Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1913-07-18
MRS. MULLIGAN'S
VIEWS
They Are Happily
Illustrated
BY F. A. N4ITcHHL

80 ~ hAAa aA'NA AkNA va O1ANA -
The reason OF this was that many OF
the miners were married. and thell
wives exercised a salutary influence OF
them and the other inhabitants. But
one day the habitual quietude Of the
place was disturbed by the arrival OF
a big man, who announced himself a,
hailing from the state Of Ohio. and be
soon made It known that he was quite
able to take care Of himself" which
meant that he carried n chip on his
shoulder and invited any one and every
n to knock It or.
he had some money. with which he
bought a claim, and, having built him
self a cabin, proceeded 10 dig for a for
tune. The shortening Of names was &
Feature in the mining camps Of those
days, and the big fellow soon came to
DO known as Ohio.
From the moment he came into the
camp the peace and prosperity thai
had pervaded II gave place to q mill
ffant condition. The men were much
the same az the gun population Of new
countries. but had been Modified by
the women Ohio threw them back
into their primitive condition.
Tn. result was that very soon every
married mar was trying to prove tina,
he was at the head Of his house, which
meant that he was excessively dis
agreeable. Where peace and good will
had relgned in the cabins angry voice.
were heard and occasionally a sound
indicating that some heavy missile had
been thrown and struck a wall instead
Of an intended victim.
AS was to be expected, the women Of
the place 300 came to consider Ohio
their natural enemy. Word was pass
ed among them one morning after the
men had gone to work that there would
be a meeting In one of the cabins to
consider methods of getting rid Of the
trouble maker. Some dozen wives got
together, but 1t is questionable II wo-
mans greatest strength lies In dellber-
alive assemblies. At any rate. In this
instance a great deal OF time anc talk
were expended In suggestions that were
absurd. One woman proposed that they
pour boiling water on Ohio, another
that they attack him with hatpins.
another that they refuse to speak to
him. The latter OF these propositions
was voted down on the ground that he
wouldn't care whether they cut him
or not, but the real reason was that It
Is natural for woman to admire power
In man. and some of those present Sc
cretly admired the disturber.
At last Mrs. Mulligan said: "Leddies,
i don't e as we can do anything at
al, at all. Before l married my Mike
! give 'em rope enough to go all over
the world II he wanted to. He got to
thinldn' he wor a prize at a county fair.
i jist let i'm go on In that comfortin'
delusion till after we was married,
and thin I brought I'm to his senses
at the first crack o. the whip. II you's
want to lasso Ohio, my advice to you Is
6or some o. you's to marry him."
: The only drawback to this plan was
that there was nc unmarried woman
In the camp. Such as had come there
from time to time were not calculated
to increase the responsibility Of the
camp, and they had been warned away
by the vives-a warning the latter
seemed to be able to make effective In
dealing with their own sex. Therefore.
though all the ladies agreed that Mrs.
Mulligan's plan was the only plan, It
could not be carried out In this case
for the want Of material.
So the terror OF Lucky Guich contin.
nnA 70 hnlIHnno Nha no, ..na - .nk
them against their wives. Every day
the condition OF the camp grew worse.
Some whose holes In the ground were
not pannlng out well. urged by their
wives, who had suffered under the me-.
lign influence that had come upon
them, gave up their ventures and NOV
ed away. Others began to talk Of fol
lowing. and Il looked as though Lucky
Gulch would be abandoned and forever
afterward known as Unlucky Guich.
About. this time Ohio announced that
he had reason TO believe he had struck
paying dirt and was going down to
Denver with some samples Of ore for
assay and In the hope that he might
get the necessary funds with which TO
develop his mine. As he passed ont OF
the town on his way down the gulch
he was followed by a chorus OF male
dicdons on the part Of the women.
each n OF whom expressed the hope
that he would not live to return. He
gTfnned at them and said that he
would surely come back II only to
give each and every one Of their COW
ardly husbands a th~rashing. This an
gered the women all the more. and an
occasional stone followed their tormen
tor.
Peace reigned again in Lucky Gulch
from the moment Ohio left H. He had
been gone a week whom a man came
up from Denver, who reported that
Ohio's samples OF ore had assayed $500
10 5000 to the ton. he had succeeded
In borrowing capital with which to de
velop the mine and would soon be
back to enter upon the work.
A wall went up from the women Of
the place. who foresaw that II their