Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1886-12-22
4 pEDDLER'S STORY.

A cold winters n1gnt 1ouAiu $50 --.n
M gathered about the warm tire OF $500 UevIn
barroom in q New England village. onol .5
after we arrived, . peddler drove " -.
ordered that his horse should % staoleu -.
the night. After we had eaten supper 49, ].
| paired to the barroom, and as soon % .,..
I was broken the conversation noweu ,fe eg
| Several anecdotes had been Fe"oea, ana
.to-v .. mem of his profession were generally
s.,1i - .dvent,,re and anecdote. He was q
| short, thick set man, somewhere aDouS
wears of age, and gave evidence OF great
,hvsicsl Strength. He gave his name az
Iemuel Whey, and his home was In LOVER
aWel, gentlemen" he commenced, KNOCK
ing the ashes from his pipe and putting TIN
his pocket, suppose I tell you OF about the iast
/ thing of any consequence that happened u
| mea You see l am now right from the Iaf
west and on nv way home for winter quar-
| tiers. It was about two months ago, one
| pleasant evening, that I pulled mp at the door
Of q small inn in a small village III Hancock
county, Ind. I said twas pleasant; l mcans
twas warm, but it was cloudy and likely TO
be very dark, I went in and called for sup
per. and had my horse taken care OF, and
after I had eaten / sat down in the barroom.
It began to rain about 8 o'clock, and for q
while it poured down hard, and it was very
dark outdoors.
"Now, I wanted to be in jackson early the
next morning, for I expected a load OF goods
there for me, which I meant to dispose OF on
my way home. T b moon would rise about
midnight, and I knew that If it did not rain l
could get along very comfortably through the
mud after that. So I asked the landlord II ne
would not see that my horse was fed about
midnight, as I wished to be off before q. He
expressed some surprise at this, and asked ne
why I did not stop for breakfast. I told him
that I had sold my last load about all out, and
that O new lot Of goods was waiting for me at
jackson, and I wanted to be there for them
before the express agent left in the morning.
There were a number of people about while 1
told this, but I took little notice Of them, one
man only arresting my attention. b in
my possession a small package Of placards
which I was to deliver to the sheriff at Jack
son, and they were notice for the detection of
a notorious robber named Dick Hardhead.
These bills gave a description of his person,
and the man before me answered very well to
it. In fact, it was perfect. He was a tall,
well-formed man, rather slight in frame, and
had the appearance of a gentleman, save that
his face bore those hard, cruel marks which
an observing man cannot mistake for any
thing but the index of a villainous disposition.
"When I went up to my chamber I asked
the landlord who hat man was, describing
the suspicious individual. He said he did not
know him. He had come there that after
noon, and intended to leave some time during
the next day. The host asked me why /
wished to know, and I simply told him that
the mans countenance was familiar, and !
wished to know if I had ever been acquainted
with him. I resolved not to let the landlord
into the secret, but to hurry on to jackson,
and there give information to the sheriff, and
perhaps he might reach the inn before the vii |
lain left, for 1 had no doubts with regard to
his identity.
II had an alarm watch, and having set it |
to give the alarm at l o'clock, I went to
sleep. I was aroused at the proper time,' and
Immediately got up and dressed myself.
When I reached the yard I found the clouds
all passed away, and the moon was shining
brightly. The hostler was easily aroused,
and by 2 o'clock l was on the road. The mud
was deep, and my horse could not travel very
fast, yet it struck me that the beast made
more work than there was any need of, for
the cart was nearly empty, my whole stock
consisting of about half a dozen tin pans and
a lot of loose rags.
However, on we went, and in the course
of half an hou I was clear of the village. and
at a short distance ahead lay a large track of
forest, mostly of green pines. The road led
directly through this wood, and, as near as l
could remember, the distance was not far
from twelve miles. The moon was in the
east, and as this road ran nearly west I should
have light enough. I had entered the wood
and had gone, perhaps, half a mile, when my
wagon wheels settled, with a bump and a
jerk, into a deep hole. I uttered an exclama-
zion Or aston1snInent; but that was nut oil.
I heard another exclamation from another
source!
"What could it be? Hooked quickly around,
but could see nothing, and yet l knew that
the soundI had heard was very close to me.
As the hind wheels came up I felt something
besides the jerk of the hole. 1 heard some
thing roll or tumble from one side to the
other of my wagon, and I could also feel the
jar occasioned by the movement. 1t was
a mar in my cart! I knew this on the
You may have noticed my cart ash
anne up this evening. The main part of it
opens behind, and there is room enough
within for quite a party, providing they'd
stow themselves close enough. OF course I
felt puzzled. At last / wondered if some
poor fellow had not taken this method to OBJ
tain q ride. But l soon gave this up, for I
knew that any decent man would have asked
for a ride and taken it comfortably. My
next idea was that somebody had got in there
to sleep. But this passed away as quickly as
it came, for no man would have broken into
my cart for that purpose. And that thought,
gentlemen. opened my eyes. Whoever was
there had broken in.
my next thoughts were of Mr.. Dick Hard
head. He had beard me say that my load
all sold out and, of course, he supposed
that I had some money with me. And in this
be was right, for I had over $4,000. I also
thought that he meant to leave the cart, when
he supposed I had reached a safe place, and
hen either creep over and shoot me or knock
ne down, or perhaps slip out and ask for a
o. something Of that sort. All this
passed through my mind by the time I had
got a rod from the hole.
"Now I never make it a point to brag OF
myself, but yet l have seen a great deal of the
world and l I'm pretty cool and clear-headed
lnder difficulty. In a very few moments nv
'esolution was formed. My horse was now
deep in the mud and I knew I could slip
If without any noise. So I drew m Y re-
'oiver-I never travel in that country with +!
nut tit is a six barreled one and sure fire. ]
drew this and having twined the reins
bout the whipstock I carefully slipped down I
nto the mud, and as the cart passed on l went s
'ehind it and examined the hasp. The door
4 the cart let's down and is fastened by a !
ASP which slips over a staple and is then !
ecured by a paddock. The paddock was gone {
nd the hasp was secured in its place by a bit ]
pine stick. so that a slight push from with {
n could break it. My wheel wrench hung in ]
leather bucket on the side of the cart and !
uickly took it out and slipped it into the !
taple, the iron handle just sliding down. I
"Now l had him. My cart was almost e
ew, with a stout frame of white oak. and t
nade on purpose for hard usage, heavy loads :
service did not believe that any ordi- r
airy man could break out. got on to nv U
art as noiselessly as ! got off. and then urged n
~ horse on, still keeping my pistol handy. '
knew that at the distance of half a mile I
arther l should come to a good hard road.
nd I allowed my ho,.ca ~ o:,1- L.