The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-04-20
utensils and devices. as well as a stout little


going 70 stay there and see how they liked
the country soon spread among the Raiues
Ismlly, the Turner's, the Lanes and the other
arlstocrats OF these parts. Tacitly the lead
lag and longest-rified specimens Of these
families drifted down the mountain paths
towards the camp OF the strangers. where
Two great tents had been put up with infinite
care, bloOded horses had been picketed and
French cooking had been begun, The cook.
with his snowy cap and apron, the dainty
looking dining table in the dinner tent, the
curious savory odors that came from the
camp IRE, the glttering linen and silver
That was laid out for these hiChfalutin'
newcomers-all these things did not evoke
a single word from the six Bill Raineses.
who stood silent, with ewes and mouths
open, In the bushes near by watching the
strange scene. The rifles OF the Raines
brothers were unpleasantiy conspicuous
from the camp fire, and it seemed to Mr..
Curtis and Mr.. Arthur not at all desirable
10 conceal the fact that there was in the
party some sixty or seventy thousand dol
lars IN American currency, with which
IL was proposed to purchase some of the
beautiful lands thereabouta
Dinner was served by the French cook in
his cap and apron, and as course after
course of viands Of which the Bill Raines
family had never heard was put on the
table, the eyes Of the Rsines brethren opened
wide, but they leaneds on their rifles and
said never word. Nor would thew sit
down and be soclable. They simply stood
and looked because they wanted to,
After dinner the strangers began
playing poker, and after one or
two Jack-pots had been opened and some
BODY wanted some small change, for the
stakes were small, Mr. Curtis offered to
supply the want, and put his hand, eau
tIously enough, as he thought, into the
inner pocket of his vest, where Just $50, 600
In greenbacks was pinned to his flannel
shirt. He ran his fingers over the roll,
smoking all the while in a nouchalant man
ner, for roll Of 5000, properly magnI-
fed by noun ain dew, might easily enough
have caused the slaughter Of the entire
county, and was trying to peel off some
Sl-bllls without exposing the roll to view,
when suddenly the hind legs of his camp
stool sunk into the soft soil, and, falling
backward, Curtis threw both of his arms
up, and scattered the entire $50, 900 over the
adjacent shrubbery.
HEARTS STOOD STILL.
For Il moment the heart of everybody at
the camp fire stood still, but it is safe to say
that British self-control conquered even
such an emergency, and nobody gave any
evidence that the usual evening custom Of
the party was not to distribute $4,000
six Bill Raineses, the absolute perfection of
their blase Indifference, the intense scorn of
their nal GdptrGrI gaze were superior even
to the aforementioned British self-control.
The BIZ Raineses never moved a muscle nor
a muzzle, but went on leaning on their
rifles and looking. The money was picked
up as careleSsly as possible and put away,
but If the rifles of the Bill Raineses had
begun to crack just then nobody would
have been surprised. After awhile the Bill
Raineses filed away through the bushes and
disappeared in the darkness. They didn't
know the EngliShmen and thought they
were land pirates The Englishmen did
not know them and thought they were
highwaymen and cutthroats. They all
know each other better since.
At o'clock the next morning a diabolical
noise was heard in the rear of the English
mems sleeping tent and they awoke with
start, grabbed their pistols and prepared to
sell their lives as dearly as possible. Their
sentinels had gone to sleep, the campires
had gone out, it was dark as pitcn, but in
the midst of the inky blackuess they could
feel the tent swaying from side to side and
the hoarse breathing of some huge brigand
as he strove to force an entrance. Without
waiting for the intruders to make them
selves known, the Englishmen dashed head
long through the flap Of the tent without
waiting to unite it, prepared to faca the six
Bill Raineses at least and discovered, to their
intense disgust, large COW OF the country
fast entangled in the tent ropes.
STORIES OF "BIG FOOT BILL"
After awhile the Bill Raineses and the
Englishmen got to be on more friendly
terms, and the $50, 900 in greenbacks began
to be utilized in buying title bonds on the
lands of the Bill RaIneseS and their neigh
borS. A title bond Is an agreement under
& -, L
that the owner Of the land will convey it to
the holder of the bond, and make perfect
legal title to it within a specified time on
the payment of q certain additional sum of
money. In order to secure a title bond
from Big Foot Bill Raines Mr.. Curtis, on
one occasion, rode up to the Big Foot Bill
Raines residence and, checking his horse
some twenty feet away from the
front door-there was only one door
shouted out "Hello!" Repeated shouts of
"hello" finally brought large and boxum-
looking mountain lady to the threshold.
Mrs. Big Foot Bill .Raines had high color
and was an unusually attractive looking
specimen Of mountain femininity. She cast
a suspicious eye at the riding costume and
new tangled fixing" of the stranger at her
gates and, on being requested to ask her
husband to come out as he was wanted on
business, she suddenly conceived heroic
MY ole mau, he done gone up de noun
tain to salt cattle and he won't be comm
back heah for putty..nigh a mont"
Argument and explanation were useless.
Curtis was perfectly sure that Bill Raines
was some where IN the neighborhood, and
was equally certain that if Big Foot Bill
had the same ideas that his wife evidently
had about his (Curti9 being a revenue
agent, the report of Big Bills rife might be
expected any moment.
All the while Big Foot Bill was lying
hidden in black berry patch about fifty
feet away, and when it finally dawned on
his mind that the strange had come to pay
him some money, and didn't mean him any
harm. Big Foot Bill called calmly and
composedly from his form in the brier
patch and made his appearance on his
hands and knees.
After some little dicker Big Foot Bill
went round to tie rear Of the cabin and,
removing with his jack knife two or three
loose stones from the chimney, quickly
drew from his private safe-deposit box his
title deeds. along with them came pack
age of musty, snoke-begrimed papers with
a leather shoe string tied around them.
"What are those, Bllli' asked Mr.. Curtis.
Them, 3" said Bill 'them are my requisi-
tions on the Treasury Department for meat
and provisions and things furnished the
soldiers durin' the war;"
Twenty-three years had passed since Big
Foot Bill had received his acquisitions in
return for fodder furnlshed the union SOL
IL. - II,