The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1908-02-21

%Supremest satisfaction reposed on
Joe's face ar he closed the door OF the
Milton hotel behind him and medi
tatiYely drew q coat sleeve across hts
mouth.
Relief wagon!" the old man nut.
tered softly to himself. "Waral, I'm
dummedi Relief wagon fer Joe
Milton" and bis wjthered form was
doubled up In gales Of silent laughter,
Slowly the old man walked up the
crooked street with itB ~ramshackie lit
tie frame dwellings leaning toward
Their counterparts across the way.
Down the long, narrow grasa.grown
street running from the hotel TO the
foothills not a vestige Of life was Wis.
ible, Not a sound broke the stiffness
of the little mountain village. not a
sign OF human activity anywhere In
the whole town.
lie was a man Of not much over
80 who looked 70~-albeit a hale and
hearty 70. with HIS snow white hair
gracefully framing a gentle, deter.
mined face. All the spirit Of the un,
tanned west was In that face plus the
refinement of the man who knows
things and moreover knows that he
knows them. His form was sturdy
yet not 80 rugged as 1t should have
been to endure the hardships his soil
tuds had forced upon him. For Joseph
Milton was the sole inhabltant OF
Milton, Wyoming.
Twenty years before. he-then a
prospector young at the game--had
struck a pocket OF nigh free gold. 1t
was a rare fine vein and the farther
he went the more II b~roadaned and
smiled at him, Not being a western
man, he Immediately hoofed 1t to the
nearest town and invited his friends
back east 10 share the bonanza. Hut
even telegraph wires forsake the In.
hne dash and dot system when loaded
With messages OF this sort and the
magic word GOLD fairly sizzled
from the ticker. so that all might hear.
Suffice II, that Immediately upon send
Ing the message the Fremont operator
forsook his keys and toilsomely led
the procession to Milton. Led the
waY-for he was followed by a vast
%concourse from all over The west. How
they knew no one can say, but GOLD
Is written on mems %foreheads In that
country, and their boot nails spell out
the magic word on the very ground
they tread. by the time the eastern.
ers arrived, M~ilton-named for It's
ldiscoverer-was a booming hell.hole
OF 10000 souls, working like mad by
day and playing like mad at night.
Shanties were speedily erected; q ho-
Tel was built; stores went up; then
came the local newspaper-The Thun
derer; but all followed the gambling
and saloons.
That was MiltCn's big day. II AL
ways IL In a raininB town-the time
the Breed fever IL satiated.
Then an era OF prosperity set In.
talked OF building decent dwell
ings-nnd never did IL. A movement
was On foot TO have 1t raised from a
class to a thlrd'rate postofice
and got no farther than talk: Joe
was made postmaster. The editor
was killed Joe took his place-and
A right smart sheet did he get out,
30 on and on through all the endless
changes every mining town makes,
his pride IN Milton was like a
for his child,
Then came the reaction The
was on again, Mines thinned
veins mysteriously disappeared, al,
a foot from where the toitors
discouraged, did they reap
pear. disappointment followed dlsap
pointment. Glade, 20 miles cast. was
booming The gambling houses were
out Then men began to
to later strises-'eavlug good
behind,
For a long time Joe Milton failed to
the c~hange-so sudden had the
shock been, When he did, there was
brooding; only a mighty yearning
get them back. and a terrible
for the town that had called
HON. He set about his work I'm a
'iow, ~plodding way, getting out The
Fhunderer once u month now. instead
II weekly; swung open the postotfce
just half as often, but fully AZ
'eligionsly regularly went to the Min.
ng Exchange, and Changing the big
cong over the clerks desk, soIemnly
announced the suspension of business
or the day, prepared his breakfast
It the hotel. and tremendously ate 1t
n the big dining room, bought all his
foods from the deserted stocks, en-.
cred the purchase IN the books, and
deposited its value ia the cash draw.
II, Never for one moment did he al.
ow himself to regard his old towns.
,eope as other than away on a visit,
lie had made Milton once, now he
sould remake 1t, SO with pick and
hammer every day the old man pros
And then II wonderful day-mar-
'~elnusly like another 20 years ago
he III on a beautiful bit OF rock, and