The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-08-27
The Two Grsjes il)poker Valley. i

The Two sr.lesi Peker Valley.
"It was the curioG sst, thing ,thsteyer
haTpehe@ inlthsf igd NJ sci r. 81
odso tyentysyeae ab hs DID IL
dAe, n' . hndlhd, . SCOT s linen
hSd J6uatlgd inY okSf WHEY IT. Wasn't
much ofa valley, an thar wasn't any
too much poker, an l know l put in
six months o. hard work in that ERE
hole an didn't clay fifty cents q dey.I
Howsumever, thai haint nuthin' to 40
with the story sot out to tell, thought
serves to explain why we were all out o.
temper one AFTERNOON, when a stranger
entered Poker Valley BY the west trail
an brought his skinny an, foot'sote
ms!s t9 halt in ths seatsg q oar t9ya:
It war; airly in the fall, an the weather
was downright mean.; 1t had bin driz-
zHn' all day long, an we had cussed AMI
sulked an loafed around till eyefy man
was ready to answer word with 9
blow. -. -, f.. '.,',
1.-THE mint that stranger rode up we
all rushed out to see who he was an
what he wanted. He was lightweight
chap, mutiled up 10 the ears to keen dry,
and we couldp,t say what he Gould dol
with a pick-ax or how he'd back a
friend in d fight. He didn't offer to git
down from bis mule, but began to in
quar- arter a chap whom we called
Sweet William. This William; was q
candy sort, O. man. lie seemed q pit
pious, had a soft voice. never cpssed nvo nor ;,
drank whisky, an we didn't 'zactly mate
with him. Ten days afore this stranger
rode up Sweet William got out o his
blankets at midnight, either asleep or in
trouble, an The poor cuss took q walk
over "a bit o. cliff about fifty feet high,
with a lot o. jagged rocks to light on
down below. We didn't take on very
much, as he, had no partner an wasn't
one o. us. as l menshQned before, but
we Gin him decent burial an sold his
traps on the squar' to the highest bid
der. ne '' Ei'''''"E 1di h7th'ii't
.Waal, now, that stranger was goin'.
| on to ak about William, an ! was assay
in to, myself that he had the softest
voice of any man in the diggins, when
sunthin happened. ''Ole' Kentucky Bill
an Deacon Joe Had bin growth at each
other for an hour o." so, kinder achin'
fur row, an at length they went Ut it.
Ole Kentuck gin Joe . LITTER on the jaw.
an Joe he out with his pepper an fired
Kentuck to kingdom come. No, he
| didn't, either. The bullet cut away
q lock of hair and did its bloody work
beyond: The stranger on the mule got
it plump thro' the heart, and he was
dead afore he fell into. my arms. He!
No, stranger-'twas = woman! Sure's
I you're born, it was q woman not over
| twenty-five years old, and with a face as
purity as q thousand dollar nugget. She
was dressed sort o. man fashion, an she
was bravin' Injuns, bars, storms, and
everything else fur an objeck. What
was it?, WAL, l dunno. Was Sweet
William her lover or her husband? Had
he run away from her, or had he cum
thar to make a stake? Must have bin
some powerful motive to have sent that
gal on SIGH o trip. - we talked it over
an kinder concluded It was love, an
nuthin' else. -, - .n,.i.g ,g.,s.ust i.
"'Twss q terrible deal, anyhow, an
| I never think of it without feelin' my
! heart grow big and my throat choke up.
When we diskiveredi that she was q
woman We sot around thar like pegs for
about half an hour. Their we riz up an
kicked them. two fighters outer camp
and dug a grave 'lopgside O. Sweet vii.
lism's fur the poor dead gall an they
] sleep thar to this day. Rough and
cpssed, a. we war in Poker Valley. VI
! had tears in our. eyes as we put that
poor gal away, an | seed nlore'n one
old grizzly drop his chin when the Ala
bama elder stood at the head OF the
II graves an said:sapa esiao., iaiel ii
d ".The Lord gave and the Lord hath
4 taken away. May they be jined togeth'
er in heaven. '"-DetroI Free Press. -