The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-01-20
WHAT THE
BOOMER SAW
tOriginai.l

tOIlStlldl.J
The newly built town of D. in
newly opened country in the far west
was composed OF about 800 people.
There were number of good men
among them who were without wives,
and there We're no women for them to
marry Nudge. the man who had laid
these bachelors grow dissatisfied and
they We're beginning to leave The sue
cess Of the enterprise was being jeop-
ardized, and Nudge was not long III
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 philanthropist
in the east asking for a hundred good,
healthy young women to be sent to the
town for wives. The hundred girls ar
rived and were received at the station
by the whole village, the most interest
ed spectators being the single men. The
girls were provided with boarding
places. and marriages began at once.
Among the bachelors who looked up
Jacobson, middle aged man who fif-
teen years before had left his native
Sweden to make nest for himself
and Katrina Hollander to whom he
was betrothed. He was a hardwork
ing, frugal man, had gathered together
sufficient funds for his purpose and
was about to send for Katrina, when
the bank in which his savings We're de-
posted failed, and he found himself as
Discouraged, he wrote Katrina that she
had better not wait longer for him, and
their correspondence was dropped. Lat
er he 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 a wife but from curiosity, for
his heart was still with Katrina 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, most
of them either smiling or blushing or
both, while still others, finding their
position repugnant to them, wore for
bidding visages. Among them was one
much older than any of the rest. Some
thing about her reminded Jacobson of
his lost love. One of the bachelors APP
preached her, and Jacobson saw by her
manner that the man was proposing
marriage. What the woman said was
probably not encouraging, for the
wooer lett her somewhat crestfallen.
There was something so pitiful in
this woman's situation. older by ten
years than most of the others, that ia
cobson's heart warmed toward her. He
had given up hope of being reunited
with Katrina. Since he could not have
his 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 scan
ming typewriter list of names. ia
cobson stopped him and, pointing to
the woman he had noticed, asked her
name. Nudge looked at the woman,
then at his list. To each name was at
tached a brief description.
EIaooyG;,o Cr,;+bca,1 bo ,,ox1;ol au1
went on.
Every day Jacobson thought he
would surely go to Josephine Smithson
and ask her to marry him. Within q
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 aban-
don his dream Of Katrina, whom he re-
membered as young girl. One day he
spoke to Nudge about Josephine Smith
son. 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 had been con-
victed. This put stop to Jacobson's
intentions.
Several Of the men confessed that
they had proposed to Josephine Smith
son and had been refused. Indeed. she
showed that her intention in coming to
u. was not matrimony by setting up
a small store Jacobson met her sew
eral times on the main and only street
Of the town, but she had never raised
her eyes to his. But one day when she
passed him she noticed him and quickly
gave him a second glance. The next
time she met him she gave him pro-
longed look.
why do you look at me in that
way?" he asked.
Because you resemble some one I
have known"
"And you resemble some one I have
known TT won did not how opofhor