The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1894-03-14

cause they were three or the nomelleSt ana
most ungainly girls in the state of Ohio.
AS a rule children improve on the IA
cial looks of their parents. In this case
it was the reverse. The parents were
plain faced, but the daughters were
downright homely. Mary was cross eyed
and had mouth like the entrance of a
cave; Sarah had deformed nose and
was a sufferer; James face resembled
that of parrot, and her voice was a
squeak. Their bodies seemed to have
been flung together without regard to
symmetry, and people used to say that
nature intended them for the circus side
show.
| knew Mr.. Todd in a business way,
but had never seen the daughters when
he died. The first knew of his death
was when his will was opened, and was
notified of its contents. A Cncinnatian
named Waldo, Mr.. Todd and myself had
been partners in several government con-
tracts, and it was for this reason that he
named the two of us as his executors.
That was one of the most curious wills
ever admitted to probate. Aside from
three farms the will left only bonds and
cash, the whole footing up $520,OOO.
Everything was left to the three daugh-
tiers, but with proviso. The executors
were given two years in which to lind
three men willing to wed them. They
must be single men of respectable char
acter, and the three marriages must take
place at the same hour.
Before marriage each man must bind
himself to live with his bride on one OF
the farms for year. During that year
he must split 1000 fencerails, each to be
10 feet long, and also give the barn one
coat of paint and whitewash the trunks
of all the fruit trees on the place. If the
girls failed to find husbands at the end OF
two years, each was to be given $4,000
in cash, and the remainder OF the for
tune was to go to distant relatives. No
doubt the will could have been broken
had the girls determined to contest It's
provisions, but they were entirely satlS-
fed. The pay named for the efforts OF
the executors was very liberal, and after
consulting with the daughters we &C
copied the appointment.
The situation when summed up
amounted to this. Here were three OF
the homeliest women in America, none
of whom could barely read or write, 0
be married off to good men. 10 make
certain that the husbands would live
with them for at least year no money
was to be paid over for that period. and
then there was the work to be done on
the farm. You may think it an easy
matter to get a husband for a young
woman worth nearly 100000, even II
she had the face of kangaroo and the
body of a camel, but we were bound to
exclude spectators and adventures.
The questions which candidate had
to satisfactorily answer were: "HaVe
you ever been arrested for any cause!
"Do you believe in the Holy Bible?
''Will you attend church at least 20 times
per Year," Have you ever taken human
hfe?" "Can you prove that you have al
ways paid your debts and conducted
yourself in an upright manner IL
wasn't sufficient that we found men 10
stand this test, but their personnel must
please the young women. Each OF them
demanded a good looking husband and
warned us that she would take no other,
We took hold of the matter in earnest
but not very hopefully. Mr.. Waldo set
out in one direction, and took another
and our labors began. Each of us car
ried copies of the will and photographs
of the girls.
Mr.. Waldo brought in six men and
brought seven before we struck the
lucky chap It fell to my lot to find nm
at Centralia, Ills. Up to this time l had
Seen searching for good looking men,
but it suddenly occurred to me to make
a change. OF the 1a candidates MlsS
Mary had rejected FIVE Of tho best look
ing, and the other seve0 had ned tS[
lsasa