Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1890-05-30
A Wild NIGHT RIDE.

ming in 1876 I took the coach which
lett Custer CIty-er Custer village
for the town consisted of twenty OF
thirty log Structures-to 60 to Sid
uey, Neb. A coach l suppose il
should be called, though on the
plains this vehicle, which has the
.duyers seat on the same level as
the passengers seats, is called &
"hackp
had gone to the "Hllls" to en-
gage in mining, but after four
months of prospecting had decided
to open a general supply store at
the new town of Deadwood, and
was on my way to Omaha to pur-
chase goods for the venture.
y tin lamp, fastened in one corner
of the "hack," discovered to me two
passengers within as 1 entered and
took my seat. One was an old gen.
tleman, apparently weak and i'll,
for, although it was not a cold
night, he was muffled in a coarse,
heavy ulster 0vercOat. Moreover,
such of his face as | could see be.
tween a gray beard, which almost
covered it, and the rim of slOuch
hat, was pale and thin, and the
eyes looked sunken and unnatural.
At least, so they struck me at a
curSOry glance.
The other passenger was a young
fellow of twenty-five or twenty
three years, [ judged, decidedly
daudi6ed in his dress for that re-
giou. lie wore a stiff hat and a
stand up collar encircled by neat
tie, and had on a dark suit, evi.
dently custom made, which was an
unusual "get up" for that region,
and one which at once aroused my
suspicion, for the only persons l
had seen about the mining towns
dressed in anything like that fash
ion were gamblers, a class OF men
l had made 1t a point to avoid.
Just before setting out the driver
came to the side of the vehicle,
thrust in a Winchester carblne and
placed il between my knees.
81 see you didn't have no gum"
said he. san keep a couple of ex.
ira ones fer sech.'
That was all. No further expla,
nation was necessary in those days.
l took charge of the weapon, al
though l was as little expert IN it's
use as l was in handling the
Smith & Wesson in my hip pocket,
which, indeed, 1 had never dis.
charged.
l knew enough of life IN the
mines to know that the "bad man
with a gun" is usually the man who
gets INTO difficulty rather than the
peaceable and unarmed citizen ; but
a stage ride from Custer to Sidney
at that time was trip not alto
gether likely to be without its ad-
ventures, and for once 1 regretted
my unfamlliarlty with "shootiRg
irons"
1t occurred to me that if we we're
dumped by road agents." as the
phrase went, the free. hooters of
the route would have little to fear
from the occupants of the hack,
whether they got money or not.
There were usually valuabIes of
some sort in the iron box under the
drivers seat.
, The young man who sat opposite
me had carbine across his lap,
! but | lancied he knew even less of
Its use than did. AS we started
/ he sat without noticing me, twlrl-
ing a slight mustache and hum
ming a tune. ga fresh garnester,
lif one at ALL" | said to myself upon
a second look at him.
The Old man had no arms i1
sight. The driver no doubt re-
garded him as out of the fight al
any event.
AS we rolled up into Buffalo
Gap ! had a few words of converse
ton With my companions. | learn
led that the elder was an lows
farmer, WHO had come out to SET
what be could do in the new mines
/ hut he had been i'll with mountain
fever, and afterward attacked by
rheumatism, so that he had beeI
forced to abandon his projects ant
return to the east. He spoke free
Ily. and in the careless English o.
western men.
The young fellow said he wa
from New York. "Neh Yawk," h'
pronounced it. lie was, be said,
student of mining engineering, bu
he did not mention what his bust
ness bad been in that region; bu
that was not strange, tor we coul'
mot talk much. A jOlting stag
bowling over rough country a
eight miles an hour does not CIV
tho host onnortunitV for converse