The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-04-12
sAEDY BILL.
Lock Melone in California.

frontier. Knew Inn nlsL in Dead Nlan's |
Sulch when they found the placers there. |
blil came down to wash dirt, but soon got |
Tired ot that and took to ca DIS. But cards |
got away with him. He wasn't strong |
enough tor them. He used to say after he /
got right bad that the black spots stained his
heart and The red ones his hands. He was
| suilen like at Tunes and then there as
trouble, He'd pull gunquicker than fash
aud there would be cold meat for the coroner
! i'll the wink Of an eye. Bad man B Ii was.'~
They wanted TO get him out OF the gulch
| once and ,.ic camp council held a meeting on
| 1t, but the undertaken got the council drunk
and made 'em vote Bill should stay. He was
good Tor one branch vi business, at least.
| Bill was Cross-eytd aud when he got right
| tnad it used to make the boys teel queer all
around. They couldn't UNDERSTAND exactly
who lie was mad al, for his eyes would take
| take in all sides Of the room, which made il
sorter awkward. He shot fellow once aud
got of on the plea that it as ALI accident Oh
this account. Four men sw ore that he was
looking right at them, and that his gun went
off IN the other direction. The court allowed
that a mau COULDN'T be- hung because of all
ilitirmity, but said that if such all accident
| happened asa'n all Overruling providence
would rake III prominent citizen. For you
See theie wasn't any getting away from Bills
| straight shooting, even if he had crooked
| eyes. When he had rhe drop on man you
could bet on a funeral with the same chris
tian confidence you could Oh four aces.
| But Bill went under, and i'll queer way,
| too. 1t was after the found some gold lodes
Of free ulillng quarz above and the camp had
become a town. Bill was running bank
above the nugget saloon and he made it big
pay. One day Il fellow walked into town all
lags and misery and went into the bank.
| Bal was keeping cases and the minute he saw
| the sat ger, he jumped up and walked over
| 10 him. There Was some talk and they shook
lands. Then bill came back to the table
leading the stranger. ''Boys," says he, "when
| | was sick tllis man dOctored me; when was
hungry he fed me; When l crawled out of
| rebel stockade at Macon aud tried to get
moth be helped Inc. My friends are his
friends. His enemles are my enemies. No
matter how the cards run, half Hve got is
ms" Then Bill sat down, for he wasn't
much OF u talker.
The next day the stranger came out in
better outfit, but 1t didn't help his looks
much. There was something mean about his
eyes that looked ike the DEVILS trademark.
lie had a noisy, clustering way about him.
and nobody took to Blll's pet. Aud it wasn't
d gO,d day for Bill when he came either. for
alter that everything seemed go wrong. The
stranger spent All awful sight OF money, and
all of 1t came tron Bill. He used to cut up
aud make bad breaks about the bank, bur
Bill stood it all, and never said a word. Ii
any OF the boys growled, he'd just take in
three angles of the room with his eyes, and
hat settled the matter. If they talked with
him, he'd just shrug his shoulder, and say he
was OF aye.
One day, though, Bll's bank closed. No
body knew what II meant tor while, but
when "Georgu"-tliaL's what they called the
stranger-dtdn't turn up, it got whispeied ed
about that he had gathered up all the loose
scaJs aud skipped. Bill would never say so,
though. He wouldn't iatk about il at all. He
Just soaked his watch and pun aud went in
. tor another pile with Two different express
sions in his eyes. one harder than the other,
| About "Georsla" he never once opened his
mouth.
He got to drinking pretty hard after that
| but his luck was big. 1t was hard 10 tell how
+ much lie won. for he would hot talk about il
, out he made a big winning and must have
had nice little pile. He never said an, thing
to anyone, aud didn't seem to want any
l friends. Things went on in this way fol
some time after "GeOrg a" lett and hen there
was an excitement. Two bronchos had been
f stolen above the camp, and the thief wa
, caught and brough 10 town. .lGwas"Georgia,'
/ looking more hang.dog and meaner thai
ever. As soon as Bill heard of 1t he went tt
. | the owners of The stock and offered then
9 double the price not to prosecute. They
: agreed, but it had raised such big low
9 that lrlal was bound to come OIL anyhow
4 1t didn't, though. Tie day set ''Georg;a" es
4 capped from Jail and got away tree. There
q was "a good deal Of'talk about it, and the nex
lime Bill was seen Oh the streets twas no
noticed that he didn't wear his watch. Ill
bet low at the tables that evening. too.
q That changed his luck, and when gamb
ler's luck changes he's gone. The cards new
!, er turn up right after they have got out o
a tie nabit. 1t was bad on Bill. He drall
a hard and looked hard. He wore his clothes
a good deal longer than he used to, and wheI
the snow began to fly lie was on the street
q without any overc0at. No one could hel
him, he woud'L have it. He lived over lit
lie dive on all of street, and didn't allo,
a ANYBODY to come near his room. He wa
q surly and bitter aud ugly, and when he GO
a into q row with Il mau he used to beat hin
q with anything he got his hands on. He neV
% er did that in his better days. He'd just sEoo
= and be done with 1t. SO all the boys sort {
kept away from him, and he got bad name
r. When he played at all it was with tin hor
N crowd, and queer stories came TO be circuls
a ted. There was good deal OF 'holding up
in these days, and people got all idea that Bl
might be doing some of it. at any rate
mau was killed in front of Bills place earl
one mornir G, End when the crowd came u
and found Bill there it was quick enough
IN think that lie had done it. He had been see
r with the dead man the night before, an
y there was another man all mutiied with then
nj but Bill wouldn't say who he was. Fact j
M he wouldn't answer any questions at all, All
- when the trial came it didn't take the Jun
long to bring in verdict of guilty. TT
town was little scared up, and the peop
thought there ought to be an example. The
j. was one queer thing about it though. III
murdered man had lot of money, but the
wasn't a nickle on Bill. After the verdi'
nd there was an attempt by some of Bills frien,
he to get pardon, but he wonldn'thave it. Il
e. said he was ready ana wiii'ns u i'a's "a, a,
ss wanted the show TO ehd as soon as possi".
a The only thing he seemed uneasy about W