Ballad Poem by Anne Woods

Let me tell you a tale of Faro Gulch,
A rough, tough town long dead;
But it was a town that was meaner than Hell
When Nellie and I were wed.
I made my first strike at Faro Gulch.
'Twas a hard and lonely life;
And I thought, as I dug for the yellow gold,
I must look for me a wife.
I wanted a girl who'd be honest and true --
No dance hall girl for me!
I dreamed of a girl with eyes of blue,
Who had never been bold and free.
Well, I found my Nellie the very next Spring --
We were married in Tennessee;
And when I told my Bride about Faro Gulch,
she said she would go there with me.
she brightened our cabin with curtains and guilt's;
A rag rug covered the floor.
Geraniums bloomed at the window sills,
and a wild rose grew by the door.
She labored one night to bring me a son,
But our baby died a borning;
I buried my Boy in his Mother's arms,
For Nellie was dead by morning.
Then I rode away from my cabin and claim.
What was there left to save?
When all I'd hold dear for the rest of my life,
I left in that lonely grave.
There was never another like Nellie for me,
Sweeter than milk and honey!
The only girl in Far Gulch,
Who wouldn't trade love for money.