Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1911-05-18
A MINERS
LOVE STORY
By SAMUEL E. BRANT
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

country" said the old miner "Sence
the railroads has been built there
hain't no more excitement, romantic
Happenings and all that. When we
travelled in these yere mountings In
Stagecoaches there was all sorts of
things happenen. from lovemakin' to
hair raisin'."
He took a long fat piece Of tobacco
out Of his mouth. bit off a piece and
resumed.
"I've seen all sorts Of things gOin' on
in stagecoaches. I've been held up
by road agents half dozen times;
been chased by Indians; seen couple
that had never seen each other before
start out IN coach in the mornin' and
married the same evenin' a hundred
miles from where they started. And
had a romance oncet. | don't know
exactly what you call romance meb-
by. What is itT'
ooh. where there's a lot of love
going on"
THAT'S it-thats my case. There
was love enough to pull the coach
without no horses. l was ridin' from
Cheyenne to Denver. and the only pas
senger. Right out on the plains among
the prairie dogs. not d cabin in sight
nor a tree, either, | saw a young WO-
man afootin' it along the road ahead.
I was sittin' with the driver and asked
him what he thort she was dom walk
in that away He said he didn't
know and didn't keer Like enough
she'd ask him for ride and she would
not git it onless she paid her fare.
"When we reached her she stepped
outen the road and looked up at us
sort of pitiful She was young
thing-not over eighteen-though she
was purity tall. | asked the driver to
stop He refined in. and | said to the
gal:
"'Want a lift. miss"
I'D like one,' she said in a hoarse
voice, cOughin', but | haven't any
money
"'Git up says the driver, says he.
But stopped him. tellin' him I'd pay
the gals fare to Denver l got down
and opened the door. She got in. l
follered her and set down beside her.
She was mighty 'bleeged to me for
payin' her fare and cottoned to me
right away.
"She had red cheeks and was purity
as q pictur', all except her hair, that
looked as if it hadn't never been
combed. 1t was tousled all over her
forehead. 1 axed her if she'd like a
comb outen my satchel for to straight
en- it out. She larfed and said that
was the way ladies wore their hair
I axed her what ladies, and she said
ladies from the eastern states, where
there was big towns.
"Of course, she bein' under obliga-
tons to me for payin' her fare, we
got on mighty fast. One thing led to
another, and we was thicker and
thicker with every relay. Lucky for
me nobody got in, though there warn't
much danger of that, for there wasn't
n settlement between Cheyenne and
Denver. l pumps her to know who
she was, and finally she let out that
she had been lady's maid to an Off
GERS wife at Fort -. She was
goin' to ST. Louis to see her mother,
who was sick. She'd spent all her
money stagin' It and was walkin' the
rest of the way. except when she
could git lift.
"Well. we KEEP gittin' thicker and
thicker till at last l begun to make love
like a steam engine. Then when I'd
got through tellin' her how purity she
down to business and tole her I'd
struck a hole up on Clear creek pan
min out 5000 to the ton; that l was
mighty lonely and wanted wife to
help me spend the money l was max
in
"She said she wouldn't give up her
sick mother for no gold mine and was
goin' right on to St. Louis. l tried to
coax her, but it didn't do no good.
She fit shy after that and the shier
she fit the more tried to persuade her.
when we got within about ten miles
VI oSuNSI SuS OpeuSO TIE uOOL duu
was goin' to git out but | TUX hold
of her and held her. She turned round.
and never see SIGH a change in any
one in my life. She was just boilin.
~ beg yer pardon l said. I didn't
intend to insult you. l was just goin'
to try onct more to get you to listen
to-
"'You keep your hands off me-! she
hollered in a different kind of a voice
from before. I'm goin' to git out of
the coach, you bloomin' idiot and If
you try to keep me I'll knock you into
the middle Of next week
1T was wonderful how that love that
had been swellin' up in my heart like
a balloon collapsed and was a-sinkin'
down like the outside with the gas all
out Of it.
"'Who air you. and what you doin'
in them toys? hollered.
~ don't care now who knows-they
won't foller me this far. I'm a de-
Serter from the til infantry, station