Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-03-04
A DAKOTA farmer
Runs Against a Butte Widow
of Uncertain Age.
A PAPER
Had a Hand in the Matter--The Pro-
posed Date of Marriage Vaca-
ted by the Dak0taian'
ONlAL PAPER

There was a hot time in an East Butte
residence Wednesday and it all came
about through the inordinate desire of
two people Of opposite sex to get them
selves mixed up in a matrimonial tangle.
In this case NJ attempt will be made
to make the story slushy by saying that
the woman in the case is Handsome, edu-
Gated, wealthy, refined, amiable, sweet
and young" for she is nothing of the
kind. She is perhaps SO or 60 years old,
fat, foolish and short both in point of
cash and in stature. She has children
more than 80 years old.
A few months ago she conceived q
notion to get married q second time and
advertised in a Chicago matrimonial
sheet for a husband. She pictured herself
as young, strong, attractive and
wealthy" A young farmer in one of the
Dakotas saw the squib and, desiring to
possess himself of something answering
the description of the Butte woman, wrote
her a letter. In the epistle he stated that
he did not care much for the money she
had; he wanted a companion on the ranch
"a woman that could feed the hogs, curry
the horses, chop the wood. husk the corn,
make ausag and butter, dig potatoes
and keep the irrigating ditch in repair
during his annual tour of said ranch. The
letter reached the woman and she con-
cluded that the young man in Dakota
was just the one for whom she had been
looking since her first husband died. She
did not object to doing all the chores
mentioned by the young man. 1t was all
a veritable snap as compared to the labor
chr bod hao,, ~, Cha cN-n
the letter and invited an exchange of
photographs, as she did not wish to get
the worst Of it. The young man sent a
true copy of himself, but the woman,
fearing he would be stricken with apo
pleXy if he ever ook upon her picture,
dug up the photograph of a young girl
and sent it. The farmer was much pleased
and at once made UP his mind to either
possess himself of the original or bust a
~suSpender. He wrote often and each let
ter was answered in language as tender,
musical and touching as the cooling of a
church pipe organ. A match was made
and a date for the marriage set. Wednes-
day the young farmer lande in the city
and at once repaired to the residence of
his proposed bride. A knock at the door
brought the bride"
"Is your daughter at homer" he asked,
supposing she was either the mother or
grandmother of the girl whose picture
had been sent him..
mo; she is not in just now" answered
the proposed bride as she gave her false
teeth a jam backward to make them stay
in place. walk in"
The farmer walked and when comfort
ably seated in a chair that appeared old
enough to have been used by the trick
elephant in NOah's ark, but which had
been really a wedding present to the
woman at the time of her first marriage,
the woman asked the farmer if he was
from Dakota. Being answered in the
affirmative, she smiled one of her real
sweet smiles and said she was all ready
to pass through the marriage ceremony
and ransfer her home to Dakota.
1t did not take the farmer long to
tumble" but he did not become angry,
tear his hair and ca. for either a patrol
wagon or the return of the barrel of cider
he had sent her from Dakota as a pres
ent. Nor did he threaten to sue her for
damages. He simply sat still until he had
fully recovered and then quietly said:
Excuse me. My trunk is up town. I will
go and get it and return
The woman supposed he meant that he
would return to her, but as she has not
seen him since the excuse was given the
supposition is that he returned to Dakota
on the first train.