Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1896-08-08
A MIDNIGHT RIDE.

AS mother had a large family of chill.
dren and we lived in a newly settled
country, away from schools, our parents
decided to find comfortable homes for
my sister, older than |, and myself My
sister was placed with nice family at
Trinidad, forty miles from home
Mother, my brother and accompanied
sister to Trinidad, to see her safe in her
new home.
AS we were returning we stopped over
night with an old couple whom l will
call Mr.. and Mrs L. They lived in the
small village of Stonewall, Mr. L. owned
a store and being the only merchant in
the place he had good trade, as farm
ers had no orher trading place nearer
than Trinidad. He also had saloon
joining the store, which, / suppose,
brought in as much money as the store
did, and, which kept him away from
home great deal at night Mrs L,
said she had been trying to get girl TO
stay with her and 60 to school So as
mother wanted place for me and |
seemed to suit the old lady, mother de-
cided to let me stay if l wanted to. Mrs
L. said she would do anything for me if
1 would stay.
She proposed to dress me nice, buy my
books, and to send me to school every
day for five months, for what | would
help her evenings and mornings; TO
hnr
SO decided to stay. Mother bid me
good-by next morning, telling me to be
good girl and do what was right; to
send letter home as often as l could,
and, If got homesick to say so.
AS you will find before you finish
is story, that l, at the age of 10, took a
position of slave, as well as companion
for hysterical old lady, fifty years Of
age.
There was only the two of them in the
family, but they believed in having
plenty of room and everything nice.
They had seven-roomed house, all fur
nished; nice carpets on six rooms. The
kitchen and two large porches were the
floors to be scrubbed; they also had a
very large yard and garden, which they
took great pride in cultivating. And |
think all of their style was more TO make
their poor neighbors jealous of them
than anything else, as they were the
only family there that had saved any
thing few years before from a tribe of
Indians passing through, who destroyed
what they could not use. By the use of
cellar, Mr.. L. managed to save most
all their stock of goods and they liked to
brag about 1t.
Indians were leaving Colorado at that
! time, so AEsrevery troublesome in newly
bic was settled no one seemed to pros
per and gain wealth except the country
storekeeper, and they tried in every
way to show it.
Mrs. L. had everything heart could
wish, for what they could not get in the
west they sent east for. She had every
window In the house filled with lovely
flowers and singing birds, which took 50
much care.
1t was all very new to me, and She
was kind and good for the first six
weeks. Still, the work she gave me To
do was very hard for child had to
work early and late to get to school, but
for the first six weeks had not missed
a day or received a tardy mark,
Mrs. L. had always hired the washing
and scrubbing done, but on Monday Of
the seventh week she said was TO stay
at home and help wash, as she wanted
to be more saving. And from ther
until she had me to quit school entirely
had to stay out of school day OF
two each week, to help her with SOME
unnecessary work. AS freezing weathe.
would soon set in, had to help her pu
straw around and boxes over her rose
bushes and shrubbery, that were in dan
ger of freezing, | even had to rur
home every recess and work until the
bell would ring.
Unfortunately for me the school-house
was just across the road.
When had gone to school just nine
weeks, Mrs. L. went to the teacher aud
told her was not learning anything
and that she had decided to teach me al
home. So that ended my school days
there.
When wrote home she read my let
tiers and If not written to suit her | had
to write them over. In every letter she
made me say was learning fast and
liked my teacher. That was hard to do
when was learning nothing from
books.
She would keep me working half the
night to finish work she had planned
for me, so she could have a horseback
ride next day.
She rode a great deal, and always
wanted me to go with her, SO learned
to ride very well over the rough noun.
tain roads, for there we're no other kind
Of roads around.
Mrs, 1, used to have very bad spells