The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1875-02-05

many Of yOu have been giving ne d
pretty rough deal. | furnish jess a,
90 Il !ueal as the country produces
--iy rpDius are Kept 81 GOOD order: and
.IO man kin say thu. ia fia- ever gone
away from my house huu-Ty. 20 do
this / have had 70 draw upon INV own
resources, because many Of YOU lave
fniied 10 pay ne Now. | can't keep a
hotel if I'm hectOred this wav. have
always tried to be on the square in thi.
town. and want 70 coHrinue in the
square business, but some OF y0u uns are
doing what yJu can 10 turn ne aside.
don't suppose you are overly anxious
for me to give Won "a lecture and as I'm
not a public speaker III cut my remarks
short. Allow me then 10 say that a man
a. eats three meals day and wont pay
for them. aiut doing the fair thing. He
aint worth shuckS 10 tavern keeper,
a'sd the sooner lie passes in his checks
the better il Is fur the clearinghouse
community. l don't want you fur to
| understand me so to say that I'm a mis-
siOnary, or been called To preach the Cos
pei, but do wish you to bear in mind
that have had Il call 70 do IT, have
! bills to pay, and must have the money.
! Quite number Of you owe me money,
have money, and must pay me, or ont
| goes your lamps | have had three nice
! comfortable graves dag out under the
| cedar tree this morning. You'll agree
| with me chat the place isn't too lonesome
| and any reasonable fellow ought to be
satisfied to sleep forever thar; and I'm
| going to fill them holes with those of my
| debtors who kin but wont pay. I'll have
| the dinihg-room door locked, and want
| you all to step up to the captains office
! and settle before yOu go out. 1 am await
! ing fur You
The speaker ceased; his fingers played
with one OF his revolvers, while hise eyes
took III the astonished ccuntenances be-
| fore him. There was an almost painful
silence for a moment, when one of the
gamblers spoke:
dolly, you've been taking snap iudg-
ment onto us, and haint acted exactly on
the square with IL. We all know that
you are a bully good gambler, and could
win money enough to pay the running
expenses of this house if you was mind
to; but no, you've thrown off on your
old profession, and are trying TO getalong
in a Sneakin' sort of a way. Now. OF all
things in this world | ibominate a sneak
the most. You've tried to catch Us in
the door, but you will have to learn that
Old birds aint caught with chaff. want
you to understand that | am going to
board here Just as long "a you set table
and ring a bell, and I'll pay you when /
see fit, and not before"
Breakfast WAS finished in silence, and
one by one the men left the table, step
ped up to the clerk, paid the amount of
their indebtedness, took their receipts
and made their exit At last the gam
bier, who had made the speech above
quoted, arose and walked toward the
door. without SO much as giving 1t look
at the clerk
Dolly Hamilton, who from his position
at the head of the room could observe
every move, cried ont, Lock that door
and permit no one to go oGt unless he
shows a cardL"
The man who was stationed at the
door turned the key in the lock, placed
himself before it and awaited further or
ders.
open that door, exclaimed the
gambler, ''or you are "A dead man in a
minute,'
The man replied that he could not do
so unless he received his orders from the
landlord.
''Then, by the holy ST. Paul, your
blood be upon your own head, shouted
the gambler, fairly livid with rage, as he
drew his revolver and leVeied it at the
head of the offender; before he had
time to pull the trigger Dolly Hamilton's
pistol exploded, a ball pierced the gam
bler's brain, and he fell to the floor q
corpse, while Dolly, with the GOODNESS of
a veteran soldier, shot his glances around
the room and said, care there any more
going to try to get out in that manner!'
The killing of the gambler created no
excitement whatever, fer it was only an
other added to the already long list of
similar episodes of Nevada Gulch
The landlord, after having prepared
the cornerstone of the new graveyard,
sent out a boy with bell to call in the
citizens of the town to attend tue funer-
al, and in due time a goodly crowd had
collected to see the departed. The re-
mains, incased in a neat burial case, was
carried to the grave and deposited
therein without any further ceremony
than would have been observed in bury
ing the body of dog. The crowd pro-
ceeded to the hotel after the funeral,
where several drinks We're INDUCED in,
and, while 50 engaged, a general con
versatiOn concerning the character of
the deceased ensued. During the con-
versatiOn one of the takers remarked
that it did noS appear to him that the
funeral had been conducted IL the reg
ular style.
''Why! What was wrong about it,
"Well, you see I'm not a funeral sharp,
and don't know much about such things;
but it strikes Inc that something ought
to have been said by some one afore We
come away and left Self forever"
That's a fact" said Dolly. Now,
when | come to think of it, is is custom
ary to say something; but then | was so
confounded busy that | entirely forgot
about it. But it's better late than new
er; so if you'll all go back we viii en-
deavor to remedy the oversight"
The proposition was hailed with ap-
probation, and again the crowd assem-
bled around the grave, when Dolly, in
his hOmely way. preached a funeral ser
mon. shall uot attempt TO give my
readers report - this sermon, lest be
accused OF attempting TO bring ridicuIe
upon religion, but justice to history
coInpels me to state that the speaker
acquitted liia.se;f III a satisfactory man
ner. praisiRg tlle good traits in the char
aeter Of the deceased, aud touching
lightly upon, or altogether emitting TO
mention the bad.
The funeral being over, Dolly PROCEED
ed to administer upon the estate of the
deceased. He took charge of his effects,
paid off his debts. sought out the rela-
tives and paid over to them what re-
mained, and finally wiped his hands OF
the transaction.
The handsome manner in which Dolly
had conducted himself after the killing,
and the satisfaction he had rendered 10
all in the discharge of his duties as ad-
ministrator made him a great favorite
with the excitable and chivalric citizens
of Nevada Gulch, and they insisted up
on bestowing on him the highest Office
in their power to give He was accord
ingly elected Mayor, without opposition,
at the election in the following spring.
Mayor Hamilton, having demonstrated
that he could collect a bill. found no
trouble, thereafter, in keeping a hotel
But the two extra graves had 70 be filed
up, because there was no occupants for
them.
The Rev. George Trask, who died Of
heart disease, at E'itchburg, Mass, on
the 25th inst, aged IS, was known as
the anti-tobaeeo apostle He formerly
used the weed, but abandoned it, and