The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1905-03-24
WHAT THE.BOOMER SAW.

" II "A II y soOO" LII OA W.
The newly built town of D. in a
newly open ed country in the far west
vast composed OF about 800 people.
There were number of good men
among them who were without wives
and there were no women for them to
marry. Nudge, the man who had
laid out the town and was booming it
saw these bachelors grow dissatisfied,
and they were beginning to leave.
The success of the enterprise was be-
ing jeopardlzed, an Nudge was not
long in learning that it was on account
of the scarcity Of women.
The boomer pondered all one night
over the situation and the next morn
ing sent telegram to a philanthro
pist in the east asking for a hundred
good, healthy young women to be
sent to the town for wives. The
hundred girls arrived and were receiv-
ed at the station by the whole village,
the most interested sp ,ctato,s being
the single men. The girls were provided
with boa riding places, and marriages
began at once.
Among the bachelors who looked
upon the arrival of the women was
Lars jacobson, a middle aged man
who fifteen years before had left his
native Sweden to make nest for
himself and Katrina Hollander to
whom he was betrothed. He was
hardworking frugal man, had gather
ed together sufficient funds for his
purpose and was about to send for
Katrina, when tue bank in which his
savings were deposited failed, when
he found himself as poor as when he
first came to America, Discouraged,
be wrote Katrina that she had better
not wait longer for him, and their
correspondence was dropped. Later
BIS made more money and wrote for
Katrina, but no answer came. He
was informed that she had left her
native village, and it Was supposed
that she was dead.
Jacobson went to the station not to
choose wife, but from curiosity, fo,
his heart was still with Kathrina. He
stood with the crowd watching the
girls alight, some of them being Joined
by the bachelors, others going away
with married women to be lodged, a
few going to be at once married, mos'
of the either smiling or blushing o,
both, while still others, finding their
position repugnant to them, wore for
bidding. Among them was one much
older than any of the rest. Something
about her reminded jacobson of his
lost love. One of the bachelors ap-
preached her, and jacobson saw by
her manner that the man was propos-
ing marriage. What the woman said
was probably not encouraging, for the
wooer left her somewhat crestfallen.
There was something so pitiful in
this woman's situation, older by ten
years than most Of the others, that
Jlcobson's heart warmed toward her.
He had given up hope of being reunit-
ed with Katrina. Since he could not
have bis old love, why not take this
desolate creature into his own desolate
heart and bring an occasional smile to
her wan face? Nudge went past him
scanning typewriter list of names.
Jacobson stopped him and, pointing
to the woman he had noticed, asked
her name. Nudge looked at the wo-
ular, hen al his list. To each name
was attached brief description.
"Josephine Smithson," he replied
and went on.
Every day jacobson thought he
would surely 60 to Josephine Smith
son and ask her to marry him. With
in week after the influx of girls all
were married except this one woman
and, though jacobson feared to put
off his proposal lest she should be
married, he could not make up his
mind to abandon his dream of Katrina,
whom he remembered as young girl.
One day he spoke to Nudge abtu'
Josephine Smithson. Nudge told
him to let her alone. She had been
in Jail. The reason why she had been
included with good girls was because
the philanthropist who had sent her
believed her innocent of the crime of
which she bad been convicted. This
put stop to Jacobson's intentions.
Several the men confessed that they
had proposed to Josephine Smithson
and had been refused. Indeed, she
showed that her intention in coming
to D. was not matrimony by setting
nm q small store. jacobson met her