San Andreas independent., 1858-06-05
LETTER FROM MURPHYS..
Correspondence of the Independent

pittlfEl set of scoundrels, calling themselves
men and who make g business of selling
liquor to the Indians. As their names are. to
me unknown. it is impossible to place them
before the eyes of an indignant public, or to
fix upon them the indelAble brand of shame.
by which all mankind might know them for
ever after. True, paltry fine has been i'm
business is lucrative one, and they are not
to be deferred by hne-the amount of which
they can make in few days-for it is a well
known fact, that Indian will give all his
bottles of that internal mixture, better known
by the significant and appropriate appellation
of the g Devils Delight" As long as it was
not carried to an excess, was unwilling to
notice it but the time has now arrived when
all good and honest men should join in an at
tempt to ferret out the culprits, and hand them
over to the tender mercy of the law. Night
after night is made hideous by the howlings
of drunken Indians in our streets, or prowling
around our cabins and that sweet and stilly
hour, when twilight with blush lets fall her
mourning drapery upon the glowing bosom of
exhausted Nature when the burning day with
its toll and pain has fled, and the sweet and
soothing influences of unseen spirits around
US are felt; when high and holy thoughts fill
our minds, and a merry throng of olden men,
ores come trooping from our early distant
homes-a howl shaming that of the coyotes,
rides like q shrieking iend upon the night
wind, and scares them all away. Are we to
endure all this, and not make at least one eff
! fort to check it? Are those hours of repose,
so needful to the weary and exhausted miner,
to be made curse instead of blessing, by
music which would make the very fends ma
MACS in less than week, and compared with
which the shouting of the damned would be
as jubiant song? Shall the existing state
of things be tolerated for an indefinite period :?
Silent and cunning it is almost an impossi-
bilty to detect them but let reward be of
fered an inducement, and their own worth
less companions in crime will bring them to
| light and punishment Where are our Off
GERS, that they make no effort to crush some
of this hydra's many heads? Rather an un-
pleasant business, eh? l beg your pardon,
gentlemen, but it is a part of your duty and
as such we expect you to attend to it. What
pity it is that our Indian Agent is so rap
idly decreasing to an infinitessimal dot. How
the Government could have the unblushing
effrontery and cool impudence to offer its agent
only $3.50 per month, for doing nothing, is
beyond the comprehension of any reasonable
man. If it was $500, there is but little doubt
of his being able to do his duty but as it is,
| it is not to be thought of. Our Agent is a
gentleman, though q little careless and we
all know that he is nsultarum lierarun,.
The poor Indian is not to be blamed, no mat
ter what he does, while under the effects of
liquor for, being raised but half degree
above the brute creation, he has little if any
control over his propensities or passions
We all know that he will pawn his last blanket
for bottle of brandy, SO restless and insatia-
BILE is his desire for that accursed compound
of filth and poison. Under its baneful and
degrading influence he is vicious and insolent
and we, an intelligent community must feel
extremely grati6ed, if not fattercd, at his cor
rect pronunciation of those unmeaning and
disgusting oaths which we have taught him in
his hours of soberness. Let US adopt at once
determined course of action. Let US drag
those unfeeling scoundrels before the tribunal
of justice, and make them pay to the utmost,
the penalty inflicted upon them by the law
ere a month will have passed away, the cause
of complaint will have ceased to exist Let
all good men, honest and true, who wish their
fellow man we'll, and who would restore peace
and quietness to their native town, Join in the
league. Shall few cute rascals, by their acts,
be permitted to bring upon our devoted heads
the unmerited contempt and reproach of every
intelligent visitor to this place? If they are
beyond the reach of the law, they are yet within
the scope of justice; and althougha bitter op-
ponent of the "fogging SYSTEM" really do
think that in this instance, few cozen would
be very beneficial for the accused and to the
community. Could we only secure the assist
ance of the inhuman Keho'-forever ac-
cursed be that name, and may it be placed
side by side with that of Benedict Arnold, the
betrayer of his country-to handle the lash
we might have some hope of reviving the good
old laws of'49 but as it is, there is no chance
A miners meeting, held here on the night
of the 26th ult., passed off very quietly. The
fat claims were to be respected until the first
of July, and if the work upon the flume be
resumed before that time, they were to hold
good until its completion. The company
have strong hopes of being able to commence
operations upon it in few days, and if they
succeed in again starting, there is not the
shadow of a doubt but that we will be able to
finish it inside of five months. Nearly all the
stockholders have expressed their willingness
to go to work upon it, and if but half of them
do so, we will have some sixty or seventy men
at work continually. One more united and
determined effort, will secure fortunes for our
selves and prosperity to the camp. One more
desperate tug, and we will be through the rim
rock, when the rest will be comparatively easy
and twenty men will do more than sixty can