Deadwood Free Press Vol 2 Issue 27

8/14/2019 Deadwood Free Press Vol 2 Issue 27

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Editor and PublisherNeil Streeter

Reporter Addison Leigh

Contributing WriterD. A. Kuhr

TypesetterS. Morigi

Deadwood Free Press Vol. 2 Issue 27 December 13, 1878

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editorial

Letters to the EditorEditor,I wish to bring to your attention, and by

their perusal of your publication, the TownCouncils attention, of a most disturbingissue. I was walking down Main Street the other day, minding my own business,mind you, when a drunken lout staggeredout of one of the many houses of iniquity that abound within our city, and knockedme over.

This deplorable specimen of humankindthen just started to stagger away. I of course called after him to let him know that such conduct was not appropriate to the locale nor the time of day, it beingbefore 10 a.m. This lout turns and weaves his way back to me and tells me to, well, Icannot say the word being a good Chris- tian and your worthy publication would not print such profanity in any case.

Let it suffice he took a few minutes to describe my dubious ancestry and per- sonal habits. He then most unexpectedly punched me.

When I awoke a few minutes later, he was gone. I tried to find an officer of the law, but our brave constables were nowhere to be seen. The Town Council must do something about the sinful ways of the miners and other less desirable elements in our so ciety.

A Christian man should not have to be exposed to such brutality within the limits of our Town.

Jerome Harcroft III, Esquire Deadwood

Editor,I am writing to ask everyone who has

been good this year to please ask Santa to find Morton the dog and send him back to Miss Elizabeth Vita.

If everyone who has been good uses their Christmas wish to get Morton back, Santa will have to listen to us. I am using my Christmas wish, and so is my father, Mr.Clay Kungler. We need more people to do the same and wish for Morton to come home.

You can write a letter to Santa at his home address.

Santa Claus North Pole

You could write something like this:Dear Mr Claus,I have been very, very good this year.

All I want for Christmas is for Mortonthe dog to return to Miss Elizabeth Vita of Deadwood. Please help. I will continue to be good.

Sincerely ___________ Please everyone, do this and we can give

Elizabeth a Merry Christmas.Thank you,Miss Rachel Kungler Deadwood

Deer Edditer,Me an Charlie was a thinkin we outter

rite a lettr, to make you awarre of a greet wrong. Weuns was goin inta this here hoor house down by th crick. It were a nasty place, but me an Charlie caint afordbettr. Anyways, like we was sayin, me ancharlie went into this hoor house an afore we kin say how much fer a tussle, this big feller don tole us th place was closed. Igot a bit het up over thet, as I was a feelin a mite frisky ya know. That bein th reasonwe was there. Well sir, I sed, we aint a goin til we done got we done come ta git.This big feller, he sed no agin. Then he sed it were a sin agin God ta fernicate this away. Now, I dunno wut fernicatin is, so Itole this pup we was there fer some frolicindont ya know?

Well now, he got ta quotin from ta Goo dBook an then tole us fer our own good he was a goin ta chase outta there like Jesus done to th moneychangers. Charlie said ifnhe tried we would stomp a mudhole outta him an walk em dry. That big feller took after us an corse we done fit back. That feller he culd fit rite nough. He knockedpur Charlie out afore I culd hitem one wit a chair. Thet took th fight outta em, but by then th pimp whut run that hoorhouse pulled a shotgun an chased all three of us out. I aint afeered a much, but I aint argu- fyin wit some yahoo whut gots a shotgunpinted at me belly.

Reckin th reson weuns is ritin this is we think th paper outta com out n say thet a man gots a rite ta git his ashes drawednow n agin witout some jackass a gettininta way.

Signed,X (Ezras mark) Charlie

Miners

Editor,Once again. winter is upon us. and the

snow is coming down fast and hard. Soonwe will be snowed in and will not be able to get needed supplies, which brings me to the reason for my missive to you. Duringour last winter, food was in short supply,though with a bit of scrimping we got by.We also ran out of good quality alcohol.

While I imbibe on rare occasions, the miners and some others of the lower classes of our society take strong drink

I know this will be a surprise to regular readers of the Deadwood Free Press, whichis close to celebrating its 2nd anniversary as an institution of truth.

