River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-06-09
TnETRAGEDY OF THE CLIFF.

We were camped on spur of the
Rocky Mountains, near the brink of an
awful precipiece. Sitting in row, on a
fallen pine, were Charley Andrews,
who was Yankee, tall and young, my
self and dark-faced stranger. On a
fiat rock on the opposite side of the
campfire. but in such position that
the smoke did not obscure his view of
the company, sat Abraham Lewis a
stout old trapper.
We had come together accidentally.
| started from Virginia City alone, on
a prospecting tour On the afternoon
in question / had encountered Lewis
and Andrews, ''pards" of long standing
vino invited me to camp with them.
While we were making a fire stranger
appeared and being asked to stay by
the trappers. Immediately dropped his
prospector's kit and began TO help
about the fire. He was supple jointed,
black-whiskered man Of uncertain age,
whom any one who had travelled in the
west would take to be gambler and a
cut throat Of the worst type.
We had now eaten om supper of
bears meat and salmon, and were dis
cussing gold and gulches-all bnt Abe
Lewis, who smoked his pipe in the
silence OF deep thought. His young
"pard" had whispered that yarn
would soon be forthcoming, and for
one was ready and willing to drop ali
other topics whenever he deigned to
begin.
1t was an autumn evening. Just grow
ing dusky and cool enough TO bring out
the comfort Of a campfire. Suddenly,
the trapper looked up, took out his
pipe, blew forth big cloud Of smoke,
and said, as if his hearers were acquint-
ed more or less with the facts of the
case:
"George Atwood war as square a
Young Chap as ever lived, and that
makes it cook deal wuss. The man
that murdered him is the meanest
skunk"
The trapper paused, and l fancied
his keen blue eyes were fixed on me
alone; but he soon withdrew his gaze
to the gambler, who returned it with
cool indifference.
''Tell the story l said, impatiently.
"Oh, I'll go on with it full fast enough
fur We" he replied, little testify, as he
eyed me again. "Tm goin' 0 state all
the facts first, cause thar's some here
what don't know about it"
This might imply that | knew some
thing about it, but did not. With a
strange light in his eyes, an expression
could not understand, the old hunter
kept all the while looking at me or at
the stranger, or at both as he went on:
George came to Beaver Ridge dead
broke, and ] took him under my wing.
l helped him stake out claim adjoin-
ing mine. 1t turned out to be the best
one in the place. George worked in
the gulch alongsi 'e O me all summer,
and some days he made as high as
twenty dollars.
I'm the forepart of September my
claim got played out, and / pushed on
to Montana. Soon after | left, a gang
of sharps lit down on the Ridge and be
gun to beat the boys out of their gold.
Thar war five IN the gang, and they
brought keerds, and dice, and every
other blamed contrivance. One on 'em
started a bank, another saloon, and
the rest roped in the victims. They
soon owned half the dust in Beaver
Ridge. But that didn't satisfy 'em.
They wanted to clean out every man
in town, especially them as hung back
and influenced others to keep out Of
their place.
George Atwood didn't take no stock
in 'em, and wasn't afraid to say so.
They heard how George had struck it
rich, and went for him with their pa
larver. One O. the gang, who called
himself Jim Cortland, kept follerin'
George up every night, and tryin' to git
him to gamble with 'em. But he
couldn't make it work. George was too
smart for him at that game, and so he
tried another. One morning George
was found outside the camp with his
throat cut from ear to ear. His two
thousand dollars in gold was gone out
of his shanty They counted noses,
and found Jim Cortland had lit out the
night before.
George had good many friends,
and in a short time big crowd started
after Jim. His former pards jined
in with the rest, and swore they'd shoot
him on sight for disgracin' EN-. The
boys tracked HIM pretty close for two
Gays, ana naO just gov SlSHt Vi uIi1,
when big band of redskins rushed
onto 'em out of a patch of woodland on
the right They got drove back to the
Ridge little faster'n they left it, and
Jim Cortland escaped"
The old hunter paused, but still kept
his fierce eyes bent on me and on the
gambler. The freight shown in his
face, ard he looked as though he want
ed to tear the murderer from limb to
limb.
We had remained sitting on the log,
I in the middle, the black whiskered
man on my right, the tall Yankee on
my left, when the latter rose up and APP
preached the fire.
"Git back thar, Charley" said Lewis.
"When talk, / want to face the whole
crowd"
The two "pards" exchanged glances.
The young man returned to the log;
but, instead of going to his former
place, he sat down at the gar ler's
right hand.
"a few months after the MURDER"
continued the trapper, ~ went back
m Roovar RidOa M pat a hoo of GOLD