Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-08-17
then he returned their Gre. At the first report

of his pistol one went down with q bullet-hole
in the center Of his forehead, and the next in
slant his companion was also lying In the snow
with shattered thigh. BY this time dozen
men were on the scene, and the remaining two
backed of in the direction Of the rude Theater
Comique, with pistols standing at full cock
When Mrs. Ray realized that she had been
| saved, she went down upon her knees to the
courageous gambler who had come to her
rescue
81 don't know your name," she cried, in
tones of emotion. the tears all the while cours-
| ing down her wrinkled and weather-stained
face ''but one thing l do know God bless you.
You are the whitest man in the minesl"
Several citizens assisted jim in erecting the
lot-jumpers tent for Mrs. Ray. and then the
undertaken was summoned to remove the dead
body. The wounded man was conveyed to his
cabin on Lower Chestnut street. and he was
ADVISED TO leave the camp as soon as he could
travel. Henceforth Jim Moore was universally
spoken of as 1.-The whitest man in the mines y
and Mrs. Ray was never tired OF singing his
praise. The washerwOman is now quite wealthy
A lew weeks following the destruction of her
tent she sold one of the lots for $4,000 and
with this sum erected cOmmOdiOus buildings on
the remaining two. which yield a handsome
rental.
My second night in the Carbonate camp a
friend asked If knew jim Moore Nv answer
was in the negative. He remarked that |
must make the acquaintance of the wilitcst
man in the mines before | could hope to enter
t4eidyies best society. We stroled down from
the Clarendon hotel to the house where Jim
presided over a faro layout. and | was intro
dnced SIS 1.-The new editor of the Chronicle :"
Moore scrutnized me an instant with his hard
steei-grey eyes. and then gave me a hanG-clasp
which brought tears to my eyes from its severity.
He smiled AT my vince of pain and as he drew
IA 4 stack OF blues from the queen-ten, SAID ad-
dressing me:
where from?"
''St. Louis" | answered. as tersely as the
| question had been put
Good enough" was his response. and he
went on between cards asking question after
question as to people whom he had known in
that city.
Desirious of gaining his goodwill placed a
ten-doilar note on the ace, playing it open
please don't do it. said he. "It breaks me
all up to have friends play at my table If you
want $50 or 800 take it out of the drawer but
! for Gods sake don't play faro!''
When the NtgllanteS were organized against
the leeches of the mines, who rejoiced in the
title of The Law and Order Abiders.' Jim took
no part. ut amt my funeral" he exclaimed
~ can't shake. the boys, nor can't go back on
the good people here. So guess III take re-
served seat on the fence and pass myself off for
q statesman
The rough element concluded In November.
1879, that Leadville had no need for newspapers
and in accordance the proprietors. publishers
editors and reporters of the three daily papers
were ordered out of town. The outlook was de-
cidedly unpleasant, for while men felt 10th to
desert their property, they knew that their
lives were lmperied by remaining / paid visit
to jim Moore and briefly explained the situa-
ton.
Il catch on" said he, ''and shall slide down
from the fence. / propose to deal faro in this
camp until get ready to leave, and if any one
dared to interfere with me there would be
circus and menagerie turned loose in fifteen
seconds; and they have actually ordered the
newspaper men out Of town." he half questioned,
land still they call themselves sports.'
He practiced q new shuttle for few minutes,
then, tossing his cards into the drawer. said
go back to the boys and tell them to scribble
their lies in peace. l shall pay visit to the Law
and Oder abiders, and convince them in very
few minutes that newspapers are the salvation
OF this mining camp"
That night the roughs held a meeting and
when the whitest man in the mines strobe into
their midst and took a seat on the platform he
was cheered heartily. He announced the object
OF his call briefly and emphaticaily. and swore
by all the hoOp-poles in Posey county that he
would shoot the first man who went fooling
around newspaper office or cunning for news
paper men. He was respected and feared by all
the knaves, and nothing more was said about
destroying the newspaper offices until the Vigi-
lantes captured Stewart and Frosham and
hanged them othe rafter of building in course
of erection
The newspapers did not hang them," said
Jim Moore, lit was the Vigilantes.''
But did not the papers cOunsellynching u.s."
demanded the leader of the Law and Order
hand.
'What if they did" was Jim's reply "Ain't
this free country, and don't the Constitution
provide for free press! OF course it does and
just feel like shooting some body who wants
to insult the Constitution and the American
flag"
When one of Wall & Writer'S stages capsized
few miles below Leadvile and Rev. Mr.
Pickett, who was riding in the boot with the
driver. was crushed to death, Jim swOre that
1.-The parsOn had been Prince" and subscribed
literally toward defraying his funeral.
But the Saturday night that Jim concluded to
quit dealing faro and go to preaching will long
be remembered in Lake county, Colorado He
stopped in the middle of the deal and removed
were Off that the cases were off, and that he had
dealt his last card.
"What is the matter, Jim ?" cried dozen in
one voice.
Nothing, % he replied, "only that have con-
eiuded that preaching. and not dealing. is nv
trade You may call me 'Jim,' and the 'whitest
man in the mines,' tonight but hereafter you
must always address me as Mr.. Moore"
The proprietor of the house endeavOred to
induce Jim to remain, but he was firm in his
intention.
You might offer me thousand a minute"
said he, land it would not influence me in the
least. have done aterrible lot of harm guiding
the Royal Bengal, and now intend to do pow
house at my expense"
Jim Moore did some missionary work in Lead
ville His sermons were always brief but forci-
BILE, and were interspersed with slang phrases
acquired at the gaming table. About the 1st of
April, 1880, he set out for Gunnison City. on
snOw-shoes, saying that he /" felt called upon to
wrestle with the Gunnison heathen." He did
not arrive at Gunnison, nor id he return
to Leadville. His strange disappearance was
unaccounted for until the following July. when
bold prospectOrs penetrated the gulches on Tay-
lor river above Ruby Camp. There, in one of the
deep assures, they found a human body. 1t was
still frozen, and decomposition had not set i'm.
From the position of the body they Judged that
the unfortunate man had accidentally fallen into
the fissure Frank Pritchard. one Of the party
OF prospectOrs, who had lOitered behind testing
the rocks, came up to his companions, cast one
glance at the remains, and said, with great emo
ton:
Heavens, boys, this is the body of Jim Moore
the whitest man in the mines"
RALPH BAYARD. p
Assignment.
GALVESTON, Tex, August 16-A Ne,cs spe-
cal from Flatonio, this state, says that w. A.
Brockham & Co., of that place, made an assign
ment Yesterday for the benefit of their creditors.