The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1882-12-07

WORKS ana pore OH all tnelr dust ana
dozen or more revolvers. Keen Fanns
castle was in dimensions not more than
l2Xl5 feet, and in height two stories.
Within it was partitioned off into rooms
not much larger than dry goods boxes.
The Railways were just wide enough to
squeeze through, and very dark. 1t was
intensely labyrinthian, and Keen was al
ways making it more so by devising new
additions. No white man ever did know
exactly where the structure began or
ended. Keen was a merchant, dealing
principally in gin, fish and opium. His
store was involved in this curious dwell
ling, all of his own construction. In the
store was a counter. Behind it there was
just room for Keen to sit down, and in
front there was just room enough for the
customer to turn around. When Keen
was the merchant he looked imposing in
an immense pair of Chinese spectacles.
When he shook his rocker in the bank he
took of these Spectacles. He was d large
consumer OF his own gin, ! once asked
him the amount of his weekly allowance.
ME think" said he, zone gallon, hap"
| From the upper story Of the castle pro
traded d huge spear head. 1t was made
by the local blacksmith and intended
as menace to the Mexican bandits. As
they grew bOlder and more threatening,
Keen sent down to San Francisco and
purchas sed a lot Of old pawn-shop revolv-
ers. these being received, military pre-
paration and drill went on for several
weeks by Keen and his forces. He prac-
ticed at target-shooting, aimed at the
mark with both eyes shut, and for those
| in ir1JDp6iltp y-injnjtH with
omn0us and threatening waver of the
arm holding the weapon. 1t was proph-
esied that Keen would kill somebody
with that pistol None ever expected
| that he would kin the proper person
\ ct he did. One night an alarm was
| given. keen's castle was attacked. The
boys" hearing the disturbance, grabbed
their rifles and pistols and sailed tGnm
the store. The robbers finding them
/ selves in a hornets nest, ran. BY the
uncertain light Ct a waning moon the
Bar was seen covered with Cinnamon
| gabbling and wildly gesticulating. over
the river two men were swimming. Keen,
from the bank, pointed his revolver at
one, shut his eyes and fired. One OF the
| men craWled out Of the water and tum-
| bled in heap among the powders. The
"boys' crossed, and found there strange
white man, with keen's bullet through
| his backbone.
\ PERILOUS TRIP.
! experienced about the narroWest es-
cape Of my life in boat during a freshet
on the Tuolumne crossing. counted
myself good river Doatman, and had
Just lcrried over a SWttt's Bar miner. He
had come to purchase a gallon Of the
native Juice Of the grape, which was then
grown, pressed and sold at Red Mountain
Bar. When he crossed with me he was
loaded with it. Some of it was outside
OF him in demijohn and some of it was
inside. Indeed it was inside Of Us both
set him across all right. On returning,
by taking advantage of certain eddy.
one could be rushed up stream counter
to the current coming down for quarter
OF mile, and at a very rapid rate. 1t
was very exciting thus to be carried in
an opposite direction, within ten feet of
the great billowy swell coming down. 1t
was a sort Of sliding down hill without
the trouble OF drawing ones sled up again.
50 went up and down the stream. The
Red Mountain wine meantime was work
ing. Night came on, 4 glorious moon
| arose over the mountain tops, and kept
! sliding up and down the Tuolumne. |
became more daring and careless SO
that suddenly in the very fury Of the mid
stream pillows | Slipped off the stern
sheets at a sudden dip of the boat and
fell into the river. | was heavily clad
in tlannels and mining boots OF nv STAY
under water recolect only the thought,
"lou're in for it this time This is no
common baptism" The next knew was
cllnging to a rock half mile below the
scene OF the submergence, had been
swept under water through the Willow
Bar, the walls OF whose rocky channel.
chlseled by the current of centuries. were
narrower at the top than on the river bed,
and through which the waters swept in
| a succession OF boils and WhirlpoOls Wet
and dripping, | tramped to the nearest
cabin, a mile and half distant, and staid
there that night Red Mountain Bar on
seeing the mlshap, gave me up for lost
all but one man, who was negative on
that point for the reason, as he alleged.
that | was not destined to make the final
exit by water. | reappeared the next
morning at the Bar When | told the
boys that | had been swept through the
Willow Bar they instituted comparisons
of similarity in the matter of veracty be
tWiXt myself and Ananias of Old. 1t was
the current impression that no man could
pass through the Willow Bar alive.
CHINESE CAMP.
Chinese Camp, five miles distant, stood
as the metropolis for Red Mountain Bar
1t contained but a few hundred people
Yet in our estimation at that time it bore
the same relative Importance that New
York does to some agricultural village a
hundred miles away. Chinese Camp
| meant restaurants, where we could revel
in the luxury Of eating a meal we were
not obliged to prepare ourselves, a luxury
none can fully appreciate save those who
| have served for years as their own cooks
Chinese Camp meant saloons, palatial as
| compared with the bar GROCERY; it
meant a daily mail and communication
with the great world without; it meant
hotels where strange faces might be seen
daily 1t meant, perhaps, above all, the
nightly tandangO. When living for months
| and years IN such ut-ot- the way hooks
and corners as Red Mountain Bar. and
as were thousands OF now forgotten and
nameless flats, gulches and bars in Cali
lorna, cut OF from all regular commun-
cation with the world, where the occa
sonal passage of some stranger is al
! event, the limited stir and hustle of such
a place as Chinese Camp assumed an in
creased Importance and interest. Chi
nese Camp Justice presided at our law
suits. Chinese Camp vas the Mecca to
which all hands resorted for the grand
Glow out at the close of the river mining
season. With all their hard work what
independent times were those after all.
True, claims were uncertain as to yield
hopes OF making fortunes had been given
over. But so long as 81. 80 or 81 90 pick
| ings remained on the banks men were
comparatively their own masters. There
was none OF the ineXOrable demand of
business consequent on situation and EN-.
| ployment i'll the great city, where sick or
well, the toilerS must HE with machine
like regularity at the early morning hour