American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-01-25

a
YET has He irod the worlds press Undecided.
"Come with me, - hear him thrO' his smiling say
Behold, am the way!'
Against the door His face
Shines the sun. His touch is a command.
The years unfold before His baby hand;
The beauty OF His presence fills all space.
ENTER through me- he saith, 'nor wande
'sFor 10, am the Door,"
And all doors openefh He
The newborn Christ, the Lord of the New Year
The Threshold of our locked hearts standeth near
Our Future on US with His eyes has smiled
Even y little child.
SHOT on THE HOME STRETCH.
For miles around. as far as the eye could
reach in one direction, lay undulating
prairie, green with rank, tall, swaying
grasses. or gray with the barren, bitter
sage, where the coyote yelped and gam
boiled and the shy prairie-hen crouched
blue-brOwa outlines of the rugged Coast
Mountains, the danger-fraught barrier to
the Ell Dorado of the gold-seekers, while
far off was n pack of scurrying, barking
wolves, busily engaged in picking clean
the bones Of fallen buffalo.
Seth Walkers rancho stood on the
banks of Rattler's Creek "A narrow but rap
id stream of limpid, icy water whose orr
gin lay high up among the rocky hills.
Its low banks of glittering gravel were
densely fringed with underbrush and vari-
GUS sorts of heavy timber-cottOn and red
wood trees-many species of prickly ber-
ry-bushes and tangling, creeping vines.
green logs, dovetailed together
at the corners, the interstices
being filed with the limey, gummy mud
scraped from the lips of the mineral
springs close at hand. Inside were two
compartments, termed respectively ssthe
bunk' and ' the bar" Split cedar logs,
laid side by side. composed the floor, and
light entered through small, unglaZed
window; in various parts of the room
were seven clumsy stools and two rickety
tables covered with packs of cards, empty
glasses and dice-bOxcs. The walls were
adorned with .sundry rifles, revolvers,
gaudy pictures OF questionable morality
and festoons of Brobdignagian shells
bought from the Indians, who had gather
cd them on the Pacific shores.
The bar proper was long, circular
shelf or desk, behind which stood tall bot
ties labeled Bourbon, Old Rye, Sherry.
Gin and Bitters, ranging in orderly rows !;
above. on a cedar pedestal, reposed a large
wildcat, killed and stuffed by Seth him
self.
or the dozen or more scouts, gamblers.
trappers and suffers gathered there, we
are particularly interested in two only
Colonel Ringeur and Antoine VeZan
The colonel was a horse dealer and the
keeper of a notorious 1arO-bank; he
was over six feet in height, burly
and muscular, perfectly and savagely
reckless when angered, and a terror to
his enemies. Antoine, also a gambling
jockey, was scarcely five feet seven inch
es in height, round shOuldered and weak
In the arms, but as all admitted, .sSOme
with the rifle"
Ringeur was attired in his usual COS
tume-black velvet trOwsers slit from the
knee downward, and, after the Mexican
fashion, studded with round silver but
tons stout mOccasins and beaded buck
skin shirt, that fully exposed brawny,
hairy chest and neck /; his long, black hair
was covered by a wide-brimmed sombre-
TO, and in his gay belt were a pair OF Colts
revOlvers and a Bowie.
VeZan's dress was similar, with the ex-
ceptiOn Of the head covering, which con-
sisted of fOx's skin sewn into a skull
cap. the head prOtruding over AntOine's
dull, black eyes.
What you take, mon colonel" and
VeZan slapped Ringeur on the back.
''The usual, thank you, Tony. Bour-
bon-fOur fingers W
80, mon colonel, 1t is that you have
entered two hors. for &c race, oh?''
Antoine referred to the Grand Yearly
Valley Race that was to take place i'm
three days, where thousands of dollars
annually changed hands and rows innu-
merable happened.
''Wall, yes, I've two on hand. There's
Jack-yOu know him well enough-by
RiPraps out of Siren then I've n new bit
don't mind fayin a few bags on-Bessie,
she's called. Her stock is neither prime
nor fancy, but I'm laying that she'll give
your Etoile tive lengths and beat herr"
There was a taunting ring in his voice
as he said this, and he winked knowingly
to the bystanders, who, as a matter of
course, followed The example of the ia
cetiOus soldier.
''Done, mon colonel! You give Etoile
two lengths and beat her with Bessie
Donei How much?''
"Wall, Tony. be patient; don't get
rilcd. Now. gentleman, ARE there any more
of We that want to take odds on my
mare?'
No answer being given to this question,
Ringeur resumed:
Are you afraid of five thousand, To-
mo, no. Five thousand it is, mon col
oneD. You give EtOile two full lengths
and beat her? Tres bien ~ and he enter
ed the wager in his book at once.
Whats the reason you don't back the
old favorite, Jack, kernel?' queried one
of the trappers, and all drew closer to.
hear Ringeur's reply, for in all previous
races Jack had won every stake, and was
thought to be the fastest horse on the Pa
cific slope.
'Wall, have my reasons and mean to
keep them; but 1 give you my word of
honor that Jack will, bar accidents, max,
as good, If not better, time this year than
he did last
''Redlips rides Jack, as usual % asked
VeZan, anxiously.
''She doesn't do anything of the sort.
Tony. Redlips is for Bessie this year."
The colonel referred to Digger-Indian
girl whom he had bred up to use as a
jockey, and who was considered the best
and most expert rider for hundred miles
around.
VeZan bit his lip and frOwned, snapped
his fingers and muttered curse.
''But," Antoine began, eagerly, 81
thought she was to ride .iacky'
mo; Redlips is going to put the new
mare through, sure;" and Ringeur smiled
and sauntered out of the
bar.
No sooner had he disappeared
than handsome but dissipated
looking man entered and salIted
the company with a careless g How air
YEP then drank at a single swallow over
of a tumbler of Bourbon
s. neat" On the newcomer Antoine
looked with degree of interest that
plainly grew stronger every minute. and
finally ne advanced toward him and re-
quested him to imbibe another glass OF
whisky, proposition to which a hasty
assent was given.
The newcomers name was Charlie
Tau'er. BY profession he was - monte
and card sharDer and also the