davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25


dlonOi"
gloves and hat nets and rolling them
selves up in their coverings, fell to
snoring-all except the trader, who
lay for hours on his back staring up at
the stars, as If trying to solve some
riddle that batiled him.
They awoke early and in half an
hour had eaten. remade their packs
md were ready to resume their march.
AS they were about to start Gale said
81 reckon we'd better settle right
now who has the choice Of locations
when we get up yonder. I've been on
ltampedes where & saved a heap Of
hard reelng."
I'm agreeable. said Stark. "Then
/ there won't be any misunderstanding"
, The others, being likewise old at the
game. acquiesced. They knew that in
such cases grave trouble has often &C.
cured when two men have cast eyes
on the same claim and have felt the
miners causelcss "hunch" that gold
lies here or there or that the ground
one of them covets is wanted by the
other.
''1ll hold the straws," said Lee, land
every Teller will have an even break"
Turning his back on the others, he cut
four splinters of varying lengths, and,
arranging them so that the ends peep
ed evenly from his big hand, he held
them out.
THE longest one has the first choice.
and SO on" he said, presenting them
to Gale. who promptly drew the long.
est Of the four. He turned to Doret
but the Frenchman waved him cour.
teously to Stark, and when both he and
Runnion had made their choice Lee
handed him the remaining one. which
was next in length to that Of the
trader. Stark and Runnion qualified In
the order they drew, the latter ours
ing his evil luck.
Never min. ole man." laughed Pole.
on; "de las shot she's de sure wan"
They took up their burdens again
and filed toward the narrow valley.
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25

"rll SIT here bestde you for auhtle," he
said
witnessed it. then paced of 40 steps,
where he squared spruce tree. which
she marked:
Low Ar certer end stake OF No. below
discovery. NECIA GALE. Locator
Now you stake the one below
mine" she said. It's just as good and
maybe better. Nobody can tell" But
he shook his head.
I'm not going to stake anything"
said he.
"You must" she cried quickly. the
sparkle dying from her eyes. "You
said you would. or never would have
brought you"
II merely said I would come with
you" be corrected. II did not promise
to take up claim. for don't think I
ought to do so. If were q civilian 1t
would be different. but this is govern
ment land. aHd am part Of the gov
eminent as it were. Then. too. in i'd
dillon to the question Of my right to
30 1t, there would be the certainty Of
making enemies OF your people. old
No Creek and the rest. and ! can't
afford that now"
All arguments aud pleading were in
vain. lie remained obdurate and In
sisted or her locating two other claims
for herself. ono on each Of the smaller
creeks where they came together above
the house.
"Rut nobody ever stakes moro than
Nne claim Oh Gulch," objected the
tirl. "lt's q custom OF the miners."
''Then We'll call each one Of these
branches u different and separate
.reek." no said. ".rhe gold was carried
down one af those smaller streaMs.
and We won't take any chances on
which one It was.'
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25

once ana that he could have no moro
kisses for the present. But, of course,
1t is q long trip. aud we will have to
sit down now and then to rest" she
added shyly, Mt which he vowed that
he was far from strong and could not
walk but little way at time. yet.
even 30, no declared. the trail would
be too short. even though 1t led to
Canada.
"Then get your pack made
ordered, for we must be well up to-
ward the head Of Black Bear creek be-
fore II grows dark enough to camp"
Swiftly he made his preparations. A
madness was upon him now. and lie
took no pains to check or nnalyze the
reasons for his decision. The thought
Of her loneliness In his arms once more
far UP among the perfumcd wooded
heights as the silent darkness stole
upon them stirred In him such a fret
to be gone that It was like a fever. He
slipped away to the barracks with In.
structions for his corporal. but was
back again in n moment Finally he
took up his burden of blanket and
food, then said to her:
well, are you ready, little one3"
Eyes, Meade" she answered simply.
And you are sure you won't regret
~"
mot while you love me-"
| He kissed her again before they step.
ped out on the river troll that wound
along the bank.
Two hours later they paused where
the foaming waters Of Black Benr
creek rioted down across gravelcd
bar and into the silent, sweeping riv.
er, standing ut the entrance to a wood.
I'd. grass grown valley, with rolling
hills and domes displayed at its head
while back Of them lay the town. six
miles away. its low. squat buildings
tiny and toylike, but distinctly sill
houetted against the evening sky.
rs 1t not time to rest?' said the sol
der laughingly, yet with look OF
yearning in his misty eyes as he took
the girlish figure in his arms. But she
only smiled up at him and. releasing
Ills hold led the way into the forest
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25

