The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1877-10-11
The Man from DeadwOod.

through'her the other day, and have tried a.
10 jot down portion of wha, he told me a
about the typical mining town of tina west. :.
"Is Deadwood as rough and lawless :
place as We are told by the ~estern news,
papers?'
Worse. | dons know what the papers :
saw of it, but know it's worse'n any Ian a
guage can tell It's the orneryest dlace this c
side of bell There's on law au' on Sunday.
Every mans his own court an his revolver !
is lawyer, iudg, jury an executioner-es-
pecially executioner. An the gamblin' ,
drinkin' and fghtn' goes On all the time,
day an night. You wouldn't know when
Sunday comss, if you didn't put i. down in
book"
Murders? Oh, yes, there's plenty ofthem,
bu. they don't oall'em that. At least three
times day on average some fellow gets
the worst ofan argument An is laid out. It's
putty dull in town them days when some
body doesn't get killed. Amt they do have
the queerest coroner's induests ont there l
ever see. Why. jury sot on stiff there
not loug ago, an they heerd the evidence
an found that Bill jones came to his death
by calling red headed Marks liar! Marks |
arrested? Not much. They darsn't. An
another jury sos on a boor devil who had
difference of,opinion with notorious rough !!
character, an although seven Of the jury
men saw the Rhootin' and the man what
did it, an notwishs.andin' this. fellow went
around boastin' of it, the jnry brought in
verdict of murder by some person to US IN
known! interestin' wasn't it? Theirs funeral
every day, but most of 'em is quiet like an
, don't go much on style. But just fore KEN
away leadin' citizen died KEEP the big,
ges. saloon in town-an' they wanted to
give him a good send-off So they got three
or four wagons, an some men an won en-
no they worn't zactly ladies-was ridin' in
| 'em down the street in procession like. |
was standin', lookin on, when feller be-
side me says to me- Hello, there's picnic,
amt it? Cold meat in the fust wagon Do
you know that kinder disgusted me?''
Eyes, prices pretty high, toa. Nothin
icSo II hnC p4tS, dh iiO solt ihoAOy IA AhnF ~
two bits. went in drug store to git dose
O salts an they charged me four bits $50
cents in silver. / rays, Gum drops, that's
an awful price. In Gods cnntry yon can
git dose of salti fos one Bit We'll, says
he, that's the price for salts, but ! kin give
you a bits worth O. anti-appetite pills, and
they will be enough to take the edge of
a whole family!'
What did he mean by anti-appetite
pills? l innocently asked the man from
Deadwood.
/ why pizen ! 'spose, said he grimly
!. Any man willin' to work kin git five OF
n six dollars day in gold Workin in tide
:. mines pays six dollars a day regular. Some
of EN- gifts six dollars day and found
found dead in the mornin'
o "No, never worked in the mines
y droferred STAGE ssdrivin' was we'll paid
10 got hundred dollars a month in dust
II have been drivin' the stage between Gus
\. ter Cily an Deadwood. I have stuck a
.. it for the past three months, hnt now I'v'
10 stopped.
,e He paused, but there had been such
10 singular emphasis on his last words that
b. felt sure there was somthing Of interest t
er come, SO ] promptly asked him why h
n. stopped driving.
r. "Well," said he quietly and indiferently
If "I'd been dead man in a few hours if
ba hadn't
in Are the stages robbed very often?"
to Eyes, they are nearly always robbie
Ill whee they carry treasure or valbles. I'll
10 They stage has an iron box secured to tt
bottom of the inside of tho coach, whel
the gold dust and money is carried by e
press; when the box is full the road -agen
always knows it,"
:" How can they find ont?"
"s "Why, this robbin' of the overland stag
is regular business, and is done systemati
It's managed in this way The clerks
banks an the storei an Offices in Deadwo
- or Custer can easy find out when there
=. any money to go in the stage. an they no
y, fy The thieves. They are in with 'em, a
-, have a regular partnership Astonish
- you, does it? Well, I'LL surprise you st
p, more when ! say I've even known t
agents of the stage companies TO help r
s1 the box. It's an extensive conspiracy,
| could pint out dozen men on the sire
- of Deadwood any day. walkin' about
- sassy as YOU please, who probably robt
-, the stage the night before. The THE,
oNA IL
take an stop the stage without money
boz. I've been stopped good many tim
an never when there wasn't some,hi
~, worth takin''
and "HoY do they stop you? Why, tn
NO, hail you in dark place on the road,
they never ask man to come down off
box but once: Did I always come dow
-, You bet. An so would any man Il
y, wasn't d-d fool When man sits
"a. there targit for maybe fifteen or tive,
~. men, he ean't fight much with four hor
No. to drive
bo ooh, yes, | was forgettin that. w
,.a, you see there was revinoo agent come
.ha to collect the government taxes on whit
o a. few weeks ago. He got a lot o money
j., 80 Deadwocd; where every othere house i
i o. s'loon, an he left town late one night in
,o,, stage. yith S10,000 on him. He set
CO. box next to NE, carried the money on
70 person, an was as wide-awake an game
fellow as ever saw. He was armed W
sor Winchester repeating rifle with Sixt
barrels, and two eight chambe. revolv
About midnight we was to go thro,
s@' Dead Mans Canyon, several miles ont
" D D,adwood-ahont the darkest orner,
and ,a, III. -
less -,
: him SO, an that We was almost certain tt
stopped; but Lord bless yop, he did't 81
can