The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-09-08

wrought upon by the tale Of one mission
ary who had lost his all many times in
succession, alphabetically contributed
his only shovel, for which act he was en-
Enthusiastically cursed and literally treated
at the bar, while the shovel was promptly
sold at auction to the hig CHEST bidder,
who presented it, with staggering slap
between the shoulders. to its original
owner. The remaining non-legal tenders
we're then converted into gold-dust, and
the whole dispatched by express. with a
grim note from Pentecost. 20 the society's
treasurer at Boston. AS the society was
controlled b; denomination which does
not understand what good can come out
of evil. no detail 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
himself as duly accredited by the afcre-
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 barroom firerlace.
His mules load proved to consist largely
of tracts, which he vigorously distrib'
u.ed, and which the boys used to wrap
up dust in. He nearly starved while try.
ing 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 drink.
ing, and they good-naturedly laughed,
but when he attempted to break up the
''little game which was the only amuse-
ment Of the camp the only steady
amusement, for fights were short and if.
regular-the camp rose in its wrath, and
the young man hastily rose and went for
his mule.
But at the time of which this story
treats, missionary would have Jared
even worse, for the boys were wholly alb
sorbed by very unrighteous but still
very darling pleasure. A pair of veteran
knifeists, who had fought each other at
sight for almost ten years every time they
met, had again found themselves in the
same settlement, and Hanney'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 mining shovels. In
the course of the chat they drank consid.
cradle villainous whisky, and naturally
resortcdsto knives as final arguments.
The matter might have ended here, had
either gained decided advantage over
the other, but both were skillful, each
inflicted and received so nearly the same
number of wounds, that the wisest men
in camp were unable to decide which
whipped. Now, to average Californians
in the mines this is most distressing
state of affairs; the spectators and
friends Of the combatants waste great
deal Of time, liquor and blood on the
subject, while the combatants themselves
feel unspeakab]y uneasy on the neutral
ground between victory and defeat. At
Sonora, where Billy and the Judge had
their first encounter, there was no ver-
dict, so the Judge Indignantly shook the
dust from his feet and went elsewhere
Soon Billy happened in at tho saEe place.
and set.to occurred at sight, IN which
the average was rot disarranged. Both
men went about for a month in patched
up condition, and then Billy roamed off,
to be Soon met by the Judge, with the
usual result. Both men were known by
reputation all through the gold regions,
and the advent Of either at any ''gulch,"
or ''washin', Was the best advertisement
the saloon-keepers could desire. In the
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-
sidered impertinent and deserving of pun
ishment.
Hanney's had been fairly excited for
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 unusua! about him.
He was Of middle size, had long hair and
beard, not unpleasant expression, and
very dirty clothes he never jumped
claim, always took his whisky straight,
played as fair game of poker as the av-
erage Of the boys, and never stole mule
from any one whittier than a Mexican.
The boys had just about ascertained all
this, and made their ''blind'' bets on the
results of the next fight, when the whole
camp was convulsed with the intelligence
that Billy Bent had also arrived. Work
Immediately ceased, except in the imme.
date vicinity of the champions, and the
boys stuck close to the Chapel, that be.
ing the spot where the encounter should
naturally take place. Miners thronged
in from fifty miles around, and nothing
but Especial mule express saved the camp
from the horror of Pentecost's bar being
inadequate to the demand. Between
''straight bets' and ''hedging,' most of
the gold dust in camp had been put up
for bet is the only California backing of
an opinion. AS the men did not seem to