Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1885-01-08
A DEADLY AMBUSCADE.
How "Boss' Wright Was Killed in
Early California Days.
A Typical Pioneer Sherin-An Outlaws Es-
l. cape, and the Fatal Attempt to Re-
capture Him-His Ultimate
q Trugic End.

Trugic End.
One dark, rainy morning in Febru-
airy, few years ago, was aroused
from deep slumber by the gradually
dawning consciousness that what had
been, in my dreams, a mixture of a
thunderstorm and boiler-shop, was,
in reality, but the bony knuckles and
thick-soled shoes of thessporter playing
a discordant duet on my chamber door.
When the clerk retired to bed, some
time in the small hours of the night, he
left at my request, certain hieroglyph-
les on the office slate, which the porter
interpreted to mean that there was q
lady or gentleman in No. "a who de-
sired to be called for the Marysville
stage; and the porter was now simply
endeavor,ng, gently, as he no doubt i'm
agined, to arouse the occupant of No.
.27 to such condition that he could
impart to him the intelligence that the
stage would be at the door in half an
hour. Having succeeded in awakening
not only the drowsy occupant of the
bombarded room, but every one sleep
ing on the second floor of the hotel, he
explained the object of his clatter in a
voice indicating an insurable pair of
lungs, and then stumped his way
through the passage and down the un-
earpeted halls, followed by muttered
inprecations which tloated through the
open transoms on both sides of the
hall. Had l been lady-which,
fortunately for myself, and perhaps
others, | am not | would undoubt-
eddy have tainted from fright. As it
was, arose hastily and dressed my
self as quickly as possible, desiring to
get down by the office fire to subdue
my chattering teeth; and to devote as
much of the limited half hour as there
remained to preparing myself for the
coming journey with a hot breakfast.
Both of these objects were accom-
plshed, and l was at peace with all
the world and financially square with
the host of the Union, the jolly and
portly Naffziger, when the stage drove
up to the door.
THE STAGE.
1t had been raining in an intermit-
tent manner for nearly week, and
the night before steady shower had
set in-one OF the quiet, persistent, I'M
changable kind, which is only encoun-
CefeU along TIC DstSc slU(t SUES Ol the
Sierra and Cascade Mountains. 1t was
still raining, and the driver, whose oil
skin hat was shedding little streamlets
of water upon his oilskin coat. told me
/ would find room on the inside, piece
OF news which was. under the circum-
stances, exceedingly welcome. This
was not one of those Concord coaches.
mounted on huge pyramids of springs,
which cause it to roll like vessel in q
gentle swell. but small, dead-aXe mud
wagon, containing two seats and no
perceptibie springs, vehicle whose
perpend ;cular and lateral movements
are made in such an abrupt and impul-
sive manner that they can neither be
anticipated nor concurred in; they can
simply be endured, provided one keeps
his teeth carefully closed and at safe
distance in front OF his tongue. That
is the kind of conveyance which is used
during the rainy season, and is called
n sstagen with as much courtesy as is
bestowed upon the reddest or yellowest
four-seated, double-decked Concord.
Ipushed aside the wet canvas flaps
and gazed into the interior, finding
three men occupying three seats, just
lesying room for me beside one of
them. Before had fairly wedged my
yalise under the seat and myself on the
ton of it, the driver started his team of
fonr down the street and across the
bridge leading over Deer Greek at a
rafting pace. the mud and water flying
from the wheels in perfect shower.
The three men who were my travelling
companions We're encased in three
heavy canvas coats, and were indrstri-
ously pulling at three pipes of assorted
sizes and materials. That they were
miners was evident, and soon learned
that one of them was the superintend-
ent of a hydraulic mine at Blue Tent,
and the Others were pipemen at some
other claim whose name j have for
gotten. i opened the conversation by
remarking that my pipe was in my
yalise, and if they would excuse my
lack of style would smoke a cigar, at
the same time biting the end off one
of a half dozen some friend had given
me the night before to smoke during
the trip.
s.Smoke away" said one of them;
eff looks as strong as pipe. I did
smoke. and soon found it in every re-
s,,eet equal to its looks. We were thus
,,laeed at once on sociable footing,
and conversation flowed easily on the |
various topics suggested by the numer-
ous slight incidents of the journey, and |
objects observed as we passed along. /
OVER A ROUGH ROAD.
There are q number of stage roads |
,aad;np out of Nevada City, and the |
ssest one is that which connects that !