Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-08-24
SAVED BY A SQUAW.

ulu not nave a moro romantic or music al name than "Gumboots Jane" Had it been Faunfoot or Stareyes it would have been more pleasing to romantic people, and the imagination might more easily picture her as maiden of the forest, '" worthy of companionship with those fair creatures met with in the writings of J. Feninore Cooper and other regulation frontier stories. But as l am simply giving a sketch from real life must take the names and charac- ters as 1 found them.
 Truth also compels me to state that she was no great beauty, fact the moro deeply dcplore because all other heroines mot with in Indian stories, from the lovely daughter of Powhatan up to tho present time, so far as know, wore without exception perfect paragons of native grace and loveliness.
 Tho heroine of this story appeared at French Bar, a mining camp on th2 Stickeen river, one day in the summer of 1881. Sho wore Hpair of rubber boots much too large for her, and as her skirts were rather short they were quite con- spicuouS. Now, miners have a way of readily coining nicknames for those with whom they come in contact, and as if by common consent she was at once called "GumboOts Jane" The rest of her apparel consisted of waist impro- vised from mans blue woolen shirt, a skirt of some kind of brown material, a cheap shawl and rather dirty look ing silk handkerchief tied over her head. The girl was about 16 years old, and although no beauty, she was not posi- lively ugly. She had pleasant face, a well formed mouth and pretty white teeth, which she seemed to like to show when sho smiled. But her eyes were the most attractive of her features. They were large, dark and dreamy, and shone with soft light that made them almost beautiful.
 The Indians of southeastern Alaska and British Columbia arc far different from those of Iotller parts of North America ill disposition and habits of life. They are intelligent, vivacious, in dustriOus and very sociable. They have but little of the stoic;sm and vagrant ways of the tribes of dc western plains and readily adopt ouI habits of life and style of dress. By hunting fur bearing animals and working in the mines and fisheries they mako a good deal of money. They also conduct quito prof itahlo trade ill curios with tourists who visit this "land of tho midnight sun" in summer. When out hunting or at work, of course they wear rough cloth ing, but when visiting with each other at ncighboring villages, participating in the festivities of their frequent dances and "potlaches, or attending church on Sundays, they dress about as we'll as tho white people,
 French Bar is situated ill British ter ritory at the intersection of the Stickeen river and Beaver creek, not far from Telegraph creek, which is the head of steamboat navigation for miners and supplies going into the celebrated Gas siar mining district. The ''pay dirt" there was neither extensive nor rich, and at the time of which I am writing tho Cap'p contained only 16 men. As it raincG frequently during that season and W.S always cool of nights they lived i'll snug litIl" leg cabins, making a viii lagV just at tlr month If Beaver creek canyon. Two miners occupied a cabin to- gcthcr and owned and worked their claim as equal partners, atfectionatcly calling each ether "pards. They subSisted from a common supply of provisions, took regular turns at cooking and doing their chores and slept in the samo bunk. \ Dan Nolan was d memlp of the camp lat summer. He was you:g and boyish | Noking, but his manly demeanur, his Mdy wit. industrious habits and ac- | | < ,klt fuvuritr with his companions SNas brought up ill Dublin and con siJfed that city his home, as his moth CT Nnd only sister, to whom ho sent part of Nach months earnings, still lived | there
 Of, course he was not called Dan No- lan, 1Er miners find nicknamcs for their | favurlNs as we'll as for others, and | th"n@l not selected with any regard for ;rSth"tltS or ouphony they are generally | cNprrSSWe and often very appropriate. So Dan Nas known by the more alliter ative nal!R of Dublin Dan. " His pard waS callrtN Joaquin" Jones. When he first came the Bar, he said his name Was JumcsN Nbut as he had copy of sons If tAo Sirrras." " which he read and quoted fNm with great freedom and frequency, hSSory soon got Joaquin" As Il front nnfAa, It was rumored that he had hiStAy n Arizona and was a baud man wheN AouSed. No one inquired | concerning hi;Srcal name, since in the far west it is ,eten taken as d personal insult to ask ak knan what his name in "thr States" wtH
 The first time Name came to French Bar another sQua4, a good deal older and much less conAlv, who 1 afterward learned Was her NothCr, accompanied her. If she bad 1e ey other relatives, never heard of them. did in some way 1 hear that she had aAAndcd the McFar- land school at Fort NTrangell, Alaska but never knew ccrtA Ainly whether the report was true or Apt. Still, as she spoke English pretty %vell, it is very probable she learned itN here.
 The Stickeen lndial !, the tribe tC which Jane belonged, Apim the whole Stickeen river region, Attending bacl something like 90 miles Ito the interi or, as their country. BuA they do no use the upper portion of ft except fol fishing, hunting and gathdAing berries i'll the spring and summd for ill th' winter they reside on the AN &skan coas and tho numerous islands near tn, mouth of the river in the vicinity O Fort Wrangell, where they AtNve per manent villages.
 Most delicious salmon Der les anC two or three kinds of huckleberxts grov in great abundance along the river, ant during the time covered by this story small party of natives were camped o1 it a few miles above our camp, engaged principally in picking them. Jane anC her mother were with this party, ant almost every day some of the squaw would bring down berries in variety t, sell to the miners. One night soon afte
 Jane made her first appearance at tn, bar it rained very hard, causing Beaver l ....-l- G...-..