The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1878-09-07

the upper works began 10 drop down they all
made a rush for the nam shaft The cage
was on an they couldn't get out I'll the rope
Icamc down. They could see a flicker Of light
Iup above, an yelled till thcy was hoarse watch
in tibet glimmer CROWN brighlcr'n brighter
every minute, an KNOWN thct the shaltin
timbcr'd blaze mighty soon an cut of uil nope
of their ever gettin' out 1t was terrible
thought and You can't blame Bill Slocum iol
ggabbin' the rope as soon rs it dropped down
to em. Harry Miller jumped 'longside OF HIM
yclln'-
"Lct 20, d-n We, let go, They cant lift
two Of us Let 90, yersclt,' shouted Slocum
turnin' round on him like a tiger
"'My old mothers up there yelled Slocull,
pointln' up the shaft.
"'My wifc's waitin' tor me- howlS Miller
"An' with tibet he knocks Slocum down IN
the drift an goes up the rope hand over hand
before the others could stop him-theyd IA
killed him on the spot if he hadn't elm bed the
rope as he did Starved him right? kerrect,
mister; they'd sarved him mighty well right
an no mistake, but he beat tibet game. He'd
Jest strength enough to tie the slack round his
waist wen he gave way all at once an hung
on to the end of the rope like dead weight, an
Dandy Ferguson haulin' him out o the jaws
o. death. Down went the rope agin, an SIo-
cum was tied on an hauled up, Ferguson
workln' the win'lass like n giant The cords
stood out on his neck like black-snake whips,
an the sweat poured off him like slulce
stream Two Cornishmen stood by him tryn'
to make him let them roll up the rope while
he rested, but he cussed 'em, an told 'em TO
dry up; he was at the wheel, an he'd stay
there if he died fur it. Wen Slocum came up
the fire was around an over the win lass an
the two Cornishmen grabbed BIZ an carried
1, ll,,ft thn RON
son sent down the rope agin an up came sam
| IIildreth, with list strength enough TO make
| fur the door.
| The roof over the biler and the pitch on the
posts was smokin' Jist a. the rope went
down fur the fourth time, an We loafin' round
on the outside watchin', Dandy Ferguson stan
din there like man at the stake, eXpectn
every minute to see him drop, an not man
of us with gumption enough to think what was
wanted, a woman PUSHES into the frey furnace
an slings wet blanket over the brayest man
IN the State o California
That's the ticket shouted Ferguson.
You're trump, whoever you are, my glrl, an,
| won't turgit ye, live or die
AN he didn't 1t was Sam llildreth's SIS
ter Maggie, an when she came out o the
smoke an flame with her dress in blaze, she
calls out sharp to the men
keep that blanket wet. There's water in
the tank. I'll marry the iust man that throws
IA bucket o water over Dandy Ferguson-l II
marry him if he's Chinaman.'
i "Thcm's her identical words, mister. The
men didn't need no further orders, cause, you
see Maggie IIidrcth was the han soonest girl
in the country, an The best, an he'd ev'ry young
buck four miles aroun' close at her heels, han
Idicappin each other fur smiles. But her
brother Sam saved her from them galoots-
saved her fur a better man, by victim the
blanket himself
about this time the heat was terrible, one
man in the drift, an another half way up,
crawlin fast enough in ordinary circumstances,
but hardly fast enough with death racin' down
on his savior at two.iorty gait When Jack
Harmon came out % the scantin' swayin'
/ back an forth like drunken man, blinded by
: smoke, an bewldercd, an if Ferguson hadn't
) caught him he'd Il gone back agin, Two more
of us he'd got IN with buckets o WATERFRONT
all there was in the tank; but it seemed to dry
off as fast rs we poured on, fur the blanket was
smOkin
when the rope went down the last time TO
haul up Joe Harper, the scantlin' was burnin
an the upper timbers was beglnnln' to blaze
The whrln' smoke hid Ferguson from us
/, but we knowed that if Ferguson didn't come
out soon the whole shcbangd give way an
IDulN lHt NlNts Nbo III Al bldL', tiil
the place where the win'la stood was the only
place where even Dandy Ferguson could a
worked. 1t must bin an awful strain on him
THAT last puil-but he never owned it, an
Ibimeby up comes Joe, the bravcst man in the
icamp reckon, barrin' Dandy Ferguson, cause
lyOu see he wouldn't tech the rope TIL they'd all
been hauled up; he tied ev'ry man on except
the coward Miller an then came through the
blazin' shaft himself,watchln the little tongues
of fire shoot out from The sides ev'ry once i'll Il
while rs if they'd lick the life thread in two,
"As Joe grabbed the upper chains the shaft
lit up with "A hiss an Il roar as II the fire was
mad at losin' its prey. Joe got out and Fer
guson staggered away from the win'Elss, but
his luck went back on him at the last mlnute.
He stumbled an fell Just rs he came TO the
tramway at the door, an the whole buildin'
came down on him with crash. 4 hundred
then forgot danger an death, an rushed into
the flames, but Miller, the man who played 1t
so sneakin' mean down in the shaft, got to
him first an dragged him out. We all thought
he was dead, an the crowd carried him an
Millcr-who dropped insensible after he'd got
Ferguson Quito the camp,
But Dandy Ferguson lived through it,
though for weeks he lay between life an death,
an for months he didn't STIR out of ozark room.
But there wasn't no lack o. help an prayers
an faithful nurses to bring him round. No,
sir; an there wasn't man, woman or child
within hundred miles o. the Chaparral mine
tibet wouldn't a crawled on their hands an
knees To watch one hour by his bedside, an
thought il one % the biggest kind o honors-
you can bet your life on thet Yes, sir, Dandy
Ferguson is II king in this yer country-he's
bet,cr'n four kings most o. lifetime, cause any
man that knows hind lay down four bullets
any day if he held 'em against Ferguson; it'd
| be like takin' an advantage, We see, to hold
EN- out on HIM. He can hey anything or do
anything he likes. We'd send him Ia con
grcss cf he'd 90, but he won't We've got him
here though, an guess he'll never leave.
wish | was one o them poetry writers; I'd
write the bullcst poem about Dandy Ferguson
you ever read, You hear me.
AYES, he's married Got married after he
came out Talk about wcddin's Ihct was a
wcddin'; everybody got an invite an ev'ry
body piled in to see the gamiest man in the
State tie to the gamicst woman on Gods foot
stool. Who was she; Who, Maggie Hlldreth
of course Who clsc'd ii be, I'd like 10 know