The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-11-03
ONE COFFIN TOO MANY
New York Graphic.

New York Graphic.
at was at the old Tuolumne camp,
when things had just begun to BOOM"
said the old miner. "a few rich
stakes that some of the lucky ones
had made encouraged us to hang on.
The jumping Jehosophst' claim had
got in some of the new tangled pow
der and was blasting away for all that
was out. Most of us looked askance
at the new kind of powder, and when
Uncle Billy Grimes prophesied that
the camp would be blown up with
the stuff or get poisoned with the
fumes, as his partner had at Red Gulch,
we made the Jumping Jehosophat'
boys move out of harms way. So when
a blast went off one fine morning when
nobody was expecting it and laid out
five of the best men in the camp, we
were all able to say, Il told you so,' as
we rushed up to the claim.
"The camp was intensely excited, as
these were the first deaths since we
came in, not counting two sluice rob-
bers and a horse thief that we had
hanged for luck. We stood off little
bit, for no one but the five boys in the
pit new whether there was halfa doz-
en- more to go off. But we sailed
In pretty soon and hauled out what
was left of the boys, and it was q sight
to make you sick. We were pretty
badly cut up about it, and when we
had cleaned them up and laid them
out decently in their cabin we went
down in front of Dutch Dawes saloon,
and ST Hawkins called the meeting to
order.
e"Boys,' he said, in husky voice,
we've got our first chance to start q
graveyard, and no town ever had q
better. Them boys thar and he
jerked his thumb over his shoulder,
would do any graveyard proud, and
we ought to start 'em Off in style. It's
arotten shame if we don't give 'em the
best send off the markets got and
d-n the expense
1--WE chs cred the sentiment, in spite
of the occasion, and he continued !:
what we want to do is to send for
collins. Any man that's in favor of
this sentiment can just walk up here
and plank down his dust
"No one could refuse this appeal, and
the needed sum was soon raised. An
order was written to the Simpsonville
undertaken and given to the driver of
the first stage, with the verbal mes
sage:
"'If they amt here by tomorrow
night committee Of the boysll be
down there to find out why, an they
I'll need their collins to hum
"About sunset the next evening q
wagon turned off the main road and
came into camp. 1t brought the
coffius. They were unloaded, one af-
ter the other, and shone with all the
splendor that fresh varnish could give
them.
"Thar's style for ye,' said Hawkins,
with pardonable pride. How the
boys would enjoy them If they were
here. BY the Lord Harry r he shout
ed, suddenly, there's six here. Who
ordered SKIP
"Jim Davis was the man that wrote
the letter. He turned deathly pale,
and said: BY, there's bad luck
coming. There's sixth man in this
crowd. / ordered five coffins an that
extra one hasn't come for nothing
"There was Q sudden silence and
most of the crowd turned as pale as
Jim. 1t did look mighty plausible
that that there coffin was looking for
someone, and each man felt an uncom-
Portable suspicion that he was the one.
The only one that was bold enough to
resent the idea was Five Fingered
Jack, who had been born with i've
fingers on his left hand, and evened
matters by shooting OF his thumb.
nYou're . good one, Jm,' he says,
you're the scholard Of the crowd, but
You can't write straight yet
asSee here,' eaid Jim, getting riled.
Il amt no scholard, but don't
knuckle down to no man when 1t
comes to orderin' coffinA i KEEP .
copy of the letter, soft the undertaken
don't cut any shines with MS He
pulled out the letter, and had i've
written plain a. life.
0sThat coffin has come for one Of M,
he confined, am it means business.
1t stands to reason when . coffin tray
els twenty-five miles it's goin to get
its man
awe gathered around, looking shout
as solemn - we felt, and some Of thu
boys kept looking over tbeir shoul-
1ers suspicious like to the cabin where
the dead men lay, a. though they were