Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1912-04-04
THE BIJOU BRIDE.
BY George 3. Durham.

SS % OUUNdW.
She was. Il Denver schoolma'am and
when Clarence Marsh married her and
took her tn the ranch on Bl,ou creek.
'lerc was not another wolnan within 20
miles. This WAS In ~. Some years
later l knew Marsh very we'll. and he
told me about her.
She only stayed with me 3; wear"
said iis. and l reckon not MANY would
nave stayed as long as that. Women
wam nelshbcrs and ranchmcn don't.
~ YOU We got Il bunch of cattle or IL
band of sheep you've got to have all
,iln range YOU can got: and if it's 10
miles 10 the next ranch. SO much he
better for both OF you.
Wool was cash in those days. and 80
cents a pound. Milly had everything
she wanted only society Cat least, l
lh"usht so lhcnD. Once in Il while we
Went to Denvr for "A couple of DAVIS.
and often the l.. g. boys would come
over To our place i'm tho evening. Hem
~ and played cards 81 lot. and Fred
would sing or talk With Nifty. i don't
wife's singing WAS the sweetest music
on earth. l think SO yet. Those boys
never came To the ranch much before
l was married. but aftcrwurd they
came IL lot. Henry was real smart and
had to stop playing with him, b,It
80 oDC' w L NIItN At IlIl.
con, sheep from II shropshire. But he
could sing. and my wife likcl him. and
bim"by told her she liked hin, too
Wen. ana L told him to clear out and
not come around amy more for "A spell.
And we was all mad. and Milly cried
a lot and 1 acted like II regular fool.
which surely ann when I'm midland
the next day was the big blizzard.
DO you remember the big blizzard
OF "a? II was the day before Christ
mas You would remember it. if, like
me you had been caught out In it with
| nahd OF sheep. One of the herders
i'Hd To so to town for his holiday drunk
ana ON that morning l took Il band out
auth about two miles and Whom ths.
storm came l couldn't get back. /
. ,n my 1ilne mad como. sure. foi
inc morning had been so warm that /
nau no oVercoat and the weather
changed from summer to winter i'm a
holy minute.
Wen. ii showed and bowed great
guns all day. getting colder and colder
and l stayed with the sheep. After we
mad drifted with the storm for several
miles. and half IA day, me afiellting
mem back, and them me
Gown the wind all time. 1 got the band
llto a deep arroyo. where the dogs
could hold them. Then skinned y
coupIe of sheep and wrapped up in the
9ells. The storm quit about dark and
4 stayed there all night. You never
sa" so much snow. There were drifts
50 feet high and hard enough to carry
a horse. While the hills and mesas were
blown bare.
Come morning. i strung out the
iiock and started them home on the
run. Got there by 10 O'Clock and found
inc place deserted. I thought for a
minute mat my wife must be under Il
SNOW drift and l tell you l was lust
about locoed. rushing about from house
10 Darn. But when I found that her
morse and saddle was gone, and some
ming from the house too. then it came
10 me all of a sudden about the row
With treel. and l knew she had gone
off of her own free win and wo,, i
never come back any more. And II
many take me long to make up nv
Harlow.
You want to remember that 1 had
been most froze to death. had nothinr
to eat for a day and a night. and nv
Judgment wasn't just quito so good as
IL vas quick. So I saddled up and a
over to the l.. O., across the drifts: the
Morse got stuck in q snowbank :fnd
,sll nun ana went In on foot. And there
there was Henry all alone, writing a
ietter. And | asked him where was
ffeei: ~ told him l was up to his
game. and he needn't waste any time
trying to fool me). And he said E'rcel
was gone TO Denver and 1 could go 10
- NHNtt Riii utIDIV we got thrO1lQh
talking l missed him twice and ha .hnt
m" through the leg.
Henry took care Of me until they
got a doctor and "A nurse from town.
n was moved home. l was pretty
Meak ior "a while. and had to stay In
pea Tor a fortnight. l had time to do n
lot OF thinking. BY the time | was mn
again the weather was warm and the
snow nearly gone. All along the south
side of the long mesa. where there ia
= clear drop of so feet to the valley he
low, the drift had been immense. Ana
there--they found Milly-and broueht
her home.
Horse and rider had fallen over Tho
blum In that binding storm. NV Goa.
and wraps We're. strapped to the sad
die. She was coming to- help me. and
nothing but death could stop her. II
you've got a good Wife. be good to her
mines in heaven