The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1881-07-14
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The Tragedy of the Cliff

row, on faiien pine, were Charley
Andrews. who was a Yankee, tall
and young, myself, and a dark-faced
stranger. On q hat rock on tho OPP
posite side Of the campfire, but in
such position that tho smoke did
not obscure his view Of the company,
sat Abraham Lewis, q stout old trap
per.
We have come together accident
ally. started out from Virginia
City alone, on a prospecting tour.
On the after noon in question | had
encountered Lewis and Andrews,
"pards of long standing, who invit-
od MO to camp out with thom. While
wo were making q fire tho stranger
appeared, aud being asked to stay
by trappers, Immediately dropped
his prospector's kit ard began to
about tho fire. Tie was supple
jointed. black-whiskered man Of un
certain age. whom any one who had
travelled in the West would take to
be q gambler aud cut-throat of the
worst type.
Wo had now eaten our supper Of
bears meat and salmon, and were
discussing gold and gulches--all but
Abe Lewis, who smoked his big pipe
in tho silence of deep thought. His
young ''pard' whispered that a yarn
would soon be forthcoming, aud |
for one was ready aud willing to
drop all other topics whenever he
dcigned to begin.
IL was an autumn evening, just
81 owing dusty and cool enough to
bring out the comfort OF a camp
fire. Suddenly, the trappor looked
up, took out his pipo, blew forth a
big cloud of smoke, and said, as il
his bearers were acquainted moro OF
less with the facts OF the case
George atwood was as square q
young chap as ever lived, and thai
makes it n good deal wuss. The
man that murdered him is the mean
est skunk
The trapper paused, aud | fancied
his keen blue eyes were fixed on inc
alone but no soon withirow his
gazo to tho gambler, who returned il
with cool indifference.
"roll the story" said, impatient
ly.
"0h, I'll go on with it full fast
enough fur yc," he replied, little
testify, as ho eyed me again. "rm
goin' to state all tho facts first,
cause thar's some hero what don't
know about it,"
This might imply that know
something about it, but ! did not.
With a strange light in his eyes, an
expression could not undorsta nj
tho old hunter kept all tho while
looking at me or ut stranger, or at
both rs he went on +.
George came to Beaver Ridge
dead broke, aud | took him under
my wing, helped him stake out
q claim adjoining mine. It turned
out to DO the best one in the place.
George worked in the gulch
alongside of mo all summer, and
somo days he made as high US twen-
ty dollars.
"fn the forepart Of September my
claim got played out, and pushed
on to Montana. Soon after left, q
gang OF sharps lit down on the Ridge
and began to beat tho boys out of
their gold. Thar war five in the
gang, and they brought koerds, and
dice, and every other blamed con-
trivance, Ono on 'em started q bank,
another O aloon and the rest roped
In tho victims. They soon owned
half tho d ust, in Beaver Ridge.
But that didn't satisfy 'om. They
wanted to clean out every man in
town, especially them as hung back
and induen ced others to keep out Of
their place.
George Atwood didn't take no
stock In EN- aud WASH { afraid to say
so, They heard how George had
struck it rich, and went for him with
their palarver. Ono OF the gang,
who called himself jim Cortland,
kept follerin' George up every night,
and tryin' to git him to gamble with
EN-. But he couldn't make it work.
George was too smart for him at
that game, aud SO he tried another
One morning George was found out
side the camp with his throat out
form eat TO ear. His two thousand