Madera Union High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Madera, CA)

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PURPLE AND WHITE. LITTLE NUGGET. BY EMELIA LOINAZ, N the spring of the year 1849, there lived in a little New Hampshire vil- lage a happy family; Joe, his wife, and their only child Annie, a winsome lass of three years. Their home was an humble cottage of three rooms, a parlor, bedroom, and one that served for both kitchen and dining- These were scantily furnished but The porch was hidden room. very neatly kept. from view by carefully trained vines, and the front yard was filled with sweet scented flowers, the pride of the little housewife. Although Joe’s wife had been brought up amidst more luxuries than he could pro- vide for her, she was perfec tly contented, All day the garden and as happy as the day was long. she was as busy as a bee; now house and amongst the flowers. tidying now working in the Little Annie was the joy of her home, and the pride of the village. Her sweet childish both old Old men delighted in taking’ her graces won the hearts of and young. on their knees and telling her fairy tales. She opened wide her large blue eyes, and listened attentively to the wondrous stories. Joe, a middle-aged man, loved his wife and child dearly, and his one desire in life was to gain enough wealth to provide for them a home filled with all the comforts and luxuries to which his wife had been accustomed before her marriage. Every day the men of the village round the little postoftice, and read the evening papers filled with marvelous tales gathered of the rich gold mines in the far west. Although incredible they created great excitement in the little country town. sit for hours talking about the gold mines, many of these stories were The men would building castles in the air, and making plans for prospecting trips, but when some of them, looking also on the dark side, began to talk about the dangers of the journey, the wild animals of forest and plain, and the wilder savages, the excite- ment would gradually die down, and the subject be dropped—only, however, to be renewed the next day. Joe never tired of talking about th e gold fields. looked seriously into the matter. He seemed to be the only one who He had made plans to equip himself with a camp- ing outfit, and journey with his family to the gold fields. So much did his plans prey upon his mind that, at last, he decided But the thought of ex- posing his wife to the dangers and hard- to carry them out. ships incident to the rough trip and the subsequent life in a wild country, made him backward about revealing his plans to her. When he first began to talk about it, she thought he was only joking, but having heard all his plans, she knew he was in She little who did not fear danger, but the thought earnest. was a brave woman, of leaving her home and friends caused depression which all her efforts could not quite dispel. whole They money Joe and his wife were busy for a month making ready for the trip. the a “prairie schooner” sold their cottage, and with bought a team of oxen, —a covered wagon such as travelers used in those days when crossing the plains. After bidding their friends good-bye over and over again, the little party started out on their westward journey. O, how the village people missed the beautiful child, who had carried sunshine with her wherever she went! “Perhaps we shall never see her again,” said some. Others imagined they saw her, in after years, a proud and haughty woman enjoying the wealth ac quired by her ambi- tious father. How lonely the deserted cottage looked! It had been bought by a wealthy man, he intending to rent it, but it remained unoc- cupied. During the day no friendly smoke issued from the lone chimney; at night no cheerful light shone at the window to glad- The melodies that used to float out over the village at twilight from the little porch The carefully den the eye of the wayfarer. sweet were heard no more. trim-

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PURPLE ately surmised that that one of the men killed was the father of these children. She resolved at once to find their mother. «Where do you live?” asked rose. They could not tell exactly, but when she asked them to take her to their home they readily consented. People’s eves were filled with wonder, seeing the neatly dressed girl walking down the street with the dirty little children. The widow was also much surprised and pleased to see the young lady with her children. In her loneliness she had longed for some one to whom she might confide She told the story of her husband’s death and her present circum- her sorrows. stances without hesitancy. Rose comforted her the best she knew how and, after prom- ising to return, started home—the children gazing fondly after her. The scene of the widow and her poor children by no means vanished from her mind. She was deeply absorbed in thought on her way home, and while helping to pre- pare the evening meal had but little to say. Her mother wondered at her reticence, but said nothing, for she knew if she but waited she would have her daughter's confidence. After the evening work was done Rose spoke. “Mother, did Uncle could use my money 11 “Yes,” replied her mother, “do as you Arnold say that I any way I chose?” please with it.” « Well, I have decided to wear my old muslin dress to the party. Ihave found a more profitable use for my money.” Then she told her mother the story of Mrs. spending the the widow and her three children. Devan had approved of twenty dollars on the dress, but was de- lighted to find such a self-sacrificing spirit in her child. «J think,” said she, “that your uncle would be very much pleased to know that you had spent it in this way.” Rose thought no more of her dress, but set herself to studying how she might help She told Blanche that she did not intend to get a dress, yet kept to herself her plans for spending the money. the widow. AND WHITE. 11 The next day she bought several articles and had them delivered to the poor woman. eave her the few D5 Then she visited her and dollars she had left. The time passed quietly until the evening of the party. Although Rose was dressed much plainer than the rest of the girls, she looked as pretty and attractive as any. A few snobbish girls acted indifferently to- ward her, but the consciousness of having performed a charitable act kept her pride high, and she tried to think that she did not care. However, in the course of the evening, a few unkind remarks were over- She did not repent for what she had done, yet could heard which stung her deeply. not enjoy herself thoroughly. During this time her mother, according to the uncle’s request, had written to him how his niece had spent her money. A few months later, a letter came to Mrs. Devan informing her that her brother Arnold had died suddenly and, being with- out direct heirs, willed most of his fortune to his niece Rose. The twenty dollar check had been merely a test to discover which of his two neices was most worthy of becoming the heiress of his wealth. Rose's methods of spending her money had pleased her uncle greatly, and he believed that she would make the best use of the fortune he had so carefully accumulated. Nor was this belief unwisely founded. Every year of her long and useful life Rose set aside a considerable portion of her large income which she devoted entirely to charity. Following the suggestion of her unele, she occupied most of her time in alleviating suffering, relieving the sick and distressed, and in enlisting the help of other people in the same cause. oP When did the window blush? When it saw the ‘““weather strip.” We ees 2 “J saw a man drop fifty feet from a window to-day.”’ “Was he killed?” “No, they were pigs’ feet.” —Exchange. —? Chemist—‘“‘Pills, anti-bilious?’‘ The Child—‘‘No, sir; uncle is.”’

