The Portland daily press., 1870-11-24

STEEP FALLS, Nov. 21, 1870.
To the Editor of the Press:
p. & o. RAIERoAD.
Those who were born and reared in the
neighborhood of Steep Falls and have been
absent few years. if they this year "come to
our thanksgiving" will be more astonished 10
witness the change that has taken place than
those who have watched from day to day the
progress of events, as they have been develop
ed during the last three weeks. Two weeks
ago last Monday the first train left the Steep
Falls depot for Portland and since that time
two trains day have arrived and departed.
To-day was one Of unusual activity. Thirty
teams were at the depot leaving or taking
freight and seven stages leaving and taking
passengers. Three cars loaded with produce
&C., were sent away from this depot and three
| loaded wth goods of various kinds received.
One train to Portland had nine loaded freight
cars and fifty-four passengers in the passenger
car. Tobias Lord, jr., is the station agent,
and, although he makes long days and keeps
moving, finds it impossible to do the work
without one or more assistants.
Tobias Lord, Esq, is building a freight de-
pot and takes the deepest interest in every
thing relating to the road. He has the most
mistaken confidence in the success of the
managers of the F. & o. Railroad in uniting
Portland and Ogdensburg by rail, through the
notch of the White Mountains. When that
is accomplished and few other things he has
in view, such as the erection Of Woolen Mills
and mills for other kinds of manufacturing at
| Steep Falls, he will be ready to depart in
| peace with as much composure as did Simeon
of old. The work Of laying the track to West
Baldwin is progressing rapidly and if the
workmen can have twenty working days, uD-
disturbed by snow, the rails will be laid to
that place. A depot is being built about a
mile below Hemlock bridge and four miles
from Cornish village. Another depot will be
built at West Baldwin. 1t is thought, ulti-
mately, central depot to accommodate Bald
win and Cornish will be built near the mouth
of the Ossipee river provided Cornish will lay
out road and build bridge directly to it.
If the determined and unfagging efforts of
the directors of the road to meet West Bald
win, this winter, should meet with no insur-
mountabe obstacle, they will then be within
about seventeen miles of Fryeburg, about six
teen miles of Bridgton, and twenty-seven
miles from North Conway. The route above
Fryeburg is being located and will be put un-
der contract Immediately, and North Conway
will undoubtedly be reached by the Fourth of
July or in time to accommodate the summer
travel to the mountains. c.
A Terrible Duel with kAives between
Two Gamblers.
The following story of one Of those bloody
tragedies which occur nowhere but on the
border, comes from Lowell, Kansas:
On Tuesday election day. Joe and Charley
Bigger (brothers) Gus. Norton and Jackson,
who had been driving a herd of cattle into
home, in Northern Texas. The men were all
young, well mounted and armed, and each
possessed of a considerable sum of money, the
proceeds of the sale of their cattle. They
stopped some two hours in this place, and
had long conversation with them. On
Wednesday afternoon they camped on the
banks of small stream in the Indian Terri
tory, abont forty miles from here, and after
stalking out their horses while cooking their
ooPPCA, oot uOWh w q SdiuO VI SoAuos hCy
had hardly commenced their game when
Orestus Watrous known as cOck-eyed Waltz
The. Allison and Dick Bradford, noted New
| Orleans gamblers, rode Into the camp. These
| gamblers were on professional tour from
Fort Scott, and were bound for Buxton
| Springs and Kansas City. The hew comers
were gladly welcomed and invited to camp
with the herders, which invitation was quick.
| ly accepted.
| The sun being some two hours high, it was
suggested that there was plenty of time to
have sociable game or two of poker before
| supper, and accordingly Watrous, Bradford,
| Joe Bigger and Jackson took hand. At first
| Bigger and Jackson won, but luck soon turn
| ed, and Watrous and Bradford were in fair
way of cleaning out the others, when Bigger
| detected Watrous cheating. A row at once
ensued blows were interchanged and weap-
| ons drawn by both parties, when it was pro-
posed, in order to secure fair play, that Bigger
and Watrous should fight it out on horse
back, their weapons being bowie knives. This
was at once agreed to, and the men prepared
| for the bloody fray. They were diyested of
their coats and shirts, and their knives were
bound to their right hands, They were then
placed sixty yards apart, with orders TO ride
at each other at full speed, passing ON the left
side. Both were splendid horsemen. Bigger
was mounted on clean-limbed, fiery pony,
a little over fourteen hands high, while Wat
rous rode large "watch-eyed" vicious roam;
AT the word "gon: the combatants spurredi
towards each other like the wind, but passed
without inficting any injury: A second ana
| third ioust was run, when Watrous' house re-
ceived slight cut on the flank, On the
fourth round Bigger, as he passed Watrous,
| threw himself on the off side OF his pony, SO
as ~ exnose no portion of his person, and
drove his knife deep into the neck of his ad-
versarys steed; WarSus, g Gus divining Iu the man,
| attempted to hamstring Bigser's pony, but
succeeded only in inficting a severe wound.
This style of fighting was then abandoned,
and both men and horses appeared to become
infuriated at the sight of blood. As they
neared each other the fifth time Bigger sud-
denly struck Watrous with his left fist in the
face, at the same moment cutting a fearful
cash in the thigh; but before he could Get
away Watrous succeeded in driving his knife
into Bigger's shoulder. The combatants and
horses were becoming weak from the loss of
blood, when Watrous determined, if possible
| tn ond fha bxyr do, od