The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-11-03


them. Folger and my father and all
his kin united against them. making a
great clan-but they were nothing in
strength compared to the usurpers.
Simon himself was just boy when
it began. But he grew to be the great
est power, the leader of the enemy
elan before he was twenty-one.
you must know, Bruce, that my
own father held the land. But he was
so generous that his brothers who
helped him farm it hardly realized
that possession was in his name. And
father was a dead shot, 1t took a
long time before they could kill him."
The coldness that had come over
her words did not in the least hide her
depth of feeling. She gazed moodily
into the darkness and spoke almost In
monotone.
"But Simon-just boy then-and
Dave, his brother, and the others of
them kept after us like so many
wolves. There was no escape. The
only thing we could do was to fight
back-and that was the way we
learned TO hate. A man can hate,
Bruce, when he Is fighting for his
home. He can learn it very well when
father-or stray bullet hit his wife.
A woman can learn it, too, as old Ell
mira did, when she finds her sons
body in the dead leaves There was
no law here to stop it. The little SEM
blance of law that was in the valleys
below regarded it as blood-feud, and
didn't bother itself about it. Besides
at first we were too proud to call for
help. And after our numbers were
few, the trails were watched-and
those who tried to go down into the
valleys-never got there.
Zone after another the Rosses were
killed, and / needn't make it any
worse for you than / can help-by
| telling of each killing. Enough to say
that at last no one was left except
a few old men whose eyes were too
dim to shoot straight, and my own
| born.
"Then one night my father-seeing
the fate that was coming down upon
| them-took the last course to defeat
them. Matthew FOlger-a connection
by marriage-was still alive. Simon's
clan hadn't attacked him yet. He had
no share in the land, but instead lived
in this house l live in now. He had
few cattle and some pasture land
farther down the Divide. There had
been no purpose In killing him. He
hadn't been worth the extra bullet.
zone night my father left me asleep
and stole through the forests to talk
to him. They made an agreement. l
! have pieced it out, little at a time.
My father decided all his land to Fol-
ger.
| Il can understand now. The enemy
clan pretended it was a blood-feud
only-and that it was fair war to kill
the ROSES. Although my father knew
| their real aim was to obtain the land,
he didn't think they would dare kill
Matthew Folger to get 1t. He knew
that he himself would fall, sooner or
later, but he thought that to kill Fol-
| ger would show their cards-and that
would be too much, even for Simon's
people. But he didn't know. He
hadn't fOreseen to what lengths they
would CO."
! Bruce leaned forward. $50 they
killed-Matthew Folger?" he asked.
He didn't know that his face had
gone suddenly stark white, and that
a curious glitter had come to his eyes.
He spoke breathlessly. For the name
Matthew Folger-called up vague
memories that seemed to reveal great
truths to him. The girl smiled grimly.
LET me go on. My father decided
FHlger the land. The deed was to
go on record so that all the world
would know that Folger owned it, and
| if the clan killed him 1t was plainly
for the purposes Of greed alone. But
there was also secret agreement
| drawn up in black and white and to
| be kept hidden for twenty-one years.
In this agreement, Folger promised to
return to me-the only living heir of
the ROsses-the lands acquired by the
deed. In reality, he was only holding
them in trust for me, and was to re-
turn them when I was twenty-one.
In case of my fathers death, Folger
was to be my guardian until that time.
"Folger knew the risk he ran. but
he was brave man and he did not
care. Resides. he was my fathers