Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-22

, .,,,a,ed back upon the footpoard aid tool
a. Thin. / had the same horse then I've
got nova tall, stout, powerful bay marc,
end vou may believe there'ssom go In her.
A. onv rate. she struck a gait then That even
.etonished me. She had had a good mess Of
80 the night air was cool, and she felt like
going. In fifteen minutes we cleared the
.roods. and away we went at q great pace.
The chap inside kept yelling to be let out, and
threatening to shoot il I didn't let him out.
Finally he stopped, and in a few minutes
came the reports of a pistol-one, two, three.
four. one right after the other-and l heard
the balls whiz over my head. II ! had beer
On INV seat, one Of those balls, if not two Of
Them. must have gone through me. Popped
mn nv head again and gave a yell, and then
a deem proan and then I said: oh. save me
I'm a dead manv Then I made a shutting
noise a. though I were falling of, and finally
sattled down again Oh the footboard. now
urged up the old mare by giving her an occa'
sional poke with the butt Of the whip, and
she went along faster than ever.
1.-THE man called out to me twice more
prettv soon after this. and as he got no reply
ha made some tremendous endeavors to break
the door open, and as this failed him he made
several attempts upon the top. But l had nc
fears of his doing anything there, for the tor
~ nv cart is framed in with dovetails and
ench sleeper bolted to the posts with an iron
holt. I had it made SO that l could carry
heavy loads there. By and by, after all else
had failed: the scamp commenced to holler
swhoa, to the horse, and kept it up until he
became boarse. All this time I kept perfectly
ouiet. holding the reins firmly and poking the
beast with the whip.
"He wasn't an hour in going that dozen
miles. not a bit of it. l hadn't much fear,
perhaps I might tell the truth and say that ]
had none, for l lad a good pistol, and more
than that, my passenger was safe, yet l did
feel glad when I came to the old flour barrel
factory that stands at the edge of jackson
village, and in ten minutes more I hauled up
in front of the tavern and found a couple OF
men cleaning down some stage horses.
"'Well, old feller,' says I, as l got down
and went round to the back of the wagon,
you've had a good ride, haven't ye"
"'Who are YOU! he cried, and his voice
trembled q little, too, as he asked the ques'
ton.
".I am the man you tried to shoot 1 told
him.
GsWhere am I? Let me outr he yelled.
"sLook here said !, we've come to a safe
stopping place, and mind We I've got a revol
yer ready for We the moment ye show your.
self. Now lay quiet
"By this time the two hostlers had come to
see what was the matter, and l explained ii
all to them. After this I got one of them tc
run and find the sheriff, and tell him what ]
believed I'd got for him. The first streaks OF
daylight were 20 just coming up, and in
half an hour it would be broad daylight. In
less than that time the sheriff came and two
other men with him. I told him the whole
story in a few words, exhibited the handbills
I had for him, and then he made for the cart.
He told the chap inside who he was, and that
if he made the least resistance he'd be Q dead
man. But, mind you, the sheriff didn't tell
him the suspicious we had about him. Then
I slipped the iron wrench out, and, as I let the
door down, the fellow made a spring. Icaught
him by tho ankle, and he came down on his
face, and in a moment more the officers had
him. 1t was now daylight, and the moment
I saw the chap I recognized him. He was the
very man l had suspected, and his fine black
clothes were pretty well covered with lint and
dirt. He was marched off to the lookup, and
l told the sheriff I should remain in the town
all day.
"After breakfast the sheriff came down to
the tavern and told me that 1 had caught the
very bird, and that if I would remain until
the next morning I should have the reward
of $500 which had been offered. l found my
goods all safe, paid the express agent for
bringing them from Indianapolis, and then
went to work to stow them away in my cart.
I found the bullet holes in the top of my
vehicle just as I expected. They were in a
line, about five inches apart, and had l been
where 1 usually sit, two of them would have
hit me somewhere about the small of the back
and passed upward, for they were sent with a
heavy charge of powder, and his pistol was a
heavy one.
son the next morning the sheriff called
upon me and paid me $500 in gold, for he had
made himself sure that he had got the villain.
al early dinner I set out, and here !
I'm. I've sold my load all out, ana am now
ready to lay up for the winter. found a
letter in the office at Portsmouth for me
the sheriff OF Hancock country, and he
me that Mr.. Hardhead is now in
prison for life"
So ended the peddler's story. In the morn
ing I had the curiosity to look at his cart and
I found the four bullet holes just as he had
told us, though they were now plugged up
with phial corks. Whey came out while I
looking and showed me the prints of the
villains feet upon the cart. They were plain,
must have been given with great force.
Boston Budget.