Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-11-14
was only a coyote-holc thar at first,

| yOu CNVt oCCu. AIWAyo luil VI uu-
man coyotes, too, arter they had
skecrt off the four footed ones. I've
been thar more'n once, and now Pm
gwine agin, Pm gwine right into
that thar town."
"But what do you want to go
there for if it's such dangerous
sort Of pIace?" asked the captain.
"Wall, you see, cap'n," said Bing,
with Il species Of snort, "that's just
whar the rub comes. You see,
Crooked Pines just the deadest
sort of town, and the only place
whar the boys ever made out to git
!. white skeer onto old Bing. They
just did that more'n year ago.
They gobbled my pile tust, and then
they run me out OF Crooked Pine,
and thus l took to the mountings,
and Ive been thar pretty much ever
since. I've had the tallest kind of
good luck, but / sha'n't be comtor-
table in my mind till I've been back
to Crooked Pine. Pm gwin to ride
this 'crc old mule right into that
thar town, l am, sure as my names
Bing, and we're almost thar now.
The captains curiosity was evil
IDENTIFY somewhat excited by what
he had heard, and his long nose
was aimed pointedly up the valley,
which was widening out upon Il
sort of plateau Of no very wonder
full extent, and there were certainly
evidences of some sort of settle
ment. The land around, here and
there, looked even as if at some
time or other an effort had been
made to put it under fence and cul-
tivation.
"Is that the city OF Crooked Pine?"
asked the captain of the mulc-rider.
"No, s;r-ree," replied Bing, ""e
amt into Crooked Pine. Not yet
we amt; but Pun gwine to ride right
in thar on this ere old mule. This
'ere place is on'y the graveyard, an
tell you, they need one, for it's
just the deadest town you ever did
seen"
"Isn't it a healthy placer" asked
the captain, with an uneasy twitch
OF the point of his nose.
"Healthy?" exclaimed Bing. "Did
you ever hear Of an unhealthy place
among these mountings? Cr' oked
Pines healthy place, you bet, on'y
fcllers don't seem to live long thar,
that's all. It's just the deadest
place you ever seen, and | tell you
they scared old Bing, they did.
But I'm gwine to ride right in
thar, l am"
"Thought you said this place was
the graveyard" remarked the cap
tain, veering his nose slowly around
the compass.
"Wall, an SO it is," said Bing:
but over yonder's the on'y patch
that pears to be planted. Look at
them sticks? lots of them! Them
with Il hole bored into 'cm, means
Il revolver. Them that's notched
SO deep all round says how the teI-
Ter himself got notched, over TO
Crooked Pine. Thar's some on 'cm
looks as if the boys didn't know
what hurt 'em. You see, Cap'n,
Crooked Pine is just the deadest
town; but Pm gwine to ride right
in thar"
And now, as they rode somewhat
more rapidly forward, the captains
nose become more pointedly in
quiring than ever. Houses there
were, scattered here and there, with
some wild sort of reference to pos
sible street, and some of them were
even OF that ambitious sort where
one tries to climb to the dignity of
Of two. There were frame build
ings, with marvelously sprawling
signs-most of them "hotels," :"
"halls," "shades," and miners par
adises of that sort; but some were
apparently intended TOR Legitimate
business-"dry goods emporiums,"
and the like, not to speak of three
or four "banks," and a Crooked
Pine branchmint and say,otlicc.
"That thar's whar they used to
keep the tiger" said Bing. sit was
right about thar that the skeer took
me. But whar on yearth is all the
boys gone to?"
Well he might ask, for although
the captains nose had pointed every
where, not the first sign of an in
habitant had as yet made its appear
ance.
"What can be the matter?" ex-
claimed the captain. care you
sure that it was such a healthy
placer"
"Healthy?" said Bing. "Wall,
now, you kin just bet. Anyhow 1've
come and rid rite straight into
Crooked Pine. Hullo if thar amt
somebody stirrin'! Tell ye what,
Cap'n, l was beginning to git let
tie skeered agin, every hing looked
SO consarned lonesome.
Even as he was speaking, bat
tered, grizzled, unkept unwashed
specimen of elderly humanity came
limping toward them, bearing in
his hand a rusty old double-barrel-
ed shotgun.
"Look out" whispered Bing to
the captain; "thar's no counting on
TO these yer Crooked Pine boys.
They're most likely layin' low for
somethin'."
Then he added aloud.
81 say, stranger, whar hev' all
the boys gone ter? What's got in
ter Crooked Pine?
''Is that you, Bing?" ORA wled the
man with the shotgun. "Why,
whar have you been? Nothin' amt
got inter this yer place-that Amt
what's the matter-but every soul
livin' 'cept me has got out of it.
Old Bing, Itell yer, Crooked Pine
is Il dead town."
"You don't say!" exclaimed Bing,
with what til. Captain took for a
groan; but the latter aimed his nose
at the man with the shotgun, and
asked him:
"What did the town die of, and
what made you stay here after it
was dead?"
uDio of2'' drawled the shot. pun