Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1877-03-21

saw a crack -"
"Heard a crack"
mo. Saw crack-a wide crack
between some rocks. Something sud
denly told him there was a cave there.
and that he would find the body Of
Paul Picra in that cave, a very cavern
Gus caye-and he went and borrowed
a spade, entered, and dug fol- several
hours, till he struck something hard. !"
"a box, containing the bones Of
Paul"
mo. Re thought 50, at first; but
| it proved to be nothing but solid rock.
| He dug here and he dug there but all
was rock, and now, being much tired,
he paused, and began to suspect he
was on the wrong scent. 4 less Teso-
lutte man would have despaired, but
No, says FoXpaW, IN dig in an-
| other way. And so he dug off back
TO town again, and made further in
| quiries about what Paul Picra said
and did, the last timeshe was seen, and
showed the jackknife conidentially.
Nobody had seen Paul have such
knife, but Sol Foxpaw happened at
last on an old lady who remembered
she had bought some mixed warn Of
Paul the day he was missed. He
seemed sick and unhappy, and said he
wanted to go To sea for his health.
This was AL that Foxpaw could paw
out OF her. 1t seems little, but he
thought it good deal. Wanted to
go to sea. That's another link. SAYS
sol. A man who goes to sea natur-
ally goes to vessel, in the first place.
Mosscreek is a seaport place. | will
60 down 10 the WaterSide and inquire
| among the vessels. So he went down,
ana by good luck he soon discovered
that, for years past, the schooner Fly
ing Turtle had been in the habit of
bringing stock from the city for the
dry-goods store. Another link says
FoXpaw. What more likely than that
Paul. knowing the skipper, went in
the Flying Turtle that day to the city,
" So he asked the Captain, who said
he was not sure he didn't, and that
sometimes he had; and he shouldn't
wonder. Here is half link more,
says FoXpaw. | will go in the Flying
| Turtle, and make further inquiries.
! " 1t was during this trip, only
days voyage, that he added three or
four more links to his chain. On
! closely questioning the Captain, the
latter remembered that on the fatal
day, one of his passengers from Moss
/ creek to the city was a raw-boned,
swarthy, ugly-lookjng man, who had a
/ dissipated nose and a several-bladed
! jackkniie. He remembered a saw
| blade in it, because it was the first he
ever saw; and had said at the time
| that If he was as homely as the owner
| of the knife, he should cut his throat
with 1t, and leave the consequences to
other people. FoXpaw now showed
! the rusty knife, and the skipper said
| Vt might be the same, and added that
the strangers name was Murdman or
Murkman, and that on landing i'm the
! city, he had seen him ut the jolly
Tar Tavern ut tie head of the wharf. A"
"seen Paul Picra?" said one list
ener, much gratlicd.
"Why, no! Pay attention, Seen
this ugly fellow-don't you see?"
" " S, | see; but don't see
" But you must wait and see. or YOU
will certainly lose the links. Up goes
| solomon FoXpaw to the Jolly Tar, as
interested rs If he had been Paul
Picra's only brother"
" Did he have brother?"
None of your buSiness-and asked
the landlord to let him look at his arri.
/ yal-book, of three years before. The
landlord sent to the garnet for it, and
they overhauied it together: and. sure
enough there stood the name, at the
/ proper date, in a fierce, big hand, of
Mike Murdman, and
Paul Picra."
mo, What do You know about it
Mike Murdmm and friend. This
is the biggest link of the lot, said Sol.
10 the landlord. DO you recollect
what kind of looking man has friend
was|
q" No. SAYS the landlord. but /
recollect that next morning the two
had a quarrel. They had slept to-
! gether, and Murdman was charged hy
the other with stealing his money in
the night. But Murjmm Sworc no,
and, as proof, said he hadn't enough
money to pay his own bill; and they
went ont quarreljng, without paving.
And that's the last | ever saw of the
other fellow. to my knowledge
d" More links-Im getting a chain"
SAYS FoNIaw. Went out together.
quarreling about robbery. And did
you ever sea Murdman again.
80 YES, says the landlord. Hes
Captain of a briguow. Uecame back
/ "a year atterward and paid his bill, and
l.,