Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-10-03
THE LUCK or ROARING CAMP.



There was commotion in Roarin
Camp. It teould not have been figf
for in 1850 that was not novel enoug
10 have called together the entire Sc
tlement The bitches end cklins wel
not only deserted, but sTuttle's CT,
Gerry" had contributed its gambler.
who, it will be remembered, calmI
continued their game the dav tbs
French Pete and Kanaka Joe she
each other to death over the bar i
the front room. The whole camp wa
collected before rude cabin on th
outer edge OF the clearing. Converse
tion was carried ON in low tone, bu
the name OF woman was freQuentl,
repeated. 1t was name familIal
enough in the camp,-@Cherokee Sal
Perhaps the less said Of her ths
better. She was a course, and it is 4
be feared, very sinful woman. Blu
at that time she was the only woman
in Roaring Camp, and was Just ther
lying in sore extremity, when she
most needed the minlstration of hei
own sex. Dissolnte, abandoned, and
| irreelaimable, she was vet suffering i
martyrdom hard enough 10 bear even
when veiled by sympathizing woman.
| hood, but how terrible in her lonli-
ness. The primal curse had come to
her in that original isolation which
must have made the punishment OF
the first transgression so dreadful. 1t
was, perhaps, part of the expiatlon OF
| her sin, that, at moment when she
most lacked her sex's intuitive tender
| ness and care, she met only the half
contemptuous faces of her masculine
associates. Yet few of the specta-
tors were, ! think, touched by her
suAerings. Sandy Upton thought it
was trough on Sal" and, in the con
temptation OF her condition, for a
moment rose superior to the fact that
he had an ace and two bowers in his
sleeve. !.
1t will be seen, also, that the situa-
ton was novel. Deaths were by no
means Uncommon in Roaring
Camp, but birth was a new thing.
People had been dismissed effect
lively, finally, and with no possibility of
return; but this was the first time that
anybody had been introduced ab initio.
Hence the excitement
You go in there, Stumpy," said a
prominet citizen known as "Kentuck,"
addressing one of the loungers. go
in there, and see what you kin do.
You've had experience in them
things"
Perhaps there was fitness in the
selections Stumpy, in other climes,
had been the putative head of two
families; in fact, it was owing to some
legal informallty in these proceedings
that Roaring Camp city of refuge
was indebted tn his company The
crowd approved the choice, and Stun
py WAS wise enough to bow to the
majority. The door closed on the
extempore surgeon and midwife, and
Roaring Camp sat down outside,
smoked its pipe, and awaited the issue
The asselflblage numbered about
a hundred men. One or two of these
were uctual negatives from justice,
some were criminal, and all were
reckless. PHYSICALLY, they exhibited |
no indication of their past lives and |
character. The greatest scamp had a
face, with profusion of blond |
hair; Oakhurst, a gambler, had the |
air and intellectual alb |
most courageous. man WIS scarcely |
over five feet in height; with soft |
voice and an embarrassed, timid man.
ner. The term "rOughs" applied to
them was distinction rather than
definition. Perhaps in the minor de-
tails of fingers, toes, ears, etc, the camp /
may have been deficient, but those
slight omissions did not detract from
their aggregated force. The strongest
man had but three fingers ON his right
band; the best shot had bsnasae eye.
Such was the physical as s.5Setsof the
men that were dispersed susJund the
cabin. The camp lay in the -triangu-
lar valley, between two hills and a
river. The only outlet was steep
rail owe. the summit of bill that
;aced the cabin now Illuminated by
,he rising moon. The suffering woman
night have seen it from the rude
DUNK whereon she lay,-seen 1T wind
np like a silver thread until it was lost
n the stars above.
A fire OF withered bine boughs
Idded sociability to the gathering. BY
legrees the natural levity oi Roaring
lamp returned. Bets were freely
,tlered and taken regarding the result.
Three to five that SAL would get
through with 1T; even, that the child
would survive; side bets as TO the sex
md complexion of the coming stran
ser. In the midst of an excited dis
;ussion an exclamation came from
hose nearest the door, and the camp
topped to listen. Above the swaying
nd moaning of the pines, the. swift
ush of the river, and the cackilng OF
he fire, rose sharp, querulous cry
cry unlike anything heard before in
he camp. The pines stopped mean
ng, the river ceased to rush, and the
ire to crackle. 1t seemed as if Nature
lad stopped to listen too.
The camp rose TO Its feet rs one
nan! 1t was proposed to explode a F.,
'arrel OF gunpower, but, IN consldera- {
ion of the situation of the mother,
,etter counsels prevailed, and only a |
ew revOlvers were discharged; for, 9
ihether owing to the rude surgery OF {
he camp, or some other reason, Cher q
kee Sal was sinking fast. Within an c
our she had climbed, as it were, that |
ugged road that led To the stars, and
0 passed out of Roaring Camp, its sin |
nd shame forever. | do not think Il
hat the announcement disturbed them I
luch, except in speculation as to the a
lte of the child. "Can he live now ?" Il
,as asked OF Stumpy. The answer /
las doubtful Tile only other being h
f Cherokee SAILS. sex and maternal {
in the settlement was an ass
here was some conjecture as to fit C
ess, but the experiment was tried. C
was less predetermined than the am Y
lent treatment of Romulus and Re- O
lus, and apparently as successful. c
When these details were completed, v
hich exhausted another hour, the o
oor was opened, and the anxious e
rowd of men who had already formed il
lemselves into a queue, entered i'll a
ngle file. Beside the low bank or "
lelf, on which the figure of the mother c
as starkly outlined below the blan- I
cts stood pine table. On this can a
e-box was placed, and within it, Il
yathed in staring red flannel, lay the Il
st arrival at Roaring Camp. Beside n
le candle box was placed hat Its e
Sc with soon indicated. Gentle b
EN-" said Stumpy, with singular e.
fixture of authority and &c o6fcio ST
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. will please o
,ss in at the front door, round the K
BILE, and out at the back door. Them fl
wishes to contribute anything to- d
\ IL L " I