"a YOT until his dying day will
MAI Burrell lose the memory Of
thar march with Necia through
the untrodden valley. and yet
its incidents were never clear cut nor
distinct when he looked back upon
them, but blended into one dreamlike
procession, as If he wandered through
some calenture where every image was
delightfully."- distorted and each act de-
liciously unreal, yet all the sweeter
from its feeting unr2aity. They talk,
cd and laughed and sang with rush
of spirits as unta r1cd as the waters In
the course they followed They wan
dered hand In hand into land of illu-
sions, where there was nothing real
but love and nothing tangible but Joy.
They held to the bed Of the stream.
them to ford 1t from bar to bar.
They had become SO intimate by
now as to fall into q whimsical mode
Of speech ard Necia reverted to n
childish habit In her talk that brought
many smile to the youths fnce. 1t
had been her fancy as little girl to
speak IN adjectives. ignoring many Of
her nouns, and Its Quaintness had 80
amused her father that on rare occa-
sions. when the humor was on him. he
also took 1t up. She now addressed
herself to Burrell In the same manner.
II think we are very smarts to como
80 far" she said.
! 4 = rod
admir!ngly. "Why, you have tired me
down. Removing his pack. he stretch
ed his arms and shook out the ache In
his shoulders.
He built fire. then fetched bucket
Of water from rill that trickled dow,
If to prepare their meal but she would
have none Of 1t.
"Bigs should never cook" she de-
clared. THAT work belongs to Titles"
thcn forced him to vacate her domain
and turn himself to the mnnllcr duties
Of chopptng wood and bonghs,
First, however. she showed him how
to place two green foot logs upon
which the teapot md the frying pan
would sit without upsettins and how
long she wished the sticks Of cooking
wood. Then she banished him. ia II
We're, and he built a wtckiup Of spruce
tops, under the shelter of which he
piled thick, fragrant pillows Of yukon
feathers"
He filled his chest deeply and leaned
on his AK, for hc found himself shals,
Ing al II under the spell Of some grea,
expectancy,
Your supper is getting cold" she
called 10 him,
Ho took Il seat beside her ON a pile
Of boughs where the smoke was leas,
troublesome, He had chosen u spot
that was sheltered by iichen covered
ledge. and this low wall behind, witt
tho wickiup Joining 1t, formed an IT,
closure that lent them 4 certain niV 0l
privacy, They ate ravenously and
drank deep eupfuis of the unhavored
tea, by the time they were Anishsd
the night had fallen, and the an va
Just cool enough to make the Orr
agreeable, DurreIl heansd on more
wood and stretched out beside her,
"thls day has been SO wsnderful,'
said tha-xlrl. THAT l shall Rsyss 80 Il
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25

apart from women, and the solitude OF
the night seemed to mock him. He
was a strong man, and in his veins
ran the blood Of Maynard fofbearS
who were wont to possess that which
they conquered In the lists OF love,
mingled with which was the blood of
spirited southern women who had on
occasion loved not wisely, accOrnngro
Kentucky rumor. but only too we'll.
Nevertheless they were honest men
and women. II oversentimental, and
had transmitted to him a heritage Of
chivalfy and a high sense Of honor and
courage. Her love had placed bar
ricr between them greater and moro
insurmounta Bile than her blood.
He gently withdrew his fingers from
her grasp and. seeing the other side Of
the wickiup. covered himself over
without disturbing her and fell asleep.
1t was early dawn when Necia crept
to him.
II dreamed you had gone away" she
said. shivering violently and dra wing
close. "Oh, it was a terrible awaken
| Ing
| II was too tired to dream" he said.
$50 had to come and see II you
we're really here"
lie quickly rekindled the FIRE, ana
they made hasty breakfast. Before
the warmth Of the rising sun had pen.
etrated the cold air they had climbed
the ridge and obtained a wondrous
view Of broken country, the hills
allght with the morning rays, the val.
leys misty and mystical.
Il wish Stark was not one of Lees
party" he said once. He may mis-
understand our being together this
way"
"But when he learns that we love
each other that will explain every
thing"
Il am not so sure. He doesn't know
you lis Lee and Poleon and your IA
Their do. l think we had better say
nothing at all about-you and me-to
any one"
They chung to the divide for several
hours, then descended into the bed Of
a stream, which they followed until 1t
joined a larger one a couple Of miles
below. and there. sheltered in grove
Of whispering frs, they found Lees
cabin Nesting in narrow, forked val
ley.
There's no one here" said Necia
gleefully. "We've beat them in! We've
beat them in.'
They had been walking rapidly since
dawn. and. although Burrell's watch
showed o'clock, she refused to halt
for lunch. declaring that the others
might arrive at any moment, so down
they went to the lower end Of mo
Creek" Lees location, where Burrell
blazed a smooth spot on the down
stream side Of tree and wrote there
on at Necia's dictation. When he had
finished she signed her name. and he
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25

