The Somerset reporter., 1900-08-16

knew that Joe Of Washoe had watched
over her with more than a fathers
care. She was fatherless and mother
less among strangers. Fright and i'll
ness had SO benumbed her brain that
she could remember nothing, not even
the family name. She said that they
had travelled for days and days, but
from whence she could not tell. The
one thing that she did remember was
that her name was Rose, and she had
insisted from the first that Joe was
her uncle. 1t was queer to see this
prospector and miner, this man who
had fought Indians and renegades and
knocked about through hundred ad-
ventures and was not supposed to have
soft spot about him-I say it was
queer to see how he WAS knocked out
when the little girl kissed him and
called him her dear Uncle Joe. He
looked SO sheepish and shamefaced
that we had to turn our faces away,
and l tell you in the same breath that
we also felt ashamed of ourselves that
we had left that father and child to
drive away from our camp as we did.
In the mining camps a case of small
pox meant isolation, neglect and death.
The partner with whom you had work
ed and hungered and suffered for years
would flee from you in terror at the
first sign, and if patient got up and
walked about in his delirlum no hand
was outstretched to prevent him from
stumbling over a cliff.
In our shame we gave Joe all the re-
spect and admiration he could demand,
and it did us good to see the little one
take to him and realize that she owed
her young life to his heroic sacrifice
and fatherly care. As we crowded
around the pair the child knelt down
on r;le barrel and clasped her hands
and prayed:
Mother is dead, and father is dead,
but God bless Uncle Joe and everybody
else"
A good many of us turned our heads
away at that, and, to our surprise, we
found that years in the camps hadn't
turned our hearts quite as hard as the
quartz among which we labored. l
caught a glimpse of Joe of Washoe
shutting his teeth hard together and
looking up at the clouds, and l Won
dered If he was more strongly affected
when he charged n camp of five out
laws single handed and left three Of
them lying dead for the sheriff to bury.
That evening we had a public meet
ing on the public square, and Judge
Watkins hushed the crowd to silence
and said:
Thar will be fustly, secondly and
thirdly in these remarks o mine. The
fustly is that if Joe WashOe will ac-
cept this yere airth We'll gladly buy it
fur him; secondly. the gal has got to
hey another name. and I'm fur calm
her Rose o. Washoe; thirdly, she's an
orphan, and Black Hill diggin's Is goin
to adopt her and provide fur her and
be the biggest kind o father to her.
Now, then, let every critter give three
cheers and yell his loudestp'
\ month later, when Rose Of Washoe
was sent to the states to be properly
cared for, the sum of 81 900 went with
her. She was brought out and stood
on the same barrel again. and 300 men
filed before her and shook hands and
said goodby. Joe of Washoe came
last. He lifted her up in his arms and
kissed her and patted her head, and
her voice was broken with sobs as she
said:
God bless all, but God bless Uncle
Joe most of anybody
When she was lifted to the saddle to
ride away, Joe turned his back and
seemed to be gazing off over the foot
hills. The crowd cheered and cheered,
but he was mute As the girl disap-
peared from sight down the trail some
one asked:
What the blazes Is the matter with
Joe that he don't yell with usY
flush, you fool'' cautioned Big Jim.
Fall back, all of you! He'll be turnin
purity soon to catch a last glimpse O.
the gal. and it might shame him if we
saw the tears in his eyes and knowed
that his heart was swelled to Dustin
over her Goin awayr