Sleep, don’t weep, my sweet love
Your face is tear streaked, the days were rough
So do what you must do to fill that hole
Wear another shoe to comfort the soul…
I hope you found the place where you finally belong
~Damien Rice
In August of 1916, Dorothy Dunn, her cousin Fern, and close friend Ruth Wornick waded into a nearby dredge pond in the town of Bannack, Montanta, in an attempt to get some relief from the blistering summer sun. Stepping off a false shelf and into deep water, the girl’s troubles were just beginning as none knew how to swim. Hearing their cries, Smith Paddock, a young boy of just 12, ran to the water’s edge and attempted to extricate the girls from the pond. After an intense struggle, Ruth and Fern were pulled to safety. Succumbing to the deep water, Dorothy Dunn breathed her last breath under the blue, cloudless Montana sky. In great sadness, her lifeless body was carried a short distance by townspeople to the Meade Hotel. Despite desperate attempts to revive her, the efforts were to no avail.
In a long blue dress, Dorothy Dunn still walks the staircase of the Meade Hotel in Bannack, Montana.
What do you think?