Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-10-05

crack of a rifle not far away, an then
one o the lniuns gave the most on
arthly soreech as | ever heard, an |
know'd thar was some sort of skrlm-
nudge goin' on above.
The next minute some heavy OBJ
iect struck me on the feet, and was
Jest glidin' past when without know.
in edzactly what ! was dom | grab
bed il with both hands an held it fast.
"What dye think il wasl Hang
me, if il wasn't the Mexican hisSelfl
In foolin' about the end o the lariat he
had slipped an tumbled over the edge
o the rocl, an | had ketched the vii
lain. an was holdin' him by the leg,
and thar We two was, ] hitched 10 the
lasso an holdin' on TO the rascal by
the leg, an both swingin' head down
wards.
yell! You bet he did. / ncve
heard sech skreechin' rs that skunk
set up. A pack o hungry coyotes
wasn't a patchin' to it. What hap
pcned, did We ask! Wall, see here, my
friend, what under them circum
stances I'D be likely TO happen!
Pears sort as if my fingers all TO
oncesI got a kind o. cramp in EN-, an
was powerful weak, though sechathing
never happened afore or sence, an
they doesn't look like womens fingers,
do theyt' and the speaker held up be-
fore me a pair of muscular LANDS,
which lie opened and shut in a way
that suggested a grip Of iron. Then
he went on;
AS | was sayin', the cramps ONE
how got into my fingers At that eydcn-
Teal moment, an' somehow or other
| never Enowcd exactly how it did
happcn-thc Mexican slipped out o
my grasp, an fetched up head first on
the rocks a hundred an fifty below
whar nothing ever tCCled him again
'ccpt the buzzards that picked his
bones clean afore next sun up
Next thing | kuowd ! was bcin'
hauled mp, hand over hand, as slick as
any sailor could have done il, an
when | reached the top, Bill and me,
dear old Bill, stopped Just long
enough 10 have a brothcrly hug or
two, an then we got under kiyer an
looked round for the Inims, but blow
me, thar wasn't a single yarmint TO be
seen in any direction, 'cept the dead
pcrp that Bill had plugged through
the head us he came tcaun' mp 10 the
rescue.
I'VE see, pard,' began Bill, i
found lniun sign a bit up the valley,
an ! thought I'd better come back.
seein' as how ye wasn't ieclin' well,
an
bill stopped suddenly an grew
very palc, an then | seed he was
blcedin' bad, m then lie slid down on
the grass With a sort q gasp, an scein'
how il was, | began 10 loosen his shirt
10 get 1T the wound, but hestoppedm
and said:
Never mind, pard. One o them
red niggers stuck his knife into my
side jest as / began laulin' We up, an
% course | couldn't defend myself
without lettin' 20 the %lariat, which
nd send We down TO jinc Mexican,
an then the varmint took 10 his legs,
an'-nevcr mind, pard, its all up with
Old Bill. ] can hardly see We now,
Tor I'm gettin' blind as Il bat. Take
everything for yer own. Thar's a
cache o'mine behind the bigpine tree.
Yell find it by the ashes whar the
fire was built. Take it all and don't
forget old Bill
~ raro, s,on mn, N;cI ,,t ca
quick. The mjun's knife had gone in
deep"
The speaker was silent and looked
out of the eur window again, and |
know that j am not mistaken when |
say that his eyes were suspiciouSly
moist fora few minutes. / had no
heart TO break the silence, and 80 LEFT
him 10 MS thoughts; but presently lie
resumed and said:
Poor Bill! if he had only left me
10 take my chances he'd not lost his
life. lie saved mime, but lac lost his
own. | found the cache where the
old hunter had hidden many of his
richest furs, an if I've got today one
o. the best cattle ranches in the state,
it's all OWN TO the start the old fellow
gave me.
Poor Bill! | buried him back there
on the billy slope, not far from where
he died, an piled up the rocks for a
tombstone, twenty-five years ago
come June, an that was Bills grave
that We saw, stranger"
Pueblo shouted the brakeman.
Change ears for Canyon City" The
man who had told me the story
changed, and l saw him no more
Capt, Carleton in Detroit Free Press.