But sometimes newspapers are not accu- rate. Sometimes they are manipulated.

This is not surprising, as humans are humans and subject to the conditions there- in of error. Or evil and sloppy thought.Sometimes the casualties of misinforma- tion can themselves become the problem,and so it is about report regarding Indians which inspire either panic or laziness, andnot the rethinking of public policy.

It began with a repor t in the ((RL)) New York Times stating that the Red CloudIndian Agency was running out of food.The report said food was at the Missouriand simply could not be transported the 200 miles needed. Bear in mind, its up to the Indians to show their gratitude to the Great White Father by doing the t ranspor- tation, and the report said they had only 100 wagons and puny ponies, not shod.

The headline simply said the Indians were near starvation.

The report says the wagons can carry only 1,000 pounds each on a five-week round trip, and yet it is necessary to move a half million pounds of supplies.

One thus imagines 6,000 Indians starving and thus driven to desperation. Anunnamed military officer based in Yank- ton is quoted as saying the natives willsurely be on the warpath in Spring if not before.

The article concludes Everyone is cryingmismanagement, and cursing the IndianBureau.

This is no laughing matter. It was only recently discovered that Dull Knife hadsomehow been able to hide 100 Spring- field carbines stolen from the dead heroes of the Custer massacre. How the Army missed 100 weapons in the hands of the savages is even less of a laughing matter.Speaking of Indians going on warpath is something very real to us out here in the future America thats still pretty roughisolated territory.

However, as you can already tell, this stuff in the Times was nonsense. Clearly the Yankton officer was seeking to put a dagger into the Indian Agency, and he did

well. He found someone at the New York Times whose only experience with Indians was probably seeing a white man playingone in a Buffalo Bill show.

In fact, the paper reported soon after ina correction, the report was sensational.The Indians have 156 wagons, drawn by 400 horses and 112 yoke of ox. At the time of the report, 97 wagons had arrivedfrom the Missouri River with plenty of supplies. There are meantime efforts to create a warehouse in Sidney, Neb., at which to store some of the items and get them closer.

There are more than 5 million pounds of beef at or near the Indian agencies.

Somehow, we dont see the Indians starving anytime in the next week or so even if they overboil some of the beef.

It is difficult to blame the Eastern press for being befuddled. We all read constant reports of mismanagement and corrup- tion with shifting numbers and blame. The latest in what will be a series of approximately 5 million government repor ts says in fact the Indians of Dakota Territory and Wyoming got $3,000 worth of supplies MORE than they were supposed to.The report notes that the Indians were not being defrauded; instead, there was a reasonable explanation for reports of shortage.

Managers were very properly withhold- ing food to force the Indians to work. If a Brave wants his coffee and biscuits, he canwork for it like the rest of us.

So lets see what happened here. The military failed to notice the Indians had100 carbines from our slain cavalry in the hands of the Indians. Those guns couldhave been used to held us at gunpoint while our women were Outraged. But that was not the headline in the Times.

No, the headline was of the Army insult- ing the Indian Bureau by making up nonsense.

So the Indian Bureau was blamed by someone within the Army for somethingit did not do.

No one on the East seems to care that the Army missed weapons.

Score one for the unnamed military officer, and score nothing for wisdom.

as though it were coffee or tea. Why, we nearly hada riot on our hands due to the lack of liqour. I wouldask what, if anything, the Town Council and the mer- chants of our community

have done to provide for the time when foodstuffs andliqours become scarce?

Daniel C. Stroud,Deadwood

(( To submit your lettersto the editor, send a note- card to Poohneil Streeter or email [email protected] ))


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Winter BloWs in neW immigraResidents of Deadwood showed their creativity, fortitude and fun ata

snowman building contest sponsored by Justice Rod Eun at the Number

10 Saloon.As soon as they took shape, Deadwoods newest residents took up

acting like oldtimers; Drinking, killing and carousing with the toughest

of Deadwoods hardened criminals.


