Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-01-16

Chronicle home. When ] ohm came
back from church he saw it on the
floor n tore the offending picture
harshly to go t o her room. and the girl
oboyed. In the chill of the tiny
chamber she sat staring at the little
silver crucifix hanging ever her mir
ror: Old Michigan crept in after a
while. when the buzz ct Silly neigh
the kitchen He sat on b edge OF
Aurelie's little white bed and drew her
down until her hair was tangled in his
shaggy beard.
Demo come uD-river." he whispered,
to occupy the land! Reckaon So!
Don't mind John. my little girl. He's
hard with his religion. but he's meanin'
terness and exile. and give him hate
stead OF love. But my girl he can't
change a hair Of your head. or the pink
OF your pretty cheek"
And then she cried as Aurelie cried:
and crept to the old whisky pedler.
and all the afternoon they huddled to-
strom's silly chatter to tho neighbor
women went On. and the beys sat apart
In awe as If some tragedy had fallen
on them. The gossip Of the town went
on. The next day young Butts Of the
Mercury-Journal drove from Earlville
to interview her and net q gaunt.
away. his shotgun lying handily across
the rail fence. The correspondent saw
w ragged. tow-headed children and q
lean-hipped COW or tive beyond the
forlorn shanty and that was all. Be-
yond was h corn patch. and the
rymen. and then the gray bluff with its
never-ceastnE roar and dust cloud from
Thad Tanners quarry.
Some curious town people tried to
Lindstrom gave them the same
grim welcome. And all the week the
town seethed with curiosity. Prim
misses read the newspapers more as
Chronicle felicitated itself and spread"
with more details Of Aurelie's life-in-
cidentaly setting loose a horde Of
~nvasse all over the state to work
up subscriptions. giving away a half
tone OF the beauty winner with each.
What does it mean?" Illuminated the
Chronicle. for this little country girl
woman In the country? In the first
place it means admiration. love. That
is first In woman's heart Of
hearts. Hundreds of thousands of men
have gazed on her picture and felt
their hearts moved. Thousands have
written declaring they adored her. Sim
cere honest men. some Of them. labor
ers. some millionaires. have offered
their hands to the modest young
beauty. They send references of their
social and financial standing, church
and lodge connections and prospects.
Lawyers offer her positions as ste
nographer; manufacturers seek to have
her demonstrate Their goods; she is
K to sing. to lecture. to go on the
stage. Ministers write her advise:
actresses ask the secret Of her beauty;
mothe's warn her against the seduc-
tons OF her fame. Strangers come to
the little Iowa farm to gaze on the
abode of beauty; the telephone bell is
constantly ringing as people call up
to congratulate her. She is showered
with gifts, honors, invitations. emolu-
ments.so great a thing is it to be de-
clared by the Chronicle to be the most
beautiful woman in the land"
AS vawter, the artist. the pimply-
faced youth who took that luckless
picture in his shabby studio up above
the Hub Clothing store, remarked to
MI. Curran: 'Oh. Gawd!"
Vawter was peevish because none
mentioned that he took the photograph.
Here's you and me, Wiley, stirred up
all this bunk-and just think Of 'em
Mtch's shack in the bottoms-and we
amt gettin' a cussed thing out Of 1t!
We amt even gotta line in the papers!
Why don you roast 'em?"
Wiley Curran smiled distantly.
Bunk" shifted Vawter. the artist.
and went away. IT don't believe any
1000 millionaires want to marry Aurelie
girls right In high school prettier'n she
is. It's my picture that done 1t and
what do I git? Titchered. by swanny!"
And when the artist came on store
clerks and travelling men discussing her
Q the square. and h strangers
growled: Bunk! Don't ask met"
Mowry. the undertaken. who always
came into the News office to peddle
gossip and read the proofs Of county
board meetings to e IL there was not
some INDECENT dead he could bury, was
rasptng his shiny serged legs before
Mr.. Curran's stove and summing up
the towns comment.
"~Everybody's sore. Folks air goin'
to stop them She-cawgo papers. VIM
mems club cays It's demoralizin' and
the teachers say 1t busts up school
work. Cal Rice. over to the bank, he
says Of all the disgustin' things is for
the Chronicle to git roped in by a
French girl this way. And Dickinson,
l guess he's sore because his girl didn't
git no prize and everybody is hollerin';
n here I amt buried anybody for
two months!" He looked across as the
Widow Steger's hollyhock walk; .sHey.
how's the widder?"
II understand that Dickinson Il GO
ing to send her to Burlington for
treatment" answered Wiley.
Just 30. And she'll die in a hospital!
And I been a-buyin' my groceries at
for even years-ever since
the wtdder was took! Dog-gone, Wiley
this u q sorehead town."
Old Mowry went cut to denounce the
grocer and tho ces,nty board to every
taTmer along the Mtching rails. He
had been county coroner until tho story
GOT ont that 0nco he dshed q nigeer
out Of Broad slough. held an inquest