Poleon DOret sang gdvly as the trader
came tO1Cdrd HIM
mcr day kill Johnnie Platt on de Por-
cupine." Both men wore gauntleted
gloves Of caribou skin and head har-
nesses Of mosquito netting stretched
over globelike frames Of thin steel
bands. which they slipped on over their
hats.
Lets see. 1t was you that found
him. wasn't IT." said Gale.
Sure ting! I'm comm down for
grub In my canoe wen see dis Teller
on de bank walkin' lax he's in beee
borry. 'Ba gar say. 'dere's mau
goin' so fast he'll meet hese'f comm
homev Den he turn roun' an 60 tear
In back. wavin' bees arms lax he's
CALM me. till he fall down. Wen !
paddle close up dom know I'm nc
more dan stranger, an me an Johnnie
Plat IL trap togeder wan winter
wat you t'ink Of dat?'
n saw a fellow killed that way al
holy Cross" interpolated the trader.
"'Hellov / say. Watts de matter?
An den l see something bout i'm dat
luok familiar. Hees face she's al
Iwell' up an bleedin' lax raw meat
The Frenchman curled bis upper liz
back from bis teeth and shook hi
head at the remembrance.
"Jesu. dat's 'orrible sight! Dem dy
u drive i'm Grace. Hees nose an ears
h look LAX holes In beeg red sponge
an bees eye are close up tight"
He diea before you got him in
didn't heY'
YES. He was good man too"
~ guess you been purity glad TO-
hsvin' Necia home again. chi" ven
tured Polson after awhile. unable Il
avoid any longer the subject upper
mnak IN his .mind.- ..
"yse. I'm giad she's through viii
W schooling"
"ehSs ssttin' party beg q, new."
'xhats right"
~ a. b. shes goiu' marry d
souo 3olleg@Wstr'
u suppose %. She amt the kin1 4
stay single"
]. :TA pAf1 .x1ght Ia. Noble 70
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25
CHApTER WI.
TIE MAGIC or Rem STARR.

1aH MAaio ar Rem STARR.
VA EFORE tho party came In stsAt
the sound Of their vatees
IN reached the cabin ana RWrre(
rose nervoussy and saWnteFed
to the deer, Uncertain how thta affair
might tsrmtNate he chose to set first
hook ut his eneMiea II they shNuld
prove to be such. realizing the aavan,
tage that soaa to man who stands
sQuarely Oh beth feet. Then he heard
Leo say.
swell, III be I'D! SomebaayN
here ahead of MS"
"We've bean beaten" srowlesi Stark
ansrily, pushing Rast him and eemins
around the corner an ugly hoax In his
cyes.
'Geod afternoon" Burrell nodded
pleasantly,
lee answered him paiAtelltsihly,
Stark said pathins, but RunnionI ex,
elamatlaA was P,aia.
"lt's that cursed blue bellyr'
"Whea Aid you set here," said atarh
after 4 pause,
"a fsw heurv asa"
"Haw did You Genet" asked Lee.
"hiaek Hear creek" said tho saldisr
ea!tly.. at. which Ruunten broke tAee
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25
CHAPTER Y.
A ATQRY Is RrQI,N.

- 61ONl
It's tommy ting how two brown eye
Was changin' everything
Dc cloud she's no more on dc sky.
An winters JUS LAX spring.
Dey max my pack so very light,
Do trail she's not SO long
ia walk II forty mile tonight
For hear her sing wan song.
But now I'm busy max fortune
For marry on dat girl.
An Il she's tole me yass. OATS soon.
Bonhsur! I'm own de worl'!
~ O1EON DORET sang gayly as
the trader came toward him
through the open grove Of
birch, for he was happy this
and. being much Of a
dreamer. this fresh enterprise awoke
In him a boyish pleasure Had not
this discovery Of mo Greek" Lees
been providentially arranged for his
own especial benefit? A fool could see
that this was a mark Of celestial ap-
probation. and none but a fool would
question the wisdom of the gods. Had
he not watched Necia grow from a
slip Of thirteen and spoken never a
word Of his love: Had he not served
and guarded her with all the gentle
chivalry Of an olden knightp OF
course! And here was his reward, a
gift Of wealth to crown his service, all
for her.
"Whew," said Gale. slipping out of
his pack straps, 1.-THE skeeters is bad
you bet. your gum boots" said Pc.
leon. "Dey're mos so tick as de sum-
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25
CHAPTER VI.
TIE BCRRFIL CODE.