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miss Udimo introdUces hPart of an occasional series of articles

from new residents.Hello, Im new to your small Mining

Town, and while I grew up in a vastly dif-

ferent place, I feel, no matter who we are, or what type of family we come from. Human beings can generally relate on a similar level.

My thoughts to day are muddles,and Im not too sure where to start.I wanted to write the town (Thats you) about life, not about living by any means. But about the actualthing, that life is. Being alive.

I grew up in a very strict Catho- lic Family, one of honour and of money. To me, it did not seem as if my Mother, Father, or my sister lived by the Bible. It was more as if they lived by the Bible, when it suited them.

Personally, due to this way of life that my family and I lived, Ifound I did not want to believe in God,after all, why would I want to worship a being that prides himself on his Wallet and

Bella Union Theater Showcases Shrew

Starring: Planter Leitner as Petruchio Elisabeth Leitner as Katharine Herman Morpork as Baptista

If I had to some this performance up in

one sentence, it would be, The cow stole the show. The actors did a fine job, even Dr.Morpork, who played Baptis- ta, Katherines father, did rea- sonably well.

Some of his lines were a bit slurred, but really, who is shocked to hear that?

Planter has a

Belongings.Of course, I know thats not the case

now, I know the story of God, of how he created us, gave us life, and trusted us with

it all by ourselves. Im not sure if I believe though, and by no means do I disrespect anyone who does.

My main issue is, whether we were ready to understand life, to truly appreciate it.Should God have shown us how valu- able Life was? How important Life is to

have? Should he have told Adam andEve exactly what could happen if they werent to look after one another, make the right choices, thus living a better,healthier, richer life?

I know that no one told me how important Life was, or is. No one toldme, because they expected I shouldlive like them, pretending I was better because I came from money, living infear that people would judge me if Ididnt act like I was from money.

Because of that, I rebelled, andI made bad decisions, I did things Ishouldnt have done, and it cost a life,my childs life. All because I made one bad decision, because I didnt know how important Life was.

I hope Ive left you with somethingto ponder over.

By Agatha Udimo

Town Council:Women ShallVote, Goats OK

Thanks to the absence of proponent

Daniel Densmith, the Deadwood TownCouncil was able to unanimouslyvote downa plan to ask citizens if women shouldvote.

I still feel its a waste of the towns time and energy to have a town wide vote on it,said Dr. Morri Devon. The people trust us to vote on issues for them.

Aye, thats why were here, said the newest Councilman, who was sworn in at the meeting, banker Blayne Bluebird.

Citizens of the town also agreed. Ithink, personally, with there bein a Lady on the Council, it would be right silly not to give women the right to make their owndecisions, and itd be a little contradictin Ithink, said Miss Agatha Udimo.

After the meeting, Densmith was con- tacted and said he no longer much caredabout his proposal about the vote, and that he appreciated the councils time. He thensaid he had business, and excused himself further from the discussion.

In other business:- The council welcomed two new resi-

dents to town, Jonny and Jane Lately. We were not able to obtain pictures.

- The council did approve a hall of records and a courthouse attached to the town hallat a cost of $3,500.

Mayor Clay Kungler said, What that would entail would be both facilities to have trials and keep records of marriages, crim- inal records, births and of course deaths.

- Dr. Devon reported that it is her hope three doctor will be available to serve the community when she is convalescing after giving birth this month. The hospital is located in a two-story building at the far end of Lee Street.

- The council voted to put up a signsaying no one should store dead bodies anymore in the ice house like they did last year. Mayor Kungler noted this should not be necessary because we now have a thriv- ing undertaker. It will thus be posted.

I suggest a padlock, said CouncilmanBluebird suggests a padlock.

A padlock would prevent all who use it for meat and other storage from getting to its contents, commented Kungler.

- The council heard a request fromCouncilwoman Coodnank Thibedeau, who works at the hotel, to allow Miss Cookie,co-owner of the hotel, to take her goat into any business.

Miz Cookie, she gots dis heah new goat an it be lak her, um company un it be a watchin out fer her an stuff. It be a goodgoat all nice an mannerly, an report to me raht regular. But see, dere be a bit ob trouble in de town wif it an ah doanthank dat be raht. Ah thank ennybody whut need a company un wif em oughta be allowed it for de better health and wellbein ob de whole town, CouncilwomanThibedeau stated.

