The Portland daily press., 1872-10-19

4
very well ride your horse, too; so that little
| games spouted;' and ''the boy laughed a
! prolonged, silvery laugh which was follow
/ ed by a loud guffaw from the assembled crowd,
who gazed at the little figure that stood be-
| .ore them, with unconcealed admiration.
| ''Game's made-time's up. Come, Jack;
| up, FAM" and the tall Kentuckian, one OIL
the judges caught the arms of both jockeys,
| and led them away from the now thoroughly
| excited Martel Jack had mounted, ana 1.-The
| boy,' who, as her name indicated, was girl,
| was about to spring into the saddle, when
Martel managed to approach near enough,
| and whisper:
'Win the race, Fan, and thousands
| yours, dead"
''Hedge, Mart-hedge; it's your only
| chance" said Fan, as she sprang into the
| saddle and cantered up the track alongside
of her antagonist, preparatory to starting,
| at the same time kissing her hand to the ad-
miring throng Of rough borderers behind
her.
Don't pass my girth Fannie, under any
circumstances" was the injunction of Jack
the marquis, as they rode back to the stand.
| "l'H jump the fence Jack, and draw the
race you fail. The coin we win on this run
will carry us out of California, and" Her
further reply was drowned by the voice of the
Kentuckan, who yelled.
| 'Clear the track, gents; it is two miles
| and repeat, and the best horse wins. Ready!
| The horses were under the line. Jack
| steadied himself as he shouted his familiar
| cry.
'.Watch the mare, boys; she jumps like
rabbit and runs like deer"
Coop came from the judges stand, and
the animals sprang away. ID. t
The horse upon which Jack was mounted
obeyed the touch of his spur, and literally
| leaped from the stand. Three quick, long
| jumps carried the mare a full length in front
| of the "Flyer," and then like streak she
tore down the track. But the ''Flyer'' was
| no ''sardne" as miner expressed it, and
hung like leech upon that length, keeping
| the distance as they passed the stand the first
time around, gradually closing the gap on the
| last half mile, and almost tapping FAM girth
| on the home-stretch.
| The second start was even better than the
| first; and. as the horses tore around the
track, throwing the dust right and left, the
excited and almost crazy crowd outside the
fence saw that MarteTs mare would win
| and she did, coming in three lengths ahead
of the Flyer" who almost sank to the
ground under her heavy exertions. Wild and
fierce were the plaudits that greeted the close
! of the race, and wilder still the yells that
went up from that crowd of rough miners
anu dcSperauOeS as rduny DaIfirrs5 -I,runs
| from her exhausted steed and bowed low and
time saying:
Marquis Jack, you've beat me, but ran
you hard.''
And Jack, bowling in return, replied:
Darling Fanny, you ran me hard, but
| your nameSake can't be beat, for she jumps
like rabbit and runs like deer"
"Yeu're liar! She could have been beat
and Martel burst through the crowd and
stood scowling at Jack the marquis.
OrIic Tao fla
Frenchman, and closing his fingers tight
around his throat, hurled him to the ground.
A pistol shot rang out sharp and deadly on
the air, and the Kentuckian who had acted
as one of the judges, fell to the earth wrth-
ing in his death agony. The next moment
Jack the marquis stood erect, with a long
bowie-knife dripping with blood in his right |
hand, while Martel lay dying upon the bloody
track-three gaping wounds in his breast in
dicating the cause of his horrible commissions
and struggles. The crowd, hardened as they
were to such sights, stood aghast at the
double murder that had been enacted so rap
idly before them, and hesitated to act.
Fan was the first to arouse, and starting |
forward picked up the pistol lying beside |
Martel, and looking around upon the crowd,
shouted in thrilling accents: ''This man, |
Martel, killed Kentuck, and has jumped the |
game himself It's the law of the border, an
no ones to blame.'' -.--..-
All were not of Fanny's opinion, however,
and Jack the marquis was already in the
hands of the law. ''Constable Bob," as be |
was called, had laid his hand upon the mur-
derer's shoulder before Fanny had concluded /
her lawleSs speech.
As Jack the marquis was conducted back
to Peruvian Bar, whisperings and ominous
glances were exchanged among the more re-
spectacle portion of the spectators; and when /
the crowd once more stood before the count
er of the Magnolia or ''Long Tom, excit-
ed discussions in regard to the murders were
INDUCED in, both for and against the only
living participant, who was at that moment
secure in a cell of the rude Jail that the
county boasted. For some time past better
class of men had been gathering in and
around Peruvian Bar, who discountenanced
the lawless and bloody scenes that were being
enacted daily in the county, and for weeks
past rumors of vigilance committee had I
been floating about. The last series of af-
trays capped the climax, and the resolution to
organize the vigilance committee was fully
determined upon.
Night closed upon the scene of the Fourth
Of July in Peruvian Bar with the excitement
unahated. Crowds of men gathered npon the
corners and in the street, and it was soon
whispered about that body of men were in
session at the court house for the ostensible
purpose ofregulatins crime at the Bar and
making few examples of those who had
been ruling with high and lawless hand. The
rumors were confirmed when Nick Danger
field, the owner of the best paying claim on
the Bar, read an order from the court house
veranda, commanding in the name of tie Wig
lance committee of Peruvian Bar, all such
characters as ''Squatty Dick" 'Five-Ace
Scotty,' mourning Pete,'' and host of
Others of like character, all dangerous men IN
the community, to leave before daybreak, on
penalty of being summarily d7at with by the
vigilance committee, giving as rea-
son for the action which they had taken,
"that crime was rampant, and that blood
flowed like water, necessitating these prompt
and summary measures The reader stood on
the veranda, and the white light of the moon
Just lifting itself above the square ridge of the
Table mountain, shone down upon his pow
ertu frame. A silent and attentive crowd
stood in the space between the veranda and
the fence that inclosed the court house, lis
tening almost breathlessly to the irresistible
commands of the peoples court.
las for Jack the marquis, Shorty Wag-
ner and 'Fandango Frank they have this
lay split the blood of their fellow men, and
must die, before the sun comes over Table
As the words rang clear vet ;
olemn ON the midnight air from the lips of a {
nan whom all knew would never finch in !
What he considered duty, the crowd seemed !
o shrink imperceptibly away from the vicini- c
y, leaving only IeW ol Cnelr numDer, law
bidng citizens, who wished to join the COM ! !
nittee in the work of suppressing the bloody i
utrages that had gained for Peruvian Bar a
he unenviable reputation of being ''the Z
oughest campi in tie southern mines" h
Swiftly, yet silently, throng Undetermined a
nen threaded their way through the streets Q
nd alleys of Peruvian Bar, from the court I
ouse out upon the dusty road to Jail. ''Hand b
ver your keys, Bob" was Nick Dangerfield's Il
reetlhg, as the crowd halted in front of the tt
ntnred me Command th an, was obeyed, and eight men b
hree struggling human beings in their midst HLsh
hey were bound hand and foot and carried q
cross the creek to narrow plateau. upon no 81 81
.hich, lone "a ana IA desalute, stood towering % a a
et from its base. The prisoners. Known in
lat there was no escape from tbei, or or
te, uttered not single word, and suffered fe
lie ropes to be placed about their necks with eli