The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1878-01-17
BEN HOLLADAY'S NOSE.
Ben's Ride Across the Plains - His Nose
Itches and n Kind Stranger scratches 1t.

Ben's Ride Across the Plains - His Nose
Itches and n Kind Stranger Scratches 1t.
While travelling in Washington
train recently with number of acquaint-
ances, old Ben Holiday, the California
stage-coach proprietor, became unusu
ally communicative. He climbed the
Rocky mountains, waded through the
Great Salt Lake, jumped across the
Black Canon of the Colorado, danced in
the Death valley, cooked grizzlies in the
Yellowstone geysers, scudded down the
Shoshone Falls, and told score of stor-
les SO thrilling that the hair of his
hearers arose in protest. One of his
J arms was both startling and amusing.
Zone night" said he, "long before
the Pacific Railroad was built, I was
bouncing over the plains in one of my
overland coaches. My wife was with
me. She was sick, and lay asleep on the
bottom of the stage on bed of buffalo
skins. The night was fearfully dark,
and drizzling rain was falling. Mrs.
Holiday and myself were the only pas
sengers. Several stages had been rob-
bed within two months, and the driver
was ripping along as though a gang of
prairie wolves were after him. Sud
denly the horses were thrown on their
launches, and the stage stopped. L
was heaved forward, but quickly re-
covered, aud found myself gazing at the
muzzles of double barr 1elled shotgun.
By the dim light of the stage lamps the
barrels looked as big as nail kegs.
Throw up your hands, and don't stir,
shouted the owner i'll gruff voico. Up
went my hands and began to commune
with myself. The fellow then coolly
asked for my money. saw that he did
not know who I was, and I was afraid
that my sick wife might awake and call
me by name. My coat was buttoned
over my bosom, but hardly high enough
to hide magnificent emerald that cost
me over $4,000 a few weeks before in
San Francisco. 1 hardly breathed
through fear that the light might strike
the stone, and its sparkling brilliancy
attract the attention of the robber. I
had about $4,000 in q money belt close
to the skin, and several hundred dollars
in my pocket"
"Suddenly my friend shouted Come,
shell out, quick.
passed out the few hundreds loose
Ill IllIll my ROlu
watch and cLain. They were hefty. I
think the chain alone would weigh five
pounds at least.
There, said I, there's every cent
I've got. Take it, and let me go on.
My wife is very sick, and I don't know
what would happen to her if she knew
what was going on
"'Keep your hands up, was the re-
ply, while second robber received the
watch and money. Then search was
made for the EXPRESS company's box, but
the double.barrelled shot gun did not
move. Its muzzles were within foot
of my nose. For my life did not dare
to stir. My nose began to itch. The
stiff hairs of my moustache got up, one
after another and tickled it until the
sensation was intolerable. Icould stand
it no longer.
:" Stranger, I cried, 1 must scratch
my nose. 1t itches so that 1 am al
most crazy
"'Move your hands, he shouted,
'and I'll blow hole through your head
big enough for jack rabbit to Jump
through I appealed once more. well,
he answered, keep your hands still, and
I'll scratch it for You. I hate to see a
partner suffer-
Did he scratch it ?" asked one of
Ben's interested listeners.
Sure" said Mr.. Holiday.
"How?" asked the breathless lis
tener.
"With the muzzle of the cooked gun, u
said the great overlander "He rubbed
the muzzle around my moustache and
raked it over the end Of my nose until I
thanked him and said that it itched no
longer"
The robbers soon afterward took
their leave, with many apologies, and
Ben continued his journey to the Mis-
souri, with his big emerald and $40, 900.