Weekly Calaveras chronicle. (Mokelumne Hill, Calaveras County, Cal.) 18??-1874, 1867-12-07

Texans, on whose conduct he had acted
the part of spy. l learned the arti6ce
over year ago.
Then you are mailman yourself,
Colonel. Deaf Smith was never known
to miss his mark. He has been known
to triDg down ravens in their flight, and
has picked off Comanches and Mexicans
at the distance of two hundred and fifty
yards The thing is settled. l fancy
| can do little of that business myself
But for Gods sake,' persisted Judge
Webb, becoming excited, Il don't want
you to be murdered ,
Who is going to be murdered? ? asked
Colonel Morton, as he coolly smoked
his cigar and smiled in his usual way
why you, if you undertake to hight
Deaf Smith THE thing is all arrang-
ed, as l said a moment ago, and l
wouldn't back out of it if | were certain
of being shot; for what is death to dis
honor?
Toward evening large crowd assem-
bled at the place of meeting, and so
reckless were the people, regarding the
mighty issue at stake-a human life,
perhaps two-that there were all man
ner of jokes, and not few wagers were
laid upon the result. At length, as
the sun sank below the horizon, the
two mortal antagonists appeared on the
open space with their ponderous rifles
and took their stations, standing back
to back. At the waving of handker-
chief they began pacing off from each
other, both stepping as exactly together
as if they were keeping time to the tap
of drum. They completed the dis
lance at the same second, when they
wheeled so as to face each other, and
to fire as soon as possible.
AS they were separated by goodly
distance, as they raised their rifles they
paused moment to make their aim.
The pause was long enough for the
crowd to glance from one to the other,
and note the expression of their faces.
Colonel Morton was calm and smiling;
but the smile was murderous one
far more terrible than the severest
scowl could be. Deaf Smith, however,
was as rigid and passionless as ever
His profile might have been supposed
to be cut in stone, SO expresslonless
was it. The former was attired in the
finest and most expensive broadcloth,
and the other in smoke tinted leather
The next instant the two rifles explo-
ded simultaneously. Colonel Morton,
with smothered shrek, sprang upward
and fell to the ground dead. Deaf
Smith stood unmoved, and began re-
loading his rife, which being done, he
turned and disappeared in the adjoining
forest.
Three days afterward, General Hous-
ton, accompanied by Deaf Smith and
ten other men, made his appearance in
Austin, and without further opposition
removed the State papers.
Deaf Smith, as | remarked in anoth,
er place, Was one of the most extraor-
binary men known in the West. He
appeared in Texas at an early period,
and resided there until his death, which
occurred somewhat over dozen years
ago. He had many ardent friends, but
nothing definite was ever learned re-
garding his early history, Whether be
ever acquainted Houston with it or not
can never be known, for the old hero
never enlightened me, nor any one else,
so far as can learn upon that point.
When Deaf Smith was questioned
upon the point, he laid his finger upon
his lip, and, if pressed, his black eye
gave such rebuke that no one dared
question him further. Although de.
prived of the faculty of hearing, nature,
as is often the case, seemed to compen-
safe him, by giving him an eye as keeo
and as far reaching as an eagles and a
smell as perfect as a ravens. He could
decern Comanches so far off on the
prairie that they were invisible to the
most experienced rangers, and his
friends declared that he could scent
an Indian or Mexican when miles
away.
Gifted in this extraordinary manner,
it will be seen that he possessed just
the qualities to make him a successful
spy; and his services to Houston dur
ing the Texan war for independence
were invaluable. He nearly always went
alone, and very rarely failed to obtain
the information he desired.
ELooUENT.-A lover thus appealed
to his tender dulcina for parting kiss,
and-got it:
Terribly tragical and sublimely re-
tributive will be the course pursued by
me, if you do not instantaneously place
thine alabaster lips to mine, enrapture
my immortal soul by imprinting angelic
sensations of divine bliss upon these iu-
dispepsable members of the human phys
iognomy, aud then kindly condescend
to allow ME to take my departure from
the everlasting sublimity of thy thrice
glorious presence"
How TO SAVE KEROSENE OIL
We find the following in one of our
Pennsylvania exchanges. 1t will be
easy for any one to try it: A short
time ago we published an article from
an exchange to the effect that salt in
kerosene lamp was great saving Of oil.
We have since fully tested it, and it is