American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-06-26

ton with a gold double.eagle. "Th
Wcbfoot," who was the most unluck
man in camp, had been so wrought upol
| by the tale of one missionary who ha,
| lost his all many times in succession
that he alphabetically contributed hi
| own shovel, for which act he was en-
Enthusiastically cursed and literally treat
| ed at the bar, while the shovel wa!
promptly sold at auction to the highes
| bidder, who presented it with a stagger
| ing slap between the shoulders to it!
| original owner. The remaining non
legal-tenders were then converted into
gold dust, and the whole dispatched by
express, with a grim note from Pente
cost to the society's Treasurer at Boston
As the society was controlled by de
nomination which does not understand
how good can come out of evil, no de
tail of this contribution ever appeared
in print. But few months thereafter
there did appear at Hanney's a thin.
chested, large-headed youth, with a
heavily-loaded mule, and announced
mentioned society to preach the Gospel
among the miners. The boys received
him cordially, and Pentecost offered him
the nightly hospitality of curling up to
sleep in front of the bar-room fireplace
His mules load proved to consist largely
of tracts, which he vigorously dis
tributed, and which the boys used to
wrap up dust in. He nearly starved
while trying to learn to cook his own
food, SO some of the boys took him in
and fed him. He tried to persuade the
boys to stop drinking, and they good
naturally laughed, but when he at
tempted to break up the "llttle game
which was the only amusement of the
camps-the only steady amusement, for
fights were short and irregular-the camp
rose in wrath, and the young man hastily
rose and went for his mule.
But at the time of which this story
treats a missionary would have Jared
even worse, for the boys were wholly
absorbed by a very unrighteous, but
still very daring, pleasure. A pair of
veteran knifeists, who had fought each
other at sight for almost ten years every
time they met, had again found them
selves in the same settlement, and Han
ney's had the honor to be that particular
settlement. Judge" Briggs, one of the
heroes, had many years before discussed
with his neighbor, Billy Bent. the merits
of two opposing brands of mi lining SHOW
els. In the course of the chat they
drank considerable villainous whisky,
and naturally resorted to knives as final
arguments. The matter might have
ended here had either gained decided
advantage over the other, but both were
skilled-each inflicted and received so
near the same number of wounds that
the wisest men in camp were unable to
decide which whipped. Now, to aver
age Californians in the mines. this is q
most distressing state of affairs; the
spectators and friends of the combatants
waste a great deal of time, liquor and
blood on the subject, while the combat
ants themselves feel unspeakably I'M
easy on the neutral ground between VIC
tory and defeat. At Sonora, where Billy
and the Judge had their first encounter,
there was no verdict, SO the Judge indig-
nantly shook the dust from his feet and
went elsewhere. Soon Billy happened
in at the same place, and set-tO &C.
CURED at sight, in which the average wss
not disarranged. Both men went about
for month or two in a patched-up con-
dition, and then Billy roamed off, to be
soon met by the Judge, with the usual
result. Both men were known by fepu-
tation all through the gold regions, and
the advent of either at any "gulch" or
"washin'" was the best advertisement
East hundreds of men would have tried
to reason the men out of this feud, and
some few would have forcibly separated
them while fighting, but in the diggings
any interference in such matters is con-
sldered impertinent and deserving of
punishment.
Hanney's had been fairly excited for a
week, for the Judge had arrived the
week before. and his points had been
carefully scrutinized and weighed time
and again by every man in the camp.
There seemed nothing unusual about him
he was Of middle size, had long hair
nd Mt coio
and very dirty clothes; he never jumped
claim, always took his whisky straight,
played as fair a game of poker as the
average of the boys, and never stole a
mule from anyone whittier than a Mexi-
can. The boys had just about ascer-
tanned all this, and made their "blind"
bets on the result of the next fight, when
the whole camp was convulsed with the
intelligence that Billy Bent had also ar
rived. Work Immediately ceased, ex-
cept in the immediate vicinity of the
champions, and the boys stuck close to
the Chapel, that being the spot where
the encounter should naturally take
place. Miners thronged in from fifty
miles around, and nothing but a special
mule express saved the camp from the
horror of Pentecost's bar being made
quate to the demand. Between " straight
bets" and " hedging most of the gold
dust in campha been "put up" for q
bet is the only California backing of an
opinion. AS the men did not seem to
seek each other, the boys had ample time
to "grind things down to pint" as
the camp concisely expressed it, and the
matter had given excuse for a dozen
minor fights, when order was suddenly
restored one afternoon by' the entrance
of Billy and his neighbors, just as the
Judge and has neighbors were finishing
drink.
The boys Immediately and silently
formed ring, on the outer edge of
which were massed all the men who had
been outside, and who came pouring in
like flies before a shower. No one
squatted or Rugged the wall, for it was
understood that these two men fought
only with knives, so the spectators we're
in state of abject safety.
The Judge, after settling for the
drinks, turned and saw for the first time
his enemy.
."Hello, Billy" said he, pleasantly;
"let's take drink first"
Billy, who was a red-haired man, with
snapping-turtle mouth, but not a
vicious looking man for all that, briefly
replied, IAN right" and these two de-
termined enemies clinked their glasses
with the unconcern of mere social drink
ers.
But. after this, they proceeded prompt
ly to business: the Judge, who was
rather slow on his guard, was the owner
of a badly-cut arm within three minutes
by the barkeeper's watch, but not until
he had given Billy, who was parrying a
thrust, an ugly cash in his left temple.
There was a busy hum during the adjust
ment of bets on F" first blood" and the
combatants very considerably refrained
from doing serious injury during this tenn