The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1884-09-26
YARNS By A HIGHWAYMAN.

YARNS By A HIGHWAYMAN.
4 Forty-Niner Who Did Not Go to Cali
fnrnia TO Dig Gold-Robbing the Over
land Coach-N~atly Captured by a Won.
an-Surrendering to an Empty Pistol.
1t is the proud boast of Jim Smith
that he has passed thirty-three Christ
masses in the California Penitentiary at
San Quentin. He is not, perhaps, the
only y. er in State Prison, but he is
probably the only one who has been in
State Prison for some portion of every
year since 40. He came West with the
Argonauts, and never for a moment,
Notwithstanding his long penal servi-
tude, considers himself unworthy to
rank with the best of them. He thinks
they were the most remarkable men of
the century, and his modesty does not
pre- ent him from declaring that he was
with them. Jim Smith is the patriarch
of the prison. He is the guide, philoso-
pher and friend of the younger con-
victs. He is model prisoner. So far
rs anybody has been able to discover,
he has but one fault. He can not leave
stage coaches alone. Once put him in
place where no stages are to be found
and he is an exemplary man.
Smith has not been a prisoner AT
San uentin steadily for thirty-three
years. He has been out many times,
Tut has returned again SO speedily,
convicted on the same old charge. thas
he has not in all that time missed a
hris mas dinner behind the bars.
al.
which wi keep him in retirement con-
delab.y Longer than usual, but no one
entertains the thought that he can ever
be broken OF his habit while a stage
coach RUS. Els failing is so well
known that sokes are sometimes
cracked with him on the sub Get. and
when he is permitted to converse he
will refer to some o, his exp.o.ts in q
way which shows that no amount of
punishment can ever convince him that
the stop ,.ing of q coach and the rob-
berry OF the passengers is anything to be
ashamed of.
Having little extra liberty on the
Fourth of July, Smith found time, and
his callers gave him the cas- on to talk
freel, OF his past life. He had heard
of some recent exploits of highwaymen
which filled him with disgust. In the
course of hong conversation he said.
cit is enough 10 make 4 er's blood
boil to hear about the operat oas of
these sneak thieves who are now work
ing these little country roads. There
amt one in nifty Of them that has the
sand in him to hold up thoroughbred.
I've pinched members Of Congress.
Judges of the supreme Court, ex-.;ov-
ernors, argonauts, and big men gen.
orally more'n once. but these fellows
don't know ANYTHING about men of that
qsal.ty- only to dodge them. Staging
ain what it used to be anyway. When
the overland stages were running it
took good man to stop them. In the
tirst place they were driven BY the |
most reckless men you ever see. and
the men inside of them were true
Americans. If they gave up twas
because they had to-that was all. The
fellows who avel nowadays amt got |
the spirit of ~, or these fellows who
sre in the business now never'd get q
color.
81 remember once early in the six
ties went out in Calaveras County
with two partners to see about = STAGE
thai was due ust about then. We Nil
had good guns, pis OILS and knives. and
we got them ready to use, for in tho q
days things OF thas kind were not car
faed Tor ornaments. The overland
didn : show up IS soon as was expect
ed-some accident had happened to it
IN the moUntains-and when it did l
come it took Us . little sudden. We'd
been fooling around for several DAYS,
andy little careless, must admit.
One day il was warm and sunny. and
we all got scattered, though we had An
understanding that, wherever we were.
We were 70 keep an eye on the roai
AL the time. AID If any Of us discovered
The stage. the one dong SO was to fire
shot Or two as an alarm signal. Along
About the middle Of tho afternoon I i,
heard gun, and = minute later there
Pame another report that sounded like
volley Of musketrv. II puzzled me
little. but grabbed my shoot NO
rons and made Tor the road. had
0st got : good position when heard
mother shot little nearer. and then ,
mother yoliey good deal louder than
ne 0ehcr Then came the clatter of ,
lorses and the roll Of wheels. IL was
Ae stage. could see her a,cominp.
Ion don't see driving like that
Aeze days She was on two whee,s /,
lad the time. and when she ]
re- near enough to me and the dnst !
at q little Ioould see the gun barr =
sticking outof her like quills on s
!edgo bog The driser--a hard msS
HI I~knew mighty well had the l;ne3 / !