The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1878-03-29


BEAUTY.
| A correspondent, writing from Tucson,
Arizona, to the Pittsburgh Telegraph, tells
the following interesting story of frontier
life:
There comes Mountain JOe'on his pony"
said my friend Col. Fleance Ftz Roy, to.
day, as we were seated in the shade of a
spreading mulberry, in the Grand Plaza.
The person referred to was handsome.look.
ing young young man of perhaps thirty-ive
something above the medium height, of
graceful carriage and agile appearance, He
was armed with balf.carbine, half-navy
revolver, that hung in belt by his left side,
and was clad in a belt by his left side, and
was clad in buckskin suit.
Mountain Joe,' as you call him, colonel,
seems to be rather fine specimen of the
trontiersman, but | don't see anything re-
markable about his pony, to which you par
ticularly refer"
"Thereby hangs tale, which I will un-
fold if you feel like listening to it."
go on tell it by all means"
"Mountain Joe, as he is called, was born
somewhere in the Eastern States, and in
faruated with the Indian stories he had read
ran away from his parents and came to the
Southwest. But he has had some hard
knocks since, and the hardest were received
| i,,a mi = hat tbarf of
You see, a few years ago old Senor Romuldo,
whose ranch lies out along the road, owned
that pony and one of the loveliest daughter
in all these parts. He WAS immensely
wealthy and owned several valuable mines,
and there was no telling how much gold and
silver bullion he had stored away.
"Now, all the young fellows around here
were crazy after the girl Inez, but Joe set his
heart on the pony, and wanted to buy it.
He is fellow who always has his own way,
is always right, otherwise somebody would
get into trouble. But when Joe tried to buy
the pony everybody thought he was baked
g for once.
|
around to raise the money. He raised it
all except IS, and wanted Romuldo to trus
him for the rest of it till he would conn
back from hunting expedition. This thu
old Spanish curmudgeon refused to do, anC
'' Joe vainly appealed to his friends to loal
= him the other V. Failing he got mad an
swore that he would not live in such com
munity. One day he left and was not hear
from for nearly year.
"In the meantime a band Of Kickspo
Indians swooped down upon Romuldo'
rancho, during his absence in town, ran Of
his stock and carried the pretty Inez ava
into their mountain fastnesses. Sewers
parties went out in search of the captiv
as only to be ambushed and whipped. Then
~ was that Senor Romuldo began TO bewa
the absence of 'Mour'r'~ Joe for every
10 body had laith that he could have Ie4cue
the lovely Inez from the dreadful fate
60 store for her,
ms ms FINALLY, just as the unhappy Spanial
IS was giving up in despair, Joe suddenly p'
O. in appearance, If you will recover n
ed on child said Romuldo, Il will give you ha
-,,. million dollars. You may have half n
property, aud whatever else you may ash
nd I'm not particular about the reward, sa
Joe, but I'll try and rescue the GIRL
,rs "And then he set about making prepar
tions for the undertaking. Several gala
- young fellows volunteered to go with hil
/, but he declined their services. He oiled |
+! the overgrown revolver of his, slowed aw,
about 500 cartridges and about ten poun
of jerked meat in his clothes, ,and taking Il
trail of the Kickapoos, set out in the ear
morning. He followed it all day cautiousl
ard by night was far up the mountain
The next day, near noon, as he reached Il
brow of an immense precipice, the red'ski
opened on him in the rear.
"He was completely trapped All mea
of retreat were cut off, and there was dea
both befsre and behind him. But Joe ma
up his mind to die game. Dodgng behi
rock, he opened with his shootng-iron a
made it lively for the ambushers Eve
shot told, and soon dozen dead Indians we
- stretched out on the mountain top but tn
comrades we're undaunted, and nearly a hu
:. dred OF them made dash to seize him.
u. had already killed twenty-six of them, /
= he saw that he must soon be overpow
ed.
IL Eight was impossible, and prefering
=. kill himself rather than be tortured by I
tn Indians, he rushed to the precipice, fully
he 600 feet high, aud leaped into space.
v: "But during his fearful descent he did
or lose his presence of mind. He was goi
RI down near the Iace of the rocks, and obser,
m that stunted pines and hemlocks grew out
ed the frequent crevces. He began graspi
"a in the tops of them, which first bent a
i'm then broke, but he found that he was bre,
ing she force of his fall. For the last {
s::s feet the bushes were thick, and Joe was SC
going down, dropping from one to the otl
mt in perfect safety.
,p- "At last he reached the bottom, suffer
"'' from few bruises and several rather seri,
I've wounds received in the contest with
es, Inoians overheard. Just as he was c.
Il. graduating himself upon his wonderful
I've cape another pack of red deyils broke
u. chapral and opened fire. Another hand
VI. hand contest took place and Joe killed N
.Ss of his enemies. He then started to run ale
,.. the base of the cliff, when ON a sudden
EE earth gave way under him and he fell int
y" deep fssure. The Indians were immediat
RID hsr upon him, and fired two or three voll
.n- down the hole and then covered it up "
'sh "Joe had fallen twenty feet, and realiz
the danger from shots from above, got
). der the shelving of the rock and thus ave
ed the balls, The Indians, supposing
very dead, made no further Investigations.