At least, we think she said that. Surely she said something like it.Well, I certainly think some of our

residents are as clean as goats so I see no issues, said Kungler. But not all agreed.

And should we let hourses in the saloon? said Councilman Bluebird.

Miss Thibedeau strongly remonstratedat the comparison. Ah aint axin fer no HORSE peepeye. Jus one lil ole company un goat, she said.

There was no vote, but Kungler said, Iam sure we wont have a problem.

Yo kin issue a license or sumfin fer de goat? Ah would HATE fer dere to be

trouble. Miss Thibedeau pursued.Ill write it a note. Ill make it a deputy

in fact, Kungler commented.

pleasant singing voice, as he warmed up the audience with a song. Elisabeth playedher part very well, looking truly a sight when she first appeared on stage. Quite a strong woman she is, for she lifted her

husband over her shoulder at one point!Alas, working with children and ani-

mals, one is guaranteed a mishap of some sort, and this production was no exception.Perhaps the Leitners will leave live animals

out of their next show, andI must say, The Bella smelledjust fine last time I was inplaying Faro.

All-in-all, Iwould recom- mend for all to attend the next performance the Leitners have.

By Mrs.Echo Devon-

Torkelsonn

The Darjeeling Teahouse has opened on Main, offeringsweet and solid treats as well

as multiple fine teas. This young couple was amongmany spotted there.


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The Deadwood Shooting SocietyWe are pleased to announce the success-

ful formation of the Deadwood ShootingSociety, a loose confederation of shooters of all genders, ages, and levels of skills.We are united in a commitment to enjoyingthe pleasures of developing and demon- strating our skills at marksmanship witha variety of weapons and in a variety of circumstances.

Two meetings have been held so far, withprizes (and drinks afterwards) providedcourtesy of the Grand Central Hotel andAlbion Importers. Any individual who considers themselves a member in goodstanding of this group may obtain a plaque suitable for hanging upon ones wall,from the Mr. Rod Euns store next to the Saloon No. 10. This plaque is available at no charge, courtesy of Mr. Eun.

Following the last shooting session inwhich long distance targets were engaged-- with some remarkable results -- it was determined that the club shall in fact have no elected officers, no dues, and no rules

the trUth aBoUt gUnfightersThe recent sentencing of the notorious

gunslinger John Wesley Hardin on Oct.3 1878, to 25 years in prison for the killing

of a deputy has encouraged some of us to reflect upon the difference between the reality of gunfighters and and gunfight- ing, as opposed to the romanticized view of it promulgated in the dime novels andstage plays.

First off, the simple fact is that very few gunfighters, either lawmen or outlaws,have killed the actual numbers of individu- als that are credited to them in popular press and lore.

For example, our friend Wild Bill Hickok,while an estimable gentleman, and dedi- cated lawman, did not kill anywhere near the 100 men he supposedly dispatched. Infact, serious scholars of the way of the gunestimate that the actual number of white men he killed to be closer to about 10.

Hardin may be one of the few exceptions to this rule, being an extremely nasty piece of work who kills without remorse, andoften without much reason. He has quite probably killed something in the range of 40 men, including negro peace officers inthe Indian terr itory, soldiers, and lawmenin various locations. He is very quick withhis guns and a good shot. However, he rarely takes on his opponent in a straight- up sort of way, being more inclined to shoot men in the back or from ambush inmost cases.

Wild Bill, on the other hand, stands out as an actual example of one of the few gunfighters to ever have actually stoodup against a foe in the classic, face-to- face duel in the street that is so belovedof authors and playwrights. In 1865, inSpringfield Missouri, Hickok did in fact stand up against a gent named Dave Tutt in this manner.

They faced each other at about 75 yards,and both drew. The truth of the matter was that Tutt actually drew faster, and got

off four shots before Hickok fired once.Tutt, however, was nervous and hur ried inhis shooting, and all four shots were misses.

Hickok carefully aimed his 1860 Army Colt in a two-handed grip and dropped his opponent with one well-aimed shot.