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PURPLE AND WHITE. 13 wild, and the beautiful flowers were crowded out of their beds by The whole place as- med yines grew tall, uneainly weeds. sumed an air of mournful desolation. Every day the wite thought of her old home, and how her plants were neglected. Every day the wife praved that she might but to appeared bright and happy. some day return ; Joe she always Their journey was slow and tedious. At and privations taxed On casion, while encamped in a lonely spot in the woods, they were suddenly surrounded Although frightened molested, every point hardship one OC- their streneth to the utmost. by a band of savages. nearly to death they and Joe by dint of much friendly gesticula- tion gifts of other trinkets persuaded them to depart in peace. were not and by beads and After many adventures with wild animals and a few accidents, which greatly delayed their progress they arrived in California at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Resting they then began to look about for a favorable place here for a few days, in which to build their enbin. An ideal spot, by a clear stream of water, was at leneth discovered. Joe at once began to cut down trees and gradually their rude, but picturesque home, was completed. His wite tried to make the little ¢ abin as nearly dif- fieult for Joe to put in a wooden floor, so like her old home as possible. It was his wife cut up the canvas tent which they had with them, sewed the pieces together to fit the space and stretched it on the ground. To beautify and soften the rough exterior she dug up wild rose bushes which grew near-by, and planted them all around the place. The hope, began his search for gold. the morning he would start out, with pick and shovel, and work until nightfall, every to strike a rich mine. full of Early in home being finished, Joe, moment expecting Many times he was just on the point of abandoning hope, but the discovery of a few grains of the precious metal in his pan always encouraged him to even greater ef- months He worked for about six Then he gave up all hope, forts. without success. and to add to his misfortune, his wife’s health, never too vigorous, began slowly to Tn spite of all that he could do, she finally passed quietly away and left him decline. a lonely, broken-hearted man, with a child of four as his sole comfort and companion. For weeks the widowed husband scarcely He could not bear to leave the spot endeared to him stirred from the little cabin door. by so many evidences of his wife’s skill and The little plants he tended with His pick and shovel lay neglected and soon be- devotion. a loving care that was almost pathetic. came covered with rust. His life was cen- little recalled the memory tered in those thines which most vividly of her who slept beneath the pines on the hillside. One evening, just as the sun was tinting gold, his head in his hands, think- The thought of future added new weight to She had wild flower, the western sky with Joe sat on his doorstep with ing deeply of his troubles. Annie and her his erief-stricken mind. erown up in this new country like a and was daily becoming more beautiful. ‘Poor little daughter! How vide for you as I had hoped and planned? What will be I, too, : 9 gone? can I pro- your fate when am papa!” broke in the childish treble at this moment. “See pretty ittle buttons! I finded ’em for little child; would never «Papa! mama!” Poor she did not know her mother return. ‘See, papa, how zay shine! “buttons” in his great, One glance told him that their mine had at last been discovered. A the rough hands. Joe took ray from the dying sun elanced across his daughter’s head, ne it to gold. ‘ Little pressed her to him, “ you are more precious Nugget,” he said brokenly as he to me than all the gold in California !” Annie led the way down to a little stream where she had found the gold, and in a short time pick and shovel uncovered a ledge that fairly glittered with the precious metal. Next morning, with specimens of the rich ore, they journeyed to the nearest town, where after some delay, the mine was finally