St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-01-18

taken. and went down into the shaft.
filled the bucket with very heavy ore
climbed up, and had it about half RAISED
when man came walking up the creei
bed toward me. Then l knew I va!
right before.
"Hc was an ugly-lOoking custom er
big and brawny, with a fat. Scandi
navian face, and carried Winchester
on his arm. had little stick that
slipped into the windlass handle nes,
the axle to keep it from turning back
ward. and, leaving the bucket jus,
where it was. suspended half way up.
started toward the cabin to get my
arms. He covered me with his rereat
ing rife, and ordered me TO halt.
"'What are you doing on my claim?
he said.
II reckon you can sec,' replied. put
ting as good face on it as l possibly
could.
"'You mean you've jumped it. yo1
cursed thief"
No, l don't. There wasn't enough
work on it to hold it, and it was as much
mine as any bOdy's.'
"'You lier
HE looked at no over the sights with
his wicked. greenish eyes for full min
ute. Then he said:
Ibid you ever prAy?'
"'Yes, faltered.
"'Then pray now. I'll give you two
minutes to do it,
by that time my mind was clear
enough to take in the whole situation,
and had no doubt that he intended to
murder me then and there. With me
out of the way there would be no one to
testify to the insufficient work, and
would simply be regarded, if the story
of my death was ever told, as a claim
jumper who had been justly dealt with.
l felt my knees begin to tremble and
tried another tack.
"'If you kill me- said, my partner
will be back and sec that you hang fOr
it,
"I'll fix your partner the same way.
you claim-jumping cur
True enough. Nothing would b
easier than to assassinate Burke on his
return, and We had SO jealously guarded
the secret Of or trip that no one would
know where to search for us. We would
simply disappear, as hundreds of pros
pectOrs do, never to be seen by men
again and speedily to he forgotten. /
had no hope of mercy from the instant
looked into that mans cruel face. felt
with . sickening qualm and wild
drumming in my ears that my time had
come.
"Oh, for Heavens sake. don't murder
me- l cried. 4 will gO.'
'The man made no reply. For . mo-
ment my head swan. and then. with .
sudden return of vision that was excru-
ciating in its clearness, saw him stoop
slightly, rest the gun-barrel over the
windlass handle. and marked even that
slight contraction Of the eyelid that just
precedes a shot. The next moment there
was q crash. an explosion and cry all
mingled into one. l saw the man turn
ing heels over head down the cmbank-
ment, the Winchester flying through a
cloud of smoke up into the air. and all
the while heard loud. mOnotonous,
whirring noise that was like some gigan-
tic clock running down.
81 did not realize it at the time, but
this is what happened: When he rested
his gun across the windlass he dropped
the barrel right across the little stick
had thrust in to prevent it from turning,
and knocked it out. suppose the
bucket of ore weighed one hundred and
fifty pounds, and the great iron handle,
clear around. gained such ter
rife momentum that when it struck him
fair in the face. which it did. it lifted
him off his feet like cannon-ball. The
gun was discharged by the shock, but
the bullet went nowhere near me. Be-
fore 1 regained my senses heard the
bucket strike the bottom with smash.
''When 1 picked up the man he was
but moaning little, and
the blood trickled out of his ears lie
Law at the cabin for a week or two, and
after Charley got back we managed to
get him to Silver City. There the doc
tors put his face in \ sort of plaster Of
paris cast, but although the wOunS
healed he was out of his head and event
ually died. The night before he passed
away he motiOned for little slate he
used to write on. for he couldn't speak.
lie was very weak, and it took him some
time. but at last he scrawled:
"sNho hit me"
s.Rut before we could :ell him he
tainted away. The mine? Oh. the
mine pinched out after awhile, and dis
appointed us. sold my interest to
Burke, and I think after working it .
year he gave up in disgust and moved
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