In other words, the fellow who makes his gun clear leather faster is not necessarily going to be the winner.

The simple fact of the matter is, most shootings are done by surprise or fromambush. It is simply the reality that getting the drop on your opponent makes a hell of a lot more sense than dueling like a couple of old-time fancy-pants New Orleans dandies who insulted each others honor or some nonsense like that. A good example

of course is the killing a few years of Mr.Hickok, in which a cowardly assassin didshoot him in the back of the head while he

played cards. In recent activity, one might point to the recent example in which Joe Verwood and his confederate attempted to rob the Bella. As Verwoo d forced the pro-

prietor Miss Sal to proceed him down the second floor hallway toward the front of the building. Your humble correspondent,having procured a shotgun from Miss Sals room, waited around the corner at the endof the hall. Once they appeared in the open area by the piano, your correspondent simply waited until Miss Sal was shielded(mostly) by the piano, and Mr. Verwoodwas exposed in the gap between the end of the hallway wall and the piano.

The guns seems to have been loaded witha large form of birdshot, rather than heavy double aught buckshot, in order to mini-

mize collateral damage when fired indoors.When the gun was discharged, a portionof the loads from both barrels hit home,and Verwood was sufficiently woundedso that after jumping (or perhaps falling) from the Bellas second floor porch, it was relatively simple for Sheriff Devon to apprehend the wounded man. it was a calculated risk, but Miss Sal was nickedby only one pellet. Her Piano, however, is now somewhat badly out of tune.

Speaking of shotguns, for close-range work, there is nothing that beats a goodscatter gun. Your common 12-gauge shot shell will hold approximately 9 pellets of 00 (or double aught) buckshot, each of which is about the size of a .32 ball. Andas with most double-barreled shotguns youcan fire both barrels virtually simultane- ously, that means you will be sending the equivalent of eighteen .32 rounds downrange at your opponent.

Yes. there a re disadvantages to a shotgun - the shot spreads as it goes downrange, so it will of course be ineffective for distance work, unless loaded with slugs rather than shot. But then there is the issue that you must reload after havingexpended but two shots. This is why a gunfighter who works with a shotgun willcertainly carry other arms as well.

Nonetheless the efficacy of the shotgunin close quarters is undisputed. When a reporter from some New York newspaper asked a New Mexico lawman why he car- ried a shotgun along with a Winchester 44-40 and a Colt .44 revolver on his man- hunts, the mans eyes narrowed in con- tempt and sharply replied:

To kill men with, you damned fool!

By D. A. Kuhr

and regulations, other than one which suggests that feckless idiots are not welcome to participate ... unless, of course, they happen to be feckless idiots who we happento like.

Contact Mrs. Kuhr at the Grand CentralHotel in order to be put on the list of people who will be notified about club events.

By D. A. Kuhr

Town Councilman and capitalist Daniel Densmith was the winner of a tightly drawn poker night hosted by Mayor Kungler and the Gem at which several tables of contestants tested both their wiles and luck. It all came down to one final hand, so tight was the finalcontest with Judge Rod Eun. Both men and the room emerged as friends, and Mr. Densmith treated to drinks after.


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story night at the Bella:mUch Variet

Te tale told by Mrs. D. A. Kuhr

Back in the day when Papaw an mgreat uncle Ezra was goin across the bigmuddy to trade with the Injuns an trap beaver an fox fer the pelts, they had made camp in this lovely lil valley. Mos beeyoo- tifull place ye ever saw an they thought they was in heaven: Crystal clear stream.Bushes with lots o berries en tho twas late summer

An they settled in made a lean to, built a fire an was fixin up some grub an some coffee when they found out they warnt the only ones who thought the spot was heaven. Seems a big ol she grizzly was right fond of it too.

An she come out o the bushes snufflinat the scent o their grub a cookin, an she stands up on her hind legs, an before they could grab they rifles she had rushed uponPapaw an grabbed him in a big ol bar hugan was gonna skoosh him.

Well he was awrasslin back. but it warn doin no good, an ol Ezra did the only thing he could think of. He grabbedup that boilin hot kettle o coffee an tossedthe steamin liquid into the bears face.

