The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1897-09-24
OBLIGING DRIFTER.
HE TRAVELLED 800 MILES TO MATCH
A RIBBON FOR A WOMAN.

she Was Another Mans wife, but She
Was Good. Sweet Little Creature, and
Women Were Scarce at the Hudson Eny
Post, and There Was to lie a Dance.
"why, Driftcr is never happier than
when he Is holding some woman's parcels
or doing the gallant on street cor. | bon
estly believe he'd find pleasure on shop.
ping tour with his mother in law"
Fright you are, you cub, !" snid Driftu,
land, what's more as long as Drincr rgn
navigate he'll he ut the service Of tho J.
dies. The truth of the matter Is, I've
lived part Of my life where u wunuu'e
voice or the squallng Of n tccthing hui Y
was rarcr music than could he furnished
bv all the great stars of the Metropolitan
Opera company, and as for shopping with
woman-rshaw, youngstcr! I've tra,-
eled $50 miles to match bit of ribbon and
buy pair Of gloves for woman, ard |
thought no moro of it than you dawdlCrs
do of calling n cab in Fifth avenue for
girl of your acquaintance
OF course Driftcr was asked to explain
"fTalk about dancing attendance on
women" he said. "Whcn was up in the
Lake of the Woods country in 1888 and
/ put in my tine out at the mines or explor
/ ing along Rainy river and Rainy lake with
/ few good fellows, we thought nothing
of n days tramp over the packed ice on
the lake, with the temperature knocking
around 40 dcgsccs below, just to get II
/ chance to hear white woman say, I'm
| glad to see you. There were perhaps half
| a dozen women all told at the little Hud
son Bay post in those days-the hotel
! 1t
the daughter of the agent at the Hudson
| Bay company's store, and the wife of the
man who ran the only steamboat on the
lake in the summer"
"And about that $50 mile trip for rib
bon and n pair of glovesY'' queried the dis
respectful cub who had started Drifter on
this tack.
"Oh, yes. Well, I'm married now, set
tied down, have twinges of rheumatism
or gcut once in awhile, and like New York
pretty we'll, continued Drifter, "but I'd
walk that $50 miles in moccasins on a
northwest prairie right now for the same
woman under circumstances such as | am
about to describe.
"Never mind her name. She was u
dainty, black eyed, rosy checked, Young
wife and mother. Brought up in an old
Canadian town, she had been surrounded
not only with comforts, but luxuries, all
her life until she married giant of Rus
sian who had come to the new world to
make his fortune. Something went wrong
with them at home, and he came out on
the C. p. R., where, at the time | speak
of, he was station agent and yardlnastcr
in that wilderness.
sit took pretty brave man tn stand the
trials Of winter in those diggings but fo,
IL, .s.,,,l lao,
was brick. She followed her husband r'
soon as he wrote for her to come. Sh'
looked as much ont of place in the CROW,
of lumhermen, miners, half breeds and al
ventures at the Portage as one Of !Ct
easy going cliups would in the stokChC,,
of an ocean lincr-and that baby Ii va
only u few months old, but the first one II
camp, and some of the old timers actUall.
sniveled when they heard the younpSte
cry with some infnntile distress heyUnt
their comprehension The Zig Russian
during the hours when he was not wCl X
ing for the c. p. r., Put up II little rouc'
board house for his pretty wife, her young
sister, who came along with her from
their old homo, and the kid. 1t was til
best lie could do and as good as any maj
out there had at that time, but when til
snow drfted IL through the chinks ar
piled up on the flcor, and the wind howict
around the cabin, there were trying time
for mother and baby. Well, of course
that husband loved her. Who wouldn t
She never murmured. She never cCn
planned of the fierce cold, of the dcpriya
ton or Of the rough life. We all mad
friends with the baby, and as for tn
mother-she was the good angel of tn
camp.
zone day the hotel mans wife told II
boys that she intended to have II dance II
the hotel. It's to be Il real nice, respectabl
time, she said, mot one of the blow out
you have in the lumber camps or out o.
the prairie. Not one of you men is to hav
drink until the affair is over and 20
must slick up in your best clothes.
there was one of us hardened slime"
there were a dozen who sneaked one at
time up to the little house on the hill an
asked the station agents wife to come
the dance. l know quarrelcd with tw
of my best friends in the camp because
told them they were intruding. They gay
me dressing down, and even went SO IA
as to 90 to the husband and ask him [
pick out an escort for his wife, it hein
we'll understood that he had no time fC
anything hut work and sleep.
1.-TWO days before the dance ! went Il
, to the house to see how the baby's lGte'
tooth WAS coming on, or something {
that sort. The mother looked blner tina
the babys eyes. l heard her sigh once {
twice, and ut last she said
Do you think it's wrong, Drifter, &c
young woman to want pretty dresses an
hats and gloves and ribbons and to fix hel
self up once in awhile, even though she
buried out here in IA widernessY
"That was enough for me. l wanto
to go. 'Pshawp / said. You alwnN
look pretty enough to eat, and so does ii
. baby, and
Yes, she said, with shade of retl
lance, but do want to go to that dane
just as if it was at my old home.
haven't a decent pair of gloves to N
= name, nor ribbon sash of the color
I want, and there's no way of my gettin
them. ! might as well wish for Il
moon.