The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1897-07-02

. bODD AND THE WOMAN RODE UP THE GULCH
ON THEIR MULES
+ Sacramento, with a strong arm and a
brave heart, for new camp and a new
8elaim.
81 In the big gulch, where he had STOP
ped one day, under the midday sun, for
bis coffee, he washed out pan or two,
Rnd things looked promising. Other
nen came his way, dropping in by acci-
aent, until there were score of them.
The creek in the gulch panned out bet
FER every day, and they found fair
lead in the hills, SO they staked out the
camp and called it Downieville
"a When Jack made his pile, he went
B3back east, and he died there, but he left
$xDownieville as monument to his men,
|5pry A
Miles to the north Of Downieyille
'and to the south there were gentle hills,
&green i'll the summer and brown in the
#winter, and through the hills ran a
Hcrooked creek, with ripping song Of
klts own. To the west and to the east
were rugged bluffs and cathedral walls,
sheer and high, as if giant hands had
8carved them, and the clouds hung. down
like gray blankets on the brown peaks
Eof the mountains w
4 The rugged bluffs echoed the sound
Hof the long tom and the reeker, and
Hfrom the mountain tops above the men
#at work looked like red ants carrying
5thelr burdens. They turned the creek
3bed and threw up dirt in the dry gulches
and dug to the bedrock and built little
kmountains of gravel everywhere in their
Rdesperate search for the yellow gold.
\ David Dodd, who kept the store in
&Downleville, returned one day from
sacramento, whittier he had journeyed3
to purchase stock-red shirts andapicks:
axes and tin plates and plug tobacco.
In his store he sold about everything
Ebut rum. He confessed to prejudice
against selling rum, but he owned to
none against drinking it. Thus it hap
Epened the Silver Star saloon had mo-
Enopoly in the drink line.
When Dodd went away, he went
alone. When he came back, he brought
Ea woman with him. He called her
Mrs. Dodd, and she said she was. To
make portrait of her one required but
three oils. Her face was red, her hair
was black, and her dress was brown.
-FOUR were the total of her gowns, and
all were brown. The little hat she wore
was red, like her face, and her eyes
We're as black as her hair.
Dodd showed the men who were in
aulsltlve a paper, duly signed by the
BAPTIST parson of Sacramento. 1t said
she was ct the age of Al, and her name
was Ellen Shanks. The men in Downle-
VILE received her with favor and gen.
nllty, and as she was the first woman
10 arrive at the gulch the most of them
We're too overjoyed at her presence to
ask foolish questions.
Dodd and the woman rode up the
gulch on their mules at sundown. In
an hour every man in the camp had
passed upon her favopably, and crowd
gathered at the bar of the Silver Star.
Toby Wimple raised his tin cup neck
n'sh, and he shouted toast.
Iher's en- angel in camp, an yere's
70 'er health!" he cried as he wl47.,,
ns red whiskers from side to side
Drink to ther luck Nv Mrs. Dodd w
Downieville."
They drank with cheer.
Fill 'em up againP' cried a hoarse
voice at the other end of the bar, and
"ally Dimmick, red shirted and six
tooted, proposed second toast.
An yere's fer ther old man," he
ioared Drink 'er down fer Dodd."
4, and the red rum gurgled in their
throats.
There were 80 men in Downieville,
Including the two Cinnamon. They
were hard lot, but they were generous
W man and sympathetic and patient,