Got some on papas head, too. but ye caint make a cake without breakin some eggs.

Well, he hoped that would startle the critter, make her drop Papaw, an lo anbehold it sure nuff did. Thing dropped himan he scramble right fer the crik as quick as he could.

But ye know what else happens when ye toss boilin hot joe in a bears face?

It really really really really pisses emoff.

That ol she-grizz roars like a monster antakes off chasin poor Ezra. An great uncle Ez, bein the wise woodsman that he is,runs like hell. That brar chased him across the crik, up the one side o the valley, downthe other, an they kep a runnin until they was nearly back in white folks country/

An Great Uncle Ezra sees this ol aban- donned settlers cabin up ahead. He puts onone last burst o foot power, an gets inside an shuts the door just as the grizz is fixin to chomp himonthe buttocks. He bars the door ansettles in. Gonna out wait the bear.

...And the bear sets down outside,gonna try to outwait HIM. So Ez is inside

the cabin. The bear is outside. An they wait. An wait. Anwait.

The leaves fall...Snow comes...An long about

Christmas time,theys both gettintired o this nonsense. Ez is gettinlonley. The bar is too tired an hungry to be pissed off anymore. An with the

It was story night recently at the Bella Union. Here are some of the tales told, and songs sung.Some are very fine, but omitted for reasons of space.

winter settin in they was bothstuck there. So Ez eventually invited it in an they kinda took to a new sort o relationship.

Matter o fact Great Uncle Ezra claimed that come spring him anthe she-grizzly got hitched

But I gotta tell you, I aint sure hes bein completely honest about the story. Tween you an me, Ithink he done exagerated a tad.

Tis my absolute belief he neve married no grizz

Nope. I think they was jus shackin up together.

Mr. Clay Kunglerthen sang the

famous ((RL)) Civil War hymn, ramp!

ramp! ramp!And and no its not about

anyone specific, he added help- fully.

In the prison cell I sit, thinkingMother, dear, of you,

And our b right and happy home so far away,

And the tears, they fill my eyes spite of all that I can do,

Tho I try to cheer my comrades andbe gay.

Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching,

Cheer up, comrades, they will come,And beneath the starry flag we shall

breathe the air againOf the free land in our own beloved

home.

In the battle front we stood, when their fiercest charge they made,

And they swept us off a hundred menor more,

But before we reached their lines, they were beaten back dismayed,

And we heard the cry of victry oer andoer.

So within the prison cell we are waitingfor the day

That shall come to open wide the irondoor,

And the hollow eye grows bright, andthe poor heart almost gay,

As we think of seeing home and friends once more.

Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching,

Cheer up, comrades, they will come,And beneath the starry flag we shall

breathe the air againOf the free land in our own beloved

home.

Judge Rod Eun did nothave a song or poemor story, but he hadsomething far more

lethal: one-liners The quickest way to double your money

is to fold it over and put it back in your pocket.

Never take to sawin on the branch thats supportin you, unless youre bein hungfrom it.

Never follow good whiskey with water,unless youre out of good whiskey.

If drinking hurts your business, quit

your business.Some men talk cause they got somethin

to say. Others talk cause they got to say somethin.

If your horse doesnt want to go there,neither do you... or When in doubt, let your horse figure it out.

There are more horses asses, thanhorses.

A halo only needs to drop a few inches to become a noose.

No tree is too big for a short dog to lift his leg on.

Dont wear woolly chaps in sheep country during the breeding season.

Theres two theories to arguin with a woman. Neither one works...

And last, but not least... A word to the wise... is unnecessary.

om of Bedlam((an early song about

madness)) was sung by

Dr. Morri Devon.To find my Tom of BedlamTen thousand years I travelMad Maudlin goes on dirty toes To save me shoes from gravel

Still I sing bonny boys, bonny madboys,

Bedlam boys are bonny.for they all go bare and they live by the

air,and they want no drink nor money.

I now repent that ever


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more fUn, and finally, tearsPoor Tom was so disdain-ed.My wits are tossed and semi-crossed

Which makes me thus go chain-ed.I went to Plutos kitchen,to beg some food one morning.There I got souls spiking hot,while on the spit a-turning.

