The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1891-06-23


had of "a lfriar1-fab.e Mountains WrIo seen
IN no distance. which were lnhauiicd 10y
Indians. But my little commHnH an" le"
rattlesuakcs and tarantulas were the Only
living things near.
...i0',nner Is ready. Lieutenant was the well
come summons with which my COOK greeted
me. and was soon doing justice 10 heid
dinner Of bean soup and 's.apacks.
was III the midst Of this savOry repast
when noticed n stranger approaching me.
lie was 8 wcil-bulit. pOweriul-ioohing man,
shout forty years of age. his face was mtellec-
tual and extremely handsome he wore a full
beard AID mOustache, both OF which were non
crav lie was coarsely clad and carried no
weapon The latter circumstance was the
most remarkable thing Of all. for in those
DAVIS IN Arizona one scarcely moved without
/ arms.
Nearing mo. he asked in a pleasant quiet
manner, if l were the commanding officer.
! replied that / was.
Il came 20 see If you could lend me pistol
or % carbine for few days he said.
You don't mean 10 tell me that You are en-
drelv without arms:' l said. not unreasonably
astoni~hed.
Yes. / have nothing of the kind he an
swered Il have been annoyed for the last
three months 10y those internal Calfolnia
lions and if / had a shooting-iron 1 might
Kill some of them"
Are Won camping near here" I asked.
Il live Just around the bend of the river;
vii YOU wa. down with me-"
Greatly astonished asked if he lived there
quite alone.
"0h. no" be replied my wife and mother
1--we with me. '
Little dreaming was so near a residence !
eagerly accepted his invitation. and filing my
pipe and leaving the sergeant IN charge OF
camp started forth with my new aclumni-
oree As we made the turn of the river / saw
1.,1, vol v1l the Lowell
ru.re. IL was not more than 100 yards from
lie rivers bank. and was really quite lmpos-
ms i0 its dimensions. II struck me as so
pe.raar-so entirely out of place that / eX-
pressed my surprise to my companion.
"les" he answered Il think u Is
mete0rite. / am under great obligations TO
il Whatever it is and however II came here.
for has protected me Tor months. hat
rock my house"
B, this time we had reached the natural
dwelling At what might be termed IT'S open
inc the rock was ten feet or moro from the
ground. and it sheltered a space about twenty
feet in breadth, gradually sloping backward
and downward As l stepped under the pro
tecting roof / saw two women sitting at
work.
My host presented me 70 his mother and
wife respectively, and | saw at glance tnat
they were MeUcans; not OF the class. now
ever known as greaScrs, but representatives,
Of "a much higher grade. Like most MeMcans'
they we're disinclned to converse IN any Ian
rua0e but their own. but when they learned
that my knowledge of their tongue was TOO
sight 10 enable me 10 understand them they
oyerCame their reluctance ana we cAalIeU
quite pleasantly.
learned that they had been living there
for three months. They came with the inten-
ton of farming, and later proposed erecting
suitable dwelling.
HE Indians had not molestod them, but
they were worried by the hons, which came
lv twos and threes nightly % the opening OF
their habitatiOn and there hOWled TIL daylight,
when they returned TO the mountain
They told me IL was necessary TOT one OF
them TO be up all night % keep the IRE burn
ing. This was their only protection from
these monsters.
Consequently they had taken turns sitting
upnights for the last three months.
Having listened TO a graphic description OF
their faT from pleasant nelghbOrs told them
frankly that If had pistol or carblne OF my
own would willingly lend or give them one
but all the weapons in the command. even
those on my person. belonged 70 the NoVerh-
mcut. and that the orders respecting them
were 40 stringent that / was utterly unable TO
accommodate them.
II had a pistol when I came here, said my
host but / lost Il crossing the river. Since
then you are the first person who has oeeh
tins way"
lfeit really sorry for him. and also felt that
they might think l had given very, nlmsy
rea,0nt0r refusing tue loan they asked.
hat three human beings should De annoy
ed night after night by wild beasts anu
company Of cavalry unable TO give them pro
lection seemed incredible, yet such WAS the
case
At length a happy thought struck me .,,
j tell you what 1 Will DO, sara. WIZ
Tend the company IN charge OF the sergeant
About FIVE miles further down the, river 10
tlaamp. then will bring Curly with me. ana
Ne Will stay here tonight with you. Culiey
Is am Old frOntiersman and Is acting guide Tor
me- lie is a good shot and Will ENJOY lhe
bort
R2ly proposal was ioyfully accepted, and /
ietl-ned 20 camp 10 give tire necessary uric
Ton. About an hour later the company
bowed out and Curly and ! were alone
What SOFT e. an outfit IS that down 'htre'
tst my companion. pointing 10 inc STONE
tls.ou had recently lett ..r,..
cannot tell you ! "nsWer9u me
le ia ay they are worried ny the "onS ~
Dave told them you ana } VIII 9O"S VIZ"
te tonight and sample lew g.,
Some escaped Jail bird. / suppose, salu
Clr-y. The country's full of them.
Yep ! answered. the country IS iuil OF
them bat J am sure this man Is 40 criminal
ills manner and his appearance barring hi7
Clothes are those Of a gentleman ana Ills
N..' aFf'tls more illeu OlNtAlHA '-f
We'll said Curlev. IF theywll trot ont
t4e lions We don't care what they are.
With that we started toward the r9cA
The California lion may h We a leg innate
name but tins is the only one hayo ever
heard applied 20 him. lie belong 10 me
panther and wildcat families DOING "0-
Lev. 70 cross between the two.
Trey gave as conee. bread and fried bacon
:or supper and cur host surprised ana 0e-
nstted as by producing from has trunk some
cigars Not a lamp u ~ candle OF any de-
ecrpaon did they have. When darkness
came on they went 10 bed or ON waLch' 10 V"0
cas- might be.
We tod them all TO retire whenever they
,et disposed. and they wanted not secohg
Dedng We Jaw that our rifles were II go
"ioer and that our ammunition was nanny
'Atn We permitted the fire 10 dle ou..
Not long did we wait We had not been
on gurd more than half an hour when turiey
whispered % me. Did you see that thing
tneaklng up heref"
had already seen il, but ii was only coy
9,te' 20 said 1t ia nothing but coyote;
ne must not shoot il will frighten the lions