Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1854-10-25
s. 6nob Yarll.
NOT A BIT OF DANGER;
Or
A stroa5 Cans Of Euohre.
By FALcos BRIDGE.


Courage moral or physical is great gift,
but presence of mind, in moments of peril, IS,
in some cases, superior merit; in nine cases
ont OF ten, di discretion is better than valor. A
man may guard against by presence of mind,
that which the most obdurIte courage cannot
successfully combat; but GOODNESS or self-pos-
session, have their drawbacks, as story
indicates.
We have heard of a very eccentric and sin
gular man, who carried on business on Bayou
Sara, down in the Missippi country, some
years ago; Tufts was his name, to which the
liberal hearted Mississippisns had added Cap
tdin-Capt. Tufts. 200 5
CIpt. Tufts was born on the frontier during
the days OF Iaiiaa fights and border warfare,
and iiyedfor years amid scenes Of danger and
death, in the South. To LOOK at the old man,
one need hardly be told that he had seen some
pretty hard knocks, and no doubt indulged IN
as many ssscrimmages' most folks could
bOlst of out there; as his face, head, hands X,
exhibited as many cuts, thrusts, bumps and
bruises, dots and discolordtions as the hero OF
u hundred priire fights, or score of PENN
no man wore a more peaceful, ,-barrin' the
wariike scars we mention-nild and benevo-
lent aspect, than that Capt. Tufts, and indeed
his disposition and general manner, were we'll
daguerreotyped in his plain, unvarnished,
though engraven countenance- To fully IL
lustrate the character and manner Of the old
Capt, We will repeat few Of his adventures,
which impart the causes and effects of the
..outward signs Of the Captains well tattooed
compexiou.
During the ssCreek War" as it was called,
Tufts volunteer, serving under the com
mand OF Gen. JacGson; and it SO Glanced that
Ttfts aui SIN Ill party of his ''fellow soigers''
got astray from the main body, and went
bluudering and bogtrottipg through camp
in which some four or five hundred of the en-
emy were encamped, and though it soon be-
came evident that Indians were not far off
and the companions ofTuftswere suspcously
uneasy, he pushed forward with long rifle
over his shoulder, calling out to his tardy
companions, who Jagged behind
s.Come along, come along, boys, there afnt
no daagsr :"
Thus seduced, much against their viii, the
four companions of the self satisfied TUFTS,
clnie along, and, all of a sudden, just as TUFTS
had uttered for the fifth time-'.Come along,
boys, there amt no danger!''--a shower OF ar
rows and bullets drove half of the sentence
down poor Tufts throat, knocked him head
over heels among the bush, and killed three
of his four companions.
Somehow or other, Tufts crawled of, and
was picked up the next day, quite bewiidered
with wounds, but still insisting-''tnere amt
no dInger'' f TH
The next exploit of considerable note, was
the fiaeal of bear hunt, in which Bruin, having
/ killed two dogs belonging to Tufts and fell
! low hunter, he crawled into dense chapparel
and dis appeared; and though Tufts was told
| by his companion that wounded bears in dark
| Jungle were better let alone, he insisted that
! ther. was no danger, and went poking around
the retreat of the bear, until the wrathful ami
NAL, nth .ring hims IF up for grand, des-
perlt. charge, rushed upon Tufts-Tufts fired
! iato the monsters teeth, and received bio"
from BcIin that broke poor Tufts arm and
tore his scalp half Oft! 1t was in vain that
Tufts yelled 20 his flying comrade that there
was not Il SS IIiplOii vi thO S'iiii'@N->
cleared himself and reported Tufts torn t,
shreds; but next morning Tufts was found by
apIrty of hunters, in a miserable condition
living near his dead adversary, and as hi
friends stood off few yards and hailed him
true to his instincts, Tufts III the best tone o
voice he could raise, said
SsCome up, boys, don't be afraid-there ain
a specIe Cf danger!'' s2ae5 ga5 rs
Everybody, near about. may have heard o
certain desperate character whom sheriff
attempted to arrest in the courtyard al wblcl
Jackson presided. The dcsperado, holding
/, himself upon his reserved rights ii. e. bowl
and pistol y held the sheriff and his posse a
bay. hHn J
e.Tufgs,'' said Judge Jackson, recognzin
: his old acquaintance in the Court, .sTutts
go out and arrest that man; you can do II b
the Eternal!'' er frI ~
ssJudge," said Tufts, ssit kin be done, 10
there amt no sort of danger in iti'
But the moment Tufts advanced upon tn
: ruffin, followed l,y the iron nerved Judge, tn
| villain fired-a bullet went through the chez
I of poor Tufts lying him fat upon his back fo
moment Everybody thought he was killed
r but in a iiffy, up jumps Tufts, shouting
; We've got him, / told you there weren
r no dangerr Jackson had advanced, fixing nj
eagle eye and the muzzle of pistol upon IN
ruffin, and arrested him.