"a YOT until his dying day will
EN Burrell lose the memory Of
thar march with Necia through
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-03-25

IuC0 uebtIIu& ClOHV 10 ulS. NelyQeS OF
them knew how long they stood thus
blended together. but soon he grew
conscious Of the beating Of her heart
against his breast 40 she lay there like
little duttering bird and felt the
throbbing of bis own heart swayins
him. Her arms. her lips and her whole
body chung to his in q sweet surren.
der, and yet there was nothing i'm.
modest or unmaidenly about II, for his
strength and ard0r had lifted her and
drawn her to him as on the sweep Of q
great wave.
She drew her face free and bid II
against his neck, breathing softly and
with shy timidity. 10 II the sound Of
the words she whispered half fright.
ened her.
X love you. love you. Meade"
1t may happen that man will spend
months in friendly and charming init
macy with q woman and never feel thu
violence or tenderness Of passion I'LL
there comes . psychic moment or Z
physical touch that suddenly inwrap'
them like dame. SO It was Will
Burrell. Tho sweet burden Of this CIR
In his arms. the sense Of Der yisldlnl
lips. the warmth Of her caressinl
hands. memsntarily unlsashsd . leap
Ing pack Of mad daeiPeA aad Il WI
she who onally drew herself away I,
remind him smilinsly that hs vs'
wasting time.
my lips WIN - here whse teDs'
mines ass wevked eak" ~ eald. N
now And che held hin ~ ~ 10 cam
toward her again. ias(st4nS that I
thsx Hasa going hey ngst p e. .
The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-27
RES IEDIAL MEASURE TO BE
SUGGESTED BY PRESIDENT
LYNCHING WINDS
Up TRAGEDY Of
CHRISTMAS EVE

Hurley, Va. Dec. 26.-FolloWing tic
killing here on Christmas eve of Samuel
Baker and the serious wounding of his
wife and two children by the formers
old enemy, Henry Pennington, a mob
of 100 citizens late today took Penning-
ton from jail, where he had been under
heavy guard. and hanged him.
Pennington. who had been drinking
picked a quarrel with Baker ana shot
him when the latter was on his way to
Sunday school Christmas tree with
his wire, his two children and a friend
Wyatt Meadows. Seeing that ne had
killed Baker, Pennington started TO run
away. Mrs. Baker called after Pen
nington and implored him to help her
take the body home.
The ruse worked. and Pennington
went back to the spot where his victim
lay dead, Bent upon avenging the dead
Mrs. Baker grabbed PenningtOn's re-
vOlver from his pocket and shot twice
al him. Her aim was bad. Pennington
recovered possession of the revolver and
then shot the woman and attempted to
kill Meadows and the two children
Pennington was captured by a posse
on the outskirts of the town, after an
exchange Of shots with the deputies.
who badly wounded him. Later the mob
was quietly organized, the guard over
powered and Pennington taken to the
engine room of a lumber mill near by
and hanged to a steam pipe.
The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-27
snow Is record Rreaker.

Philadelphia. Dec. ga snow fall of six
teen inches. which drifted i'm many places
ten feet or more. completely tied up for
hours today all steam and trolley traffic
in this vicinity.
The storm began yesterday, and at an
early hour today the street railways ahan-
dOned traffic Cars were abandoned by
their crews i'm all sections Of the city, and
passengers were compelled to remain ln
the cars until daybreak.
Snow. which fell steadily from O'Clock
yesterday until noon today broke
all records for this city and vi
cinity, and tied up transportation,
both steam and electric. The wealth
er Bureau announced tonight that
the actual fall was 22.S inches. The snow
was accompanied by q high wind which
caused it to drift to a height of more
than ten feet The two greatest previous
storms i'm this city were i'm February, 1883,
and in March, 1888.
All railroads entering this city felt eff
fects of the storm, but the Pennsylvania
probably was the hardest hit.
The company tonight abandoned traffic
temporarily between Harrisburg Phila-
deIphia and Washington. Only one train
has arrived from Washington since last
night.
Officials Of the road said several trains
were stalled between here and Washing
ton while the trains bound from New
York FOR Philadelphia are stoumbound
near Trenton, n j. Passengers are be
ing well cared for
Three men died here from exposure,
The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-27

