he was drunk of course.
| Then / thought he mightbe sick, so reined
/ IN the horse and spoke TO him. But he did
not answer or move, and so ] got down and
] turned him over A great hole had been
shot through his breast There was an
/ empty shotgun under him. He had killed
/ himself There was no one anywhere in
sight, so left him there. land rode on into
town and notified the authorities and got
the mail. When / got home TO the board
| ing house, told some of my friends about
/ il, and they were worse frightened at the
thought of seeing dead man than ever
was at anything. But then they couldn't
help il; they had been trained in the east "
"Were you ever really frightened by any
such experience" was asked.
"Why, yes, after it was over. was pretty
nervous over that suicide after I'd heard
my friends talk about it awhile. Some
thing is always happening in a mining
town, though, and one gets used to all sorts
of experiences. Now / suppose that your
eastern girls would be frightened half to
death il they should awake to find a man
in their bedroom. Iwoke up that way once.
My husband was in Denver. 1t was moon
light night, and when the air from an open
window awoke me / saw a stranger right
by the bed. lie was q thief We had re-
ceived lot of coin for a trade and he had
heard Of it. What did do? / always sleep
with a six shooter under my pillow and my
hand under there too The moment saw
him ] pointed my revolver at his nose. j
didn't say a word and he didn't. There was
no call for words-just motions-and he
made them right away. lie didn't stay q
little bit"
According to the mine camp stories no
place is so free Of thieves and robbers rs a
mine camp" remarked the acquaintance.
ayes, so they say, but everybody in mine
camp lives and talks in the superlative.
The innate honesty of the mineris exagger.
ated to cover all the citizens of the camp.
Now there is another thing you'll read
about-the wonderful chivalry of the peo.
pie in the camps. Those stories are all true
and they are not true Women are treated
with unusual Difference there, but there are
exceptions to the rule. had an experience
In that way too"
Quite as interesting as the stories them.
selves was the manner of the telling. The
stories would not have been told at all but
for the turn Death alley gave TO the con
vcrsation and for questions that were asked
by the chance acquaintance; but, once she
talked of such things, they were told as q
girl in the Mohawk valley might tell Of be
ing overturned by snowbank while driv.
ing home from church or Of any other
countryside incident
The tourist among the mine camps will
often meet such young women, both mar.
ried and single. They are generally of west
ern birth-this one was a Denver girl. Most
/ OF them have lived in Denver at one time
or another. They have healthful forms, at.
( tractive faces, bright minds They are
Z cheerful, enthusiastic, amiable, fearless
They stand on their heels, with their toes
out, and look the whole world in the eve
They have the best education that Their
1 schools and their homes afford. They are the
: pride and JOY Of every man In the shadow
: Of the Great Divide II may cheer the
would be emigrant from the east to know