Connecticut western news., 1876-02-04
LIFE IN EARLY CALIFORNIA.
How Two Frenchmen Defended Themselves
 1.-The Little Cadet.

1.-The Little Cadet.
 We never knew their right names. They were brothers, and came from Mo- kelumne Hill, and the French miners nicknamed them the Cadet brothers. It was in '59, and there was as lawless set of roughs around Peoria Bar as ever disgraced a mining camp. Whenever it was known that miner had struck it big, this gang of bulIies would drive him out of his claim, clean up his ground. It was notorious fact that Frenchman or an Italian was not allow ed to hold rich claim for miles around the bar. The roughs ruled the whole camp.
 When the Cadet boys came and began work on the river just above the bar, it was rumored around town that there would be some fun. Irish Jack and Hooknose Andy boasted one morning in the corner saloon that they were going to chuck the Trenches into the river. But Jack and Andy were so drunk that they quarreled about who should have the first lick at the big Frenchman, and in settling the matter two decanters and pewter water pitcher got mixed up with their heads, and the pitcher was the only thing that wasn't broke. It was several days before either Andy or Jack got out, and several more before they made up and resumed their positions as chief bullies, and turned their attention to the Frenchmen. The Cadet brothers were quietly working away at their claim. They had put up little brush cabin on the hill side, close to their work, and were building dam. They had been warned of their danger, but only laughed and shook their heads, and one, the little gray-eyed fellow, said when the roughs jumped his claim they might bury him under the tailipgs.
 When the job was finally put up, Andy spoiled it all by leaving the bar little ahead of the crowd. When he neared the claim the biggest Cadet brother was wheeling dirt on the dam. A lcng, mar row plank led from the bank to the dam, and just as he was about midway on this board with his wheelbarrow of dirt, Andy caught hold of the plank and turn ed it over. The wheelbarrow, the dirt, and the Frenchman were precipitated into the prospect hole, but somehow Andy was with them. With a spring like panther, the Frenchman had grab bed the bully, and together they were writhing. struggling, and fighting like infuriated demons. Andy had found his match, but, with the cowardly instinct of the rough, he was not willing to take even chances, and drew his bowie knife. Just then the little Cadet appeared in the cabin door with his rife. He saw his brother struggling with the rufIian 1; he saw the knife in the hands of the lat ter and down toward the bar he saw the roughs coming on run. Sometimes Andy was on top, sometimes the French man, and it was forty yards away. How ever, there was not 8 moment to con- sider, and quick as flash the gray eyes were sighted along the barrel, and the big Cadet was struggling with-a corpse. HOoknosed Andy had bullet in his brain.
 The two brothers took their rifles, and on the mountain. There was too much consternation among the roughs to ad- init of immediate pursuit, but that after noon over forty of the dead mans s friends were hunting through the bushes and along the steep mountain sides, resolved on vengeance. That night at midnight the Cadet brothers came into Peoria Bar, and were supplied with an abund- ance of the best ammunition and pro- visions by their French friends. For three days the search was unavailing, but on the fourth gang of eight or ten men discovered the hiding place of the Cadets. That is, they all discovered it but the head man, who fell dead in his tracks just as he came in sight of the jagged cliff where they were concealed
 You may believe 1t or not, boys, but every man who lived on the Stanislaus in those days knows that the Cadets stayed on the mountains and around to- ward Yankee Hill for two or three weeks, and defied every mau that was sent after them. Bill Garter, the city marshal of Columbia, swore he would take them or die, but somehow Bill never managed to find them. Others did, however. Nc Kinney, as bold man as ever lived, was very eager in the search until bullet struck him in the upper part of his forehead, and glancing upwar gourged an ugly hole in his scalp. Mckinney got well and is living now, but he never afterward iudulged in the pleasure of
 hunting Frenchmen. Only the smaller one did the shooting. The big brother always loaded the guns. Their pur- suers often shot at them, and sometimes surrounded their position so as to com pei them to retreat. The little Cadet
 would fire a shot, haud the empty gun to his brother, and the latter would load
 the musket while retreating up the hill
 By the time it was loaded the little fel- low would fire again, and then hurry up to his brother and exchange guns. They killed two men outright and seriously wounded three others.
 If you have ever been on the Stanis- laus, you know that the granite cliffs rise almost perpendicularly upward in many places from the river. On one of
 these cliffs the Frenchmen found it ut terly impossible to ascend further. Their enemies were in hot pursuit, and a change of position became inevitable. They had to choose between facing their enemies or jumping perpendicular
 ly down the cliff 700 feet into the river. There seemed to be very little choice in the matter, for there was a score or more of armed men below them. As soon, however, as they turned fiercely and be- gan to rush down on the crowd, the lat. ter were so utterly amazed that they wheeled and ran, and rolled, and tum- bled helter skelter down the mountain. A bullet from the little Cadets rifle nailed one of them, however, poor old R-1l | T.