The Mercur miner. [volume] (Mercur, Utah) 1895-1913, 1907-03-06
POVERTY SHORE
COURTSHIPS


Perkins, nobody along Poverty Shore
ever heard of this new disease they
call race suicide. Instead of having to
wait and let a girl chase him down
and get him in a corner and compel
him to marry, every young man used
to 20 hunting for the girls as much
as the girls hunted the men. and the
result was that almost everybody got
married right away and went coast
ing or raised farm crops to help in
making a living
"The reason why so many young
men got married when | was young
was that 1t did not cost more than
chap was worth to go counting. IL he
had good pair of boots. a white shirt
and clean worsted comforter young
man could court a nice girl all winter
at cost of not more than 2j cents a
week
"Tll tell you how twas done-that
is, how | used to do, and I've been
married three times, and ought to
know.
1.-THE old man. for that is what we
called the girls father, used to pro-
vide most everything needed in the
counting line in those old days. He
furnished the front parlor and the
kerosene lamp and the open fireplace.
and he sawed and split the wood that
was burned in the fireplace all through
the courtship.
"The fellow used to drop around
after milking Sunday evenings, and
after he had taken supper with the
family and talked for time with the
old man about the price of cordwood
/ and the prospects of a heavy run OF
+ salmon the next spring the girl would
| light the parlor fire and look over the
family photograph album. inside OF
which were the pictures of all the
| fellows she had entertained since she
was IA.
Naturally Sunday evening was the
regular time set for counting pur.
poses, but after the young man had
| become acquainted and got the run Of
! the house there used to be meetings
called for special purposes two or
three ttmep . week. AS a rule the
young ooupses did not sit up SO long
at To j5f0rmal meetings as they did
at ~ Sunday sessions though some
of h...@ held until after midnight.
"All the. young man had to do was
TO sit back on the sofa and eat the old
mans apples and warm himself by
the old mans wood and let his money
accumulate until he had enough to
start housekeeping. There we're no
theater parties or Welsh rabbits cook
ed in chafing dishes, or boxes of
chocolates In those days to keep his
mind away from the business In hand
and steal away all the change he
could earn. The old man gave a con-
tinuous free blowout from the time
the girl asked her first beau into the
house until they went to call on the
minister, after which no favors were
shown on account of knship.
AS l recall the events now, / think
the chief expense l went to in a win
ter's counting at any time was buy
ing popcorn to carry TO the girl.
"And she was just as glad to see
me and smiled as sweetly when 1
came in at the front door stamping
the snow from my boots and carrying
those three ears OF corn I'm my peck.
ct as she would have been II 1 had
arrived with two colored walters
bringing hot birds and cold bottles.
1t was my opinion that the work of
popping the corn did more in bring.
Ing two fond hearts together than
anything else which took place dur.
Ing the counting.
THE fireplace had to be filed up
with the best hardwood, and this
had to burn down to great glowing
heaps of coal before the shelled corn
could be put in the pepper. And
then while the girl was agltating the
wire pepper over the Goals and the
freight was shining on one side of
her face and into her eyes, and the
young man was Smelling more corn for
the next filling, the corn would be
gin 10 pop-llrst a little snap here
and another there. and then the dis.
charge of whole artillery OF white
corniiakes all at once, followed by
the muiiied sound Of a general erup.
ton inside the pepper. by which time
the job was finished and the corn
was ready for the fine salt and the
butter.
mo matter how digniGed a young
man may try to be, he can't keep it
up II he is popping corn with a nice
girl above hot stove in a room
where they two are the only specta.
tors. ! am not given to digging into
the reason of things; but no natural
young man can pop corn with a nice
girl all winter without popping the
| question.
1T is the cheapness as wen rs the
simplicity Of the custom which an.
peals strongly to men who are natu.
rally economical. In looking over
my accounts find that It cost me Just
80 cents to court my first wife.
My second wife cost more, but
this was due to the fact that she
had younger sister who was unmar-
ried, and who used to butt in when