Amador ledger., 1907-04-05
Wooed BY Many.

dt Her IeeG, out only one, so 1ar as
can be learned, has been wooed by a
whole town says the Chicago Chron-
icle. Miss Emma Sheppard VISA her
name-it is now Mrs W. p. Austin
and every man in Florence, S. D., is
jealous of W. P. Austin.
"How does it feel to be wooed by
an entire town." repeated Mrs Aus
tin with blushing acknowledgment
of the query. ''WelI l, suppose it Is
pleasant, but it has its drawbacks.
had SO many proposals l couldn't take
care of all of them. And then they
interfered with my work. l would
no more than get started with some
thing than some one would come in,
and the first thing l knew l would
have an offer of marriage.
''And then all the men of the town
began hating each other, and l was in
daily fear that they would come to
blows or would begin shooting each
other. You see. l fairly had to
accept Mr. Austin" And Mrs Austin
blushed again prettily, and intimated
by her manner that Mr. Austin must
be an exceedingly fascinating young
man. 1t Is needless to say that Mr.
Austin is more popular with his bride
than he is with the entire munich
pality which he has distanced in the
race for bride.
The setting for this little drama of
western courtship is admirably fitted
for romance. 1t all took place at
Florence, one of the new towns re-
Gently established in South Dakota.
A short time ago all there was to
Florence was wheat field, surround
ed by prairies and roamed over by
COW -punchers. But the railroad
came, and with it the towpsite man,
and Florence was laid out.
Its fame spread and men thronged
to the place. They lived in tents, in
dugouts, in shacks, in everything and
anything that would provide a
shelter. The wheat field soon became
a thriving western city. with all the
adjuncts Of oivilization-al but wo-
men. The men provided and cooked
their own grub, drank 40-rod whlskey
and played poker. No one ever
thought of shaving or of indulging in
too numerous changes of clothing. In
fact, such evidences of etTete eastern
ism would have resulted in social os
tracism at "One-Eyed Pete s" place
One day the community was eIeotri-
rified. Woman, charming woman, had
arrived in town. There were some who
had seen her, and the fact was dis
cussed in the bar of Z" One-Eyed
Pete's" with intense interest.
"Gee, she's a hummerl" cried one
tenderfoot, who had mt seen anything
so pleasing nor so awe-inspirIng since
he had cried "Cash" in Chicago.
"Well, that's all right, too," re-
marked "Shotgun SaddIer," retired
cow-puncher, as he bit off a chew of
tobacco, 'Dut l never seed bit OF
calico yet on the frontier that didn't
set all you galoots off your teed," "and
then he spat viciousIy into the cor
ner.
But Shotgun" was voted a "sore
guy" AID the discussion of the com
ing of the angel of Florence contin-
ued.
Soon her history was known to the
dwellers in tent and shack.
Her home was in Iowa. She had
taken a course in domestic economy
in the state agricultural college, and
had come to Florence to start "hash
house," as the tIorentipes dubbed II.
Miss Sheppard was modest and full
of grit. She announced that she was
going to put up restaurant, and the
gallant men Of the town announced
that she would not be allowed to ex-
pend one cent in labor; they would
put up the building themselves, and
they did. In few days. time Floren-
tines were eating at Emma Sheppard g
table and dining off fare that, TO
them. eclipsed anything purveyed at
ally hotel.
They developed enormous appetites.
At first admiration for the pIucky
young restaurant keeper was the only
commodity in Florence, but this soon
developed into love. The municipal
heart trouble was contagious, and no
one was immune.
First the doctor tried his luck, and
was smilingly but firmly refused.
Then the banker tried it, and met the
same fate.
The grocer, the liveryman, the
drugstore man. the newspaper editor
in fact, every man in town-declared
undying love and affection, but the
restaurant keeper held herself we'll
poised and continued to serve meals
apparently without noticing the tur-
moil she was creating.
But her heart was only woman's
heart and 1t was not long before En-
ma Sheppard found the admiration OF
one man agreeable.
His name was Austin-W. Z. Austin
and he had only recently come west
tc seek his fortune in the new frontier
town. He was quiet and unobtrusive
in his attention, and finally took to
helping the young woman with her