Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-04-19

One man got up on his ear with a gaI
who wouldn't have him and said he
had a wife already in Frisco and
didn't want no more of 'em. This
leaves >seven gals for the next DRAWN
and three men less to be provided for
Seven names were next drawn and
presented the same evenin'. This was
Higgins report of the second pair of:
Three paired off, One Teller was
/ drunk and wasn't let In TO the courtin'.
| Three men wanted the same gal. They
I had a triangular fight. the survivor
1 TO win; little Teller with red hair win
ner. Gal wouldn't, have him. That
! leaves four gals for prizes
"In this way eleven of the gals was
/ paired. leavin' one. the purtiest Of the
/ lot. to be disposed of. All the fellers
wanted her from the first, and most
of the men that got killed was fighuin'
J for her But she wouldn't have none
Of 'em. She's mighty particular. seem
she's had twenty men to pick from.
She's got snappin' black eyes. kind OF
reddish hair and is purity and plump
as a robin"
"Now. If you want to work out
scheme for furnishin' wives you don't
want nary Of the women to be a Jim
dandy. One purity woman with the
old Nick in her will spoil any practical
plan that was ever got up. This gal.
Becky Riggs. bein' the only unmarried
woman left IN the camp-Miss Bowers
had gone back for another load-and
every wan left wantin' her. set up a
conflagration. Every day there was
fight about her, and some one was
sure to be killed. The wives begged
her to choose some one aud stop the
fghtin'. But she wouldn't Shed
make b'lieve she was gofn' to take
one of 'em and then start in to en-
courage another IL anything was
needed to keep up the list of casualties
this filed the bill.
We'll. it got so bad at last, so many
good men bein' killed. that Mr.. Park
hurst sent Miss Riggs word that he'd
be pleased to furnish her u ticket back
where she came from She sent word
to him that she'd ruther be an old
maid in Colorado than bloomin' mar
ried woman in the east. Then Mr.:
Parkhurst went to see her to reason
with her. She jist set there listenin'
to him with her head on one side and
her nose in the air and didn't answer
never a word.
Things KEEP goin' from bad to worse.
Some of the men Miss Riggs had re-
fused TUX to drink. and most of 'em
wouldn't work. 1t was impossible to
git other hands. and the dirt taken out
was gittin' less an less every day. 1t
en-
married or didn't go away the mine
would have to shet down. The presi-
dent wrote to know what was up. Mr..
Parkhurst wrote to send on a carload
If women. The president wrote that
Miss Bowers had come back and
wouldn't advise no more gals TO go to
SIGH a benighted place. This looked
purity black. Mr.. Parkhurst called for
old Ben Higgins and axed him what
was best to be done.
when was livin' with my ole
woman. Mr.. Parkhurst,' Higgins said
knowingly, 4 found out that women
must have their way
"'What do you mean by thatT
"Well, sir, there's nothin' fur pur-
ty gal here but to git married. Every
man here has aXed Miss Riggs but one
IL thought they had all asked her
"'No, sir; there's one left, and the
KNOWN ones among the wives say
that's the one she wants
"'Who is hep
az think it's you, SIR
\"IY
Yes. sir-you.'
call on Miss Riggs.
THE young woman was perfectly
aware that the manager understood
the situation. Furthermore, she had
brought with her some becomin' cos
tunes and had put one of them on for
his reception. When Mr.. Parkhurst
saw her, to have her for a companion
didn't seem to him such a hardship,
after ALL 1t had been more than q
year since he had seen a refined wom-
an. He passed the evenin' with her
in general conversation and found her
intelligent. He might spend years IN
a mimi country, and 1t occurred to
him that Miss Riggs would take away
from his loneliness. He thought the
matter over that night and the next
evenin' made another visit, durin'
which he surrendered.
The visit Of the girls to the mimi
camp was a lottery with one prize.
Miss Riggs got it. Butin her case there
was more management than luck"
Worse Than Bullets.
Bullets have often caused less suf-
fnrinn To soldiers than the eczama