The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1871-04-06
Surprising Adventures OF Nfaster
Charles Anmmerton.
BY BRET HARTE.

mysteriouslv from bis residence, on Folsom
street. San Francisco. At twenty-five min
rtn> nast @ he had been observed nv the
butcher amusing himself hv going through
that popular youthful exercise known as
| ..t,r,iinr tho c"aN "a feat in which he
was ,incularly proficient. AZ court of in
! oIirv >ummaril, held in the back parlor at
ln;I5. Bridget. coax. deposcd to have de-
tcctcd him, ut twenty-five minutes past 8,
in the trloniouS abstraction OF sugar from
! the pantry, which. by the same token, had
! she known what was a-comin', she'd have
never previnted. PatScy, sfrttt-voiced
youth from neiChhorinE alley, testaned 10
have seen "Chow,cv' at half past gin front
Of the butchers shor round the corner, but
, rs this vuung gentleman chose 10 throw out
the cratutous hrlict that the missing child
had hccu converted into SllsaGcS by the
! butcher. his testimony was received Wlth
some caution hr The female portion OF the
court. and with downright scorn and con-
fumClv NV It's masculine members. But,
whatever might have been the hour Of his
lcparturc. il WAS certain that from 10Y \.
Vi. until . 7. NJ. when he was brought
home by policeman. Charles Summerton
WAS missing. Being naturally of rcticcnt
disposition. he has since resisted, with but
one exception any attempt to wrcSi from
him statement Of his whereabouts during
that period. Tiiat exception has been my
| self. He has rcclcd to me the following IN
| the StrictcSt confidence
His intention on leaving the door-stcpSo OF
, his dwelling was to proceed without delay
| 10 Van pieman's Land. by way of I'd and
Market streets. This project was subse-
qucntlv modified 50 Gar rs 10 permit visit
| /" Otahcitc. where Captain Cook was killed.
| The outfit for this voNagr consisted of two
car tickets. five cents in silver, fishing line,
the brass Gaping of Il spool of cotton.
(Which. in his eyes, bore some resemblance
| h metallic CURRENCY and 4 Sunday-School
library ticket. His garments, admirably
adapted to the eNi2encieS of any climate,
We're srverally a straw hat with pink rib
bon. 4 striped shirt. over which a pair Of
trousers, mcommOnlv wide in comparison
IL their length. We're buttoned. striped bal
moral stockings, which gave his youthful
lcg> something the appearance Of winter
green candy. and copper toed shoes with
iron heels. capable Of striking fire from any
bagsionc. This latter quality Master Char
ley could not help feeling would be Of inf
mite service TO him in the wildS Of Van Die
mans Land. which. rs pictorially repre-.
scented in his geography, seemed to be def
I@lcut III corner groceries ana matches.
Exactly a> the clock struck the half hour
the short legs and straw hat Of Master
Charles Summcrton disappeared around
the corner. lie ran rapidly. partly by way
oi. iuurin" himself to the fatsues of the
Tourney before him. and partly by way of
| testing his speed with that of a North
| Beach car. which was proceeding in his di-
rection. The conductor. not being aware
OF this generous and lofty emulation. and
| being somewhat concerned at the spectacle
| o. 4 pair of very short. twinkling legs so
| lar in tn" rear, stopped his ear, and gener-
| oli-lv assisted tho Youthful Summerton
Iupun the platform. From this point hia-
tvs al several hours duration occurs in
| Master Charles : narrative. He is under the
impression that he erode out not only
| his two tickets. but that lie became subSc-
| QU"ntly indebted 10 the company for >eve-
| raj tri p> 10 and from the opposite termini,
and hat 1t last. reSolutcly refusing to give
any explanation Of his conduct. he was
finally elected. much ~ his relief. on Il street
| corner. Although. ~ he inform: us, he felt
! perfectly satisfied with this arrangement,
| he was impvllcd, under the circumstances,
| - hlrI after he conductor IN opprohiouS
| aHpcl1lipn. which IL had ascertained from
| Pat>cy W2> the correct thing in such elner
cencie>, and POSSESSED peculiarly cNaSrcr-
ating properties.
We now approach a thrilling part OF the
| narrative. before which mos. Of the adven-
turr> ii the " Boys own Book" pale into
in>ign!liraUcc. There are times when the
Recollection oil this adycHjure caused Mas
;"j EIFic> 10 iHrrak out into a cold sweat
,sHI ilc has several tines since its occur
!"ic" been awakened hy lamentations and
rutctiC> in The night season hv merely
dreaming Of il. on the corner OF the street
lay several empty sugar ho2>hcadS. y few
Young Gentlemen di>ported themselves
| therein. armed with sticks, with which
, they renewed the sugar which still adhered
! 10 the JOINTS OF the slaves. aud conveyed it
t. their mouths. Finding c:,>k not yet
+: lnc@!nuli'd. Master Charles ,ct 10 work,
and Tor Il few moments rcvclcd in wild
/ >accharinG dream. whence he was finally
aroused by an angry voice, and the rapidly
| rctroaiing footsteps Of his comrades. An
| omiHGuS sound snotc his ear, aud the next
! moment hc felt the cash wherein lie lay
| llliItcd and SET upright against the wall
| tie was = prisoner, but aS yet undiscoy-
| cred. Being satisfied in his mimi that
hangiug was the systematic and lrgalizcd
| penalty Tor the outrage be had committed,
! he kept down m1ntlslly the cry that rose o
| tii> ilpS.
| In 4 few moments he felt The cask again
! lifted ny Il powerful hand, which appeared
ABOVE him at the edge of ni> prison, aud
which he concluded belonged 10 the tcro-
! cJous giant BluEdcrborc, whose features
| and limbs be had frequently met in coiored
| pictures. Before he could recover from his
| establishment his caSk was placed, with sew
| eral others, OH cart and rapidly driven
away. The ride which enSucd he describes
| a. being fearful III the extreme. Rolled
| around like L pill in box, the agonics
| which he suffered may he limited at. not
! spoken. Evidences of that protracted s,rug-
lie were visible on his garments, which
were OF Tie consistency Of syrup, and his
hair. which, for several hours, under the
treatment OF hot water, yielded thin trea-
Gle. At length the cart stopped on one of
the Wharves, and The cartman began TO un-
load. As he tilted over the ca>k in which
Charles lay an exclamation broke from his
lips, and the edge OF the ca>k fell from his
| hands, sliding the late occupant upon the
wharf. TO regain his short LEGS and 70 put
the greatest possible distance between him.
SELF and the caflman were his first move
mcnts on regaining his liberty. He did not
stop until he had reached the corner Of
Front street.
Another blank succeeds in his veracious
| history. He cannot remember how or
! when he found himclt in front OF the cir
Gus tent. lie has III ind s;inct remembrance
! Of having raised through Il long street OF
stores, which made hum fear it was Sunday,
! and hat lie had spent Il miserable night in
. the sugar cask. But he remembers hearing
! the sound of music within the tent, and of
cree ping on his hands and knees, when no
| one was looking, until he passed under the
canvas His description of the wonders
contained within that circle; OF the ter
rife feats performed by man on pole,
since practiced by him IN the backyard
| or the horses. one of which was spotted,