There I took up a caldron,where I boiled ten thousand harlots.Though still a-flame I drank the same,with a health to all such varlets.

Me staff has murdered giants,me bag a long knife carries,to cut mince pies from childrens

thighs,with which to feed the faeries.

No gypsy, slut, or doxie,shall win me mad Tom from me.Ill weep all night with the stars Ill

fight,the fray shall well become me.

So drink to Tom of Bedlam,fill all the seas and barrels.Ill drink it all well brewed with gall,and maudlin drunk Ill quarrel.

Still I sing bonny boys, bonny madboys,

Bedlam boys are bonny,for they all go bare and they live by the

air,and they want no drink nor money.

Tespian PlanterLeitner, dressed as Lady Clara Snootuphernose,presented a poem, Te

Spinster.That charming face I love to view,It emulates the cowslips hue :Thy neck, thy hands, thy arms disclose The colour of the Sharon rose.

Thy lips the swarthy Ethiops shame (Their dear delightful form the same);But oh ! a deeper dye they boast,In mourning for the teeth thoust lost.

Thy chin, firm guardian of thy mouth,Dame Nature stinted in its growth ;It yet a thousand arrows bears,Transformd to bright and golden

hairs.

In coral tint thine eyelids glow,

And weep the setting suns below,Yet still the tear of sor row stops,And stands congeald in amber drops.

Fly, shepherds, or your hour is come;If fails her face to seal your doom,Like amhushd foes, her potent breathInflicts inevitable death.

Proprietor Miss Salissa Wilder read a famous

letter by Sullivan Ballou, written to his wife beforehe died in the First Battleof Bull Run in 1861, andis a lovely meditation of

courage and death.My very dear Sarah:

The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days - perhaps tomor- row. Lest I should not be able to write youagain, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more.

Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure - and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me.Not my will, but thine 0 God, be done.If it is necessary that Ishould fall on the battlefield for my country, Iam ready. I have no mis- givings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged,and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly AmericanCivilization now leans upon the triumph of the Government, and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood andsuffering of the Revolu- tion. And I am willing- perfectly willing - to lay down all my joys inthis life, to help maintainthis Government, and to pay that debt.

But, my dear wife,when I know that withmy own joys I lay downnearly all of yours, andreplace them in this life

with cares and sorrows - when, after havingeaten for long years the bitter fruit of orphanage myself, I must offer it as their only sustenance to my dear little children- is it weak or dishonor- able, while the banner of my purpose f loats calmly and proudly in the breeze, that my unbounded love for you, my darling wife and children, should struggle in fierce,though useless, contest with my love of country?

I cannot describe to youmy feelings on this calm

summer night, when two thousand men are sleepingaround me, many of themenjoying the las t, perhaps,before that of death -- andI, suspicious that Death is creeping behind me withhis fatal dart, am com- muning with God, my country, and thee.

I have sought most close- ly and diligently, and oftenin my breast, for a wrongmotive in thus hazardingthe happiness of those Iloved and I could not findone. A pure love of my country and of the prin- ciples have often advocatedbefore the people and the name of honor that I love more than I fear deathhave called upon me, andI have obeyed.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bindme to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break;and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to

you that I have enjoyed them so long. Andhard it is for me to give them up and burnto ashes the hopes of future years, whenGod willing, we might still have lived andloved together and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have,I know, but few and small claims upon

Divine Providence, but something whispers to me - perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar -- that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you,and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thought- less and foolish I have oftentimes been!How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the mis- fortune of this world, to shield you andmy children from harm. But I cannot.I must watch you from the spirit landand hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight,and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen aroundthose they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- amidst your happiest scenes andgloomiest hours - always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek,it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think Iam gone and wait for thee, for we shallmeet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a fathers love and care. Little Willie is too youngto remember me long, and my blue eyed Edgar will keep my frolics withhim among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited

confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call Gods bless- ing upon them. O Sarah, I wait for youthere! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Deadwood Free Press Vol 2 Issue 27

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