From midnight until late today, the
storms destructive powers were unusu-
ally extensive. and severe. The gale swept
over the greater portion of New England
and was accompanied by heavy fall Of
snow.
Coming in a fun moon, the gale rolled
a wave along the coast which. in some
places reached a height of more than
fourteen feet above low water mark.
In this city the tide went across At
lantic avenue Oh the water front, and
caused an estimated damage of more
than Si,000000.
In Everett. Cornelius Harkin and his
wife were caught in their beds and over
Whelmed by the flood An infant was
drowned in Chelsea under similar cOndi-
lions. Persons living some distance from
the coast found themselves looking over
the open ocean.
Telephone and telegraph companies had
a few wires through to New York by way
of northern circuits. Providence chung to
the outside world by only q single wire.
Large cities, such as Cambridge, SOM
ervile. Lynn. BrOctOn, Providence, Fall
River and New Bedford were in darkness,
except for light afforded by the fun
moon.
Hundreds of persons were driven from
their homes by a flood resulting from
the breaking of a dam gate at a place
known as 'tFhe Dykes" in Chelsea, just
over the Everett line. Tonight the home
less We're cared for by municipal authori-
ties i'm city buildings and churches.
At Lynn the tide made a clean sweep
across the narrow isthmus, which con-
meets Nahant with the mainland, and for
several hours that rock peninsula was an
island The state highway was covered
four feet deep with seaweed.
On Nantasket Beach, in Hull, the dam
age to property is estimated at 100000
Beverley. the summer home OF Presi-
dent Taft was cut off from cOmmunica-
ton with the outside world by wire.
The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-12-27
Postmaster General Hitchcock
Tells of Great Expenditure
Which Makes the Mail Serv-
ice Efficient and Dependable
RURAL DELIVERY ONE
REASON FOR DEFICIT
Department Shows Loss of
S17000,000 and RetrenCh-
ment Policy Is Being Carried
Out by Administration,
SUPERVISION IS NEEDED


: Some idea of the size of the pos =
- tai service of the United States =
= and the magnitude of its business =
= can be gained from a brief review =
= Of the salient facts disclosed by =
= the latest annual statistics. These =
= figures show that the service now =
= has about 325,000 employees, and =
= that these employees handled dur :.
= ing the last fiscal year nearly four =
= teen billion pieces of mail. The =
:. number of pOstOffices in operation -
= is 60,144. There are 1852 domestic =
= transportation routes, aggregat- =
= ing 44S,61S miles in length, with an =
= annual travel of 542, isl ,121 miles. :.
= A delivery service by carrier is =
= provided on 40,62S rural voutes and 3
= in 1,440 cities and towns. Ordinary =
= postage stamps to the number of =
- S,712, 9G7 OBJ We're sold during the =
= year and domestic money orders =
= to the value OF S491 ,074S44 were is :.
= sued. The total receipts for the :.
= fiscal year 1909 were $203, So, 383.07, =
= an increase Of 6.31 per cent over ::
= the receipts Of the previous year. .
= The total expenditures amounted =
= to $221 ,004 102 SO, an increase of =
= 6. OF per cent. =
':'.'
Washington, Dec. 26.-Confronted
with a deficit of STATS, 40, the present
administration of the pOstOffice depart
ment began its operations. This was
the largest deficit in the history of the
postal service. So long as the deficit
in the department aggregated only a
few millions of dollars annually, little
attention was paid to it; but when, in
the last few years, it leaped to upward
of $10,000,000, and, finally, in 1909, ex-
ceeded $4,000, 900, ordinary business
prudence suggested that the causes be
definitely located"
These are statements in the annual
report Of Postmaster General Frank H
Hitchcock made public today. Con-
corning the results Of inquiries into the
deficit, the postmaster general says:
Recent investigations have shown
that the two great sources of loss to
the postal revenues are second-class
mail matter and rural delivery.
The loss on secOnd-class mail mat
ter has been increasing for many years,
until it now amounts to S64, 900 900.
THE loss from rural delivery, a serv-
ice begun hardly a dozen years ago
and Of unprecedented growth, reaches
as high as twenty-eight millions.
In these two items alone the postal
Continued on Page TWo.)