The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-04-02
SELECT STORY.
THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLAT


SELECT STORY.
THE OUTCASTS OF POKER FLA
: AS Mr.. John Oakhurst, gamble,
: stepped into the main street of Poke
Flat, on the morning of the 23d {
I November, 1850, he was conscious {
a change in its moral atmospher
4 from the preceding night. Two o
three men, cOnversing earnestly te
I gether, ceased as he approached, an
Itexchanged significant glances. Their
was a Sabbath lull in the air, which
in a settlement unused to Sabbat
influences, looked ominous.
Mr.. Oakhnrst's calm, handsom
face betrayed small concern of thes
; indications. Whether he was con
scious of any predisposing cause
was another question. 81 reckol
they're after somebody" lie reflect
ed /; ''likely it's me- He returne,
/, to his pocket the handkerchief wit
which he had been whipping away tn
red dust of Poker Flat from his nea
boots, and quietly discharged hi
mind of any further conjecture.
In point of fact, Poker Flat wa
"after somebody 1t had lately sui
fered the loss of several thousan,
dollars, two valuable horses, and :
prominent citizen. 1t was expert
cncing spssm of virtuous reaction
quite as lawless and ungovernable a.
any of the acts that had provoked it
A secret committee had determined
to rid the town of all improper per
sons. This was done permanently
in regard to two men who were then
hanging from the boUghs of syca
more in the Gulch, and temporarily
in the Punishment OF certain other
Objectionable characters. | regret
to say that some of these were ladies
1t is but due to the sex, however, to
state that their impropriety was pro.
fessionai, and it was only on such
easily established standards of evil
that Poker Flat ventured TO sit in
judgment.
Mr.. Oakhurst was right in suppos-
ing that he was included in this cat
egory. A few of the committee had
urged hanging him as a possible
example, and a sure method of reim-
bursting themselves from his pockets
of the sums lac had won from them.
sits agin JUSTICE said Jim Wheeler,
''to let this yer young man from
Roaring Camp, an entire stranger,
carry away our money! But a
crude sentiment of equity residing
in the breasts of those who had been
fortunate enough to win from MIR.
Oakhurst, overruled this narrow
local prejudice.
Mr.. Oakhurst received his sentence
with philosophic caimness, none the
less coolly that he was aware of the
hesitation OF his judges. He was too
much OF a gambler not to accept fate.
With him life was at best but an un-
certain game, and he recognized the
usual percentage in favor of the
dealer.
A body of armed men accompanied
the departed wickedness of Poker
Flat to the outskirts OF the settle
ment. Besides MIR. Oakhurst, who
was known to be a coolly desperate
man, and for whose intimidation the
armed escort was intended, the ex-
patriated party consisted of young
woman tamiliarly known as "The
Duchess, another, who had gained
the infelicitous title of ''Mother Ship
ton," and "Uncle Billy" suspected
sluIce-robber and confirmed drunk
ard. The cavaleade provoked no
comments from the spectators, nor
was any word uttered by the escort
Only when the gulch which marked
the uttermost limit of Poker Flat
was reached, the leader spoke briefly
and 20 the point. The exiles were
forbidden to return at the peril OF
their lives.
As the escort disappeared, their
pent-up feelings found vent in a few
hysterical tears from the 1.-The Ouch
ess," some hard language from
Mother Shipton. and a Psrthian
volley of expletives from Uncle Bill
ly. Pbilosophic Oakhurst alone re-
NAMED silent. He listened calmly
to Mother Shipton's desire to cut
somebody's heart out, to the repeated
statements of "The Duchess that
she would die in the road, and the
alarming oaths that seemed 10 be
dumped out of Uncle Billy, as he
rode forward. With the easy good
humor characteristic oe his class, he
insisted upon exchanging his own
riding horse, "Five Spot,' for the
sorry mule which the Duchess rode.
But even this act did not draw the
party into any closer sympathy
The young woman re-adjusted her
somewhat draggled plumes, with a
feeble, faded eoquetry Mother
Shipton eyed the possessor OF "Five
Spot with malevolence, and
Uncle Billy included the whole party
in one sweeping anathema-
The road to Sandy Bar-a camp
that not having as yet experienced
the regenerating influences of Poker
Flat, consequently seemed TO offer
some invitation to the emigrants-
lay over a steep mountain range. 1t
was distant days severe journey.
In that advanced season, the party
soon passed out of the moist, TEN
perate, regions of the foothills, into
the dry, cold, bracing air of the
Sierras. The trail was narrow and
difficult. At noon, the Duchess,
rolled out of her saddle upon the
ground, declared her intention of
going no further, and the party halt
ed.
The spot was sIngularly wild and
impressive. A wooded amphithea-
tire, surrounded on three sides by
PERCEPTIONS cliffs of naked granite,
sloped gently toward the crest of