PUBLISHERS' NOTE

The writer of the following letters is a young woman who lost her husband in a railroad accident and went to Denver to seek support for herself and her two-year-old daughter, Jerrine. Turning her hand to the nearest work, she went out by the day as house-cleaner and laundress. Later, seeking to better herself, she accepted employment as a housekeeper for a well-to-do Scotch cattle-man, Mr. Stewart, who had taken up a quarter-section in Wyoming. The letters, written through several years to a former employer in Denver, tell the story of her new life in the new country. They are genuine letters, and are printed as written, except for occasional omissions and the alteration of some of the names.

4 Park St.

CONTENTS

[I.]The Arrival at Burnt Fork3
[II.]Filing a Claim7
[III.]A Busy, Happy Summer15
[IV.]A Charming Adventure and Zebulon Pike23
[V.]Sedalia and Regalia45
[VI.]A Thanksgiving-Day Wedding54
[VII.]Zebulon Pike visits his Old Home60
[VIII.]A Happy Christmas64
[IX.]A Confession77
[X.]The Story of Cora Belle81
[XI.]Zebbie's Story100
[XII.]A Contented Couple117
[XIII.]Proving Up133
[XIV.]The New House137
[XV.]The "Stocking-Leg" Dinner143
[XVI.]The Horse-Thieves157
[XVII.]At Gavotte's Camp180
[XVIII.]The Homesteader's Marriage and a Little Funeral184
[XIX.]The Adventure of the Christmas Tree193
[XX.]The Joys of Homesteading213
[XXI.] A Letter of Jerrine's218
[XXII.]The Efficient Mrs. O'Shaughnessy220
[XXIII.]How it Happened225
[XXIV.]A Little Romance230
[XXV.]Among the Mormons256
[XXVI.]Success279