The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-04-01
COLONEL DERRrNGER,s LUCK.

Wnen you uOn I look IOr EN-. III tell you
another fact to add to that air-they most
allus come from 1ohere you don't look for
'em, neither, Seems 10 me. mister, as
luck is some way like gold d-diggin'-you
put inter a spot whar thar oughter be
seven ounces 10 the pan, and you find nary
grain; and then, again, you think the hull
gulch is kinder played out, and all you
kin dew is 20 leave when, all 10 once,
kerchunk out roll the nuggets inter yer
hands, jest like peas from a pod. TheTn's
nay ideas. and / know what I'm sayin'
you bet for tie Suggest streak OF luck as
ever [ struck kim Jest that air way.,. ASd
this was how il kim out, If you Keer'to
hear it t
Mayhap you've heern tell of a location
called 'Jeffcot's Pam way down in Ne
vada, whar one o. them little rivers that
come down from the Sierra spreads itself
out inter a broad shallow reach, with a
sort o. jungle on each side. Ii get It's
name fnst from chum % o'mine, SIM Jeff-
cot, Of Denver, who was down thar pros
pectin' for a likely spOt-fOr he was a
regular Gambusino (gold-finder). Wal,
he rode on ahead of his party, and hap
pened upon this hyar spot. and the minute
he clapped eyes on it, he knew it for a
hand as 'twar safe to b, on, and concluded
TO fix thar. But Jest then some darned
thievin' DOg-lnjuns, who war loafin'
around, kim along. and went for him
straight; so he put for a cave in the rocks,
whar only one could pass at time, and
thar he KEEP tie doorway with his six
shooter all through till shutdown, when
his party kim up and stampeded 'em.
Rather gritty of old Sam, warn't il? d r
"Wal, when the news of that find fust
got about, the boys all kim around like
flies on to a molasSes-jar; for they knew
that old Sam war bound to strike pay
gravel wherever he Clipped in; and for a
month or two the hull flat war as busy as
q buskin'. And thar war some big piles
made in them fust days, you bet! Seth
Garratt, of Carson, fetched up $l,700
worth at one heft, and lost It all at euchre
the same night, to Portigee from Sacra-
mento. But arter the fust rush the find
got smaller and poorer, and the boys be-
gan 10 calc'late that the spot war played
out. and that it war bout time to leave.
And so they did-the hull kit on 'em.
Now, jest about this time, thar war a
gang of Chinees 2-loafin' about. who d
come down from Frisco, and were snuffin'
around all the old gulches that had been
given up as bad and arter a bit, when the
boys he'd all clared out, they kim to jeff
cots Pan, and squatted thar. They did
nobody R cent o. harm, barrin' bein' the
greatest liars and towards in creation
land they can't help that, poor critters.
seein' it's their nater') butfor all that they
got into very close place afore long.
For Chinee ont VESTS like fiyin' fish
at sea-thar's allus somebody reachin' for
him, let him do what he win land the boys
thar war rather rough lot-'specially
them from Skunk's Misery and Dead Dog
Hole: and they made it kinder rough for
them poor heathens, 20 they did. At fust
they only played fun on 'em, stitch as pep
perrin 'em with Jumps o quartz, or tyin'
'em together by the pigtails, and settin'
dogs at 'em; but when the yaller-skins
didn't take the hint, and clar out, some OF
the toughest 'uns swore they warn't
a-goin' to have lot o. Chinee skunks
sneakin' round, lookin' for gold whar they
couldn' tfind none and they touched hands
all round that they'd go up to the Chinee
camp, and jest make clean sweep O. the
huh cOnsarn. g.
Now, Jest about this time it happened
that me and Sam JeflcOt, and bout doZ-
en- more, cum prOspectin' round agin
thinkin' that even if the Pan war played
out, there might other bits as good some
whar about. And, sure enough, we
struck gold a little higher up the stream
and then Sam (whO was a right smart man
for seein' a chance) heered O. this Chinee
lot, and concluded, as they seemed down
on their luck, TO buy 'em all up cheap,
and set 'em a-diggin' for him; for he
knowed his only chance war to clean Out
the place afOre the news ont got around
and the hull settlement crowded in and
spilled it. so down he goes into the Chi
nee camp, to have palaver with them
and see how they felt bout workin' spell
for him. ~ .aH-.. - l-r
1.-The yaller-faces seemed friendly
enough, but they all looked glum as FOG
when they heered whar the location war
sayin' 'twar a sight too near Skunk's Mis-
erv; and then the hull story kim out
how the boys had warned 'em TO make
tracks and sworn to sweep 'em clean il
they didn't; and that they had no peace fol
'em, and darn t call their souls their own
"When Sam heered that, he looked as
black as thunder, and says TO me, amt
a-gOin' to have nary skunk a-spilin' my
game, not if he brought ten thousand
more behind him. Jim, will you stand by
me?"
a. said | would, and the rest all said
fhcv would; and we war jist talkin' over
the job, when all at once, in rushCs a
Chinee. all on eend, as if the lnjins were
after him, yellin' out, Man come! man
comet"
"Thar they war, sure 'nutf-a good
TWENTY-FIVE on 'em, which war long odds
agin fourteen; for as 10 gettin' any fight
outer them Chimes, YOU might as well
expect a prairie dog to stand up to gliZ
zly bar. However, we got one breeze o
luck to start with-ther warn't nary RI
fle among 'em, and not many six-shooter'
neither: for spectin' TO find nothin' but
Chimes, they thought their picks and
bOwieS war 'nuff to make clean sweep o
the hull lot.
"When they seen Us thar, they looked
consid' able streaked, for they didn't cal
clate on a new hand in the game. Bu
Sam gave 'em no timeto think, but begal
0n ,em at once: for he used allus to say
hat when you see a feller comm for yoI
straight, there is nothin' like meetin' hin
aalf way. The foremost Of the gang wa
big Joe Harris, of Calaveras, whom
knowed right out for q bad 'un; and as b.
kim stridin' along, as If he'd tread US al
Down like grass, Sam steps out into tn
middle o. the clearin' TO meet him, AM
says:
"'Genpmen, are you a-comin' TO visi
any one here? for l calc'late you don
know as this is our location, and you
names amt down in our census, nOhOy
yoI can fix IL" -
: "sWall, saws Joe Harris. Il guess we'r
a-going TO clear out them Chinee skunks
thet's cum sneakin' round our camp; ant
we mean clearin' 'em out, you bet p. d.
"'Wal,' says Sam, quite cool, Il CUES
them ChineeS are my workmen; and who
ever touches 'em's got TO talk to me fust.
"rd got my Derringer ready cOcked il
my jacket-poeket pm pretty smart wit
it, you bet! And thet's why they call m
sCunnle Derringer y and the minute
heard that, knowed 'twar time to begin
Joe swore an cath as big as a pumpkin
and went for sam with his bowie;1 bu
afore he could strike, fired through th
iinin' o. my pocket, and thowed hin
nIum In his tracks. sam plugged anothe
The next minnit, and then the skrimmag
began in earnest.
A mad business it war. as tHT'r see
no order or sense-but jest e ny ma
puttin' his knife into the fust tn rs XII
nigh him. We fired off our Ie' ers J
too great hurry. considerin' q warn
time to load agin; and so 1t X '..'hd !
hand. and the odds bein' agin' Us, we wa
fast ccin, inter the hack settlements, WheI