The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-09-19
THE GREAT CINCH.

| Arizona, was lonely enough. The rocky
walls shut out the morning sun rays. and
the only trees in sight were somber ever
greens and thickets of chsparaL- The
aspect of the rugged landscape was sug-
| gestive of their primitive inhabitants-the
Apache Indian and the grizzly bear.
Yet in this secluded spot there were
| signs of human life and activity in the
shape of a rude miners "shsck," open in
front, with three sides formed of upright
poles chinked with mud and roof OF
overlapping splints 1t stood near large
freshly dug hole in the canyon side.
Picketed by a rope tied TO his foreleg an
aged burro was feeding on the dry herbage
of the canyons bottom. In the excavation
in the mountain side raw looking youth
was working very moderately, using alter
nately pick and shovel A shock of tow
hair ran wild beneath his hat brim, and a
stray tuft like tassel appeared through a
hole in the crown. This young fellow was
Joe Dobbs, late of Missouri, and the object
of his labors was to develop Peg Leg
Crawford's newly located mine, Great
Cinch, in Bueno canyon in the Chiricahua
range.
This mine was at present in the stage of
but the indications of mineral were good
and had grown better as the digging went
on. A good face had been cleared against
the rock, and when the p-oprietor-now on
a trip to town for suppl es-should return
blasting was to begin. Joe was not to
share in the profits of the mines develop
ment. He was merely shiftless boy
picked up dead broke" at Camp Bowie,
- L.. 81. L
of his work and company at the price of
his grub" and a shadowy promise of
wages if the mine turned out well. The
decrepis burro had been turned out to die
by his Mexican owner, and Joe had driven
him to camp, ''as starter fer herd" he
said
The shadows of the beetlipg cliff on the
southeast, which during the first half of
the day lay across the canyons bottom,
slowly shifted eastward until blaze OF
bright sunshine in the mouth Of the tunnel
informed Joe Debbs that ''noon:o clock"
as he termed it, was approaching. The boy
was not fond of labor, and it did not re-
Quire many miHutes' endurance of the hot
suns rays to convince him that it was time
to stop work and get something to eat.
There is little doubt that he arrived at this
decision fully an hour in advance of the
time it would have been reached had Mr..
Crawford been with him instead of pre-
sumably somewhere on the San Simon
plain coming back with his burros and
supplies. Having repaired to the shade of
the "shack," he cut some slices from the
small piece CT bacon for his use and raked
together the emSers of the camp fire.
There was no wood cut and before set
ting out to get some Joe sat down to rest.
His eve fell on the large valise that Peg
Leg Crawford always kept carefully locked
and ont of the way of harm. In the hurry
of departure the miner had left the key in
the lock, and it occurred to the boy that it
would be a g0od time to see what was in
side.
Joe turned the key and opened the sacred
valise 1t contained two pairs of cotton
socks, some specimens of ore, and a bulky
package wrapped in a scrap Of army
blanket.
Joe united the cord that fastened the
parcel and unrolled the covering from a
wooden box that once had held Malaga
raisins. Prying off the top of the box with
his knife, he saw that it contained about
two dozen of what looked like long, thick
candles Had the youth been more thought
full, and known more of letters he would
have spelled out the words, "dinumite
dangeruss," written in blue chalk on the
cover. but as it was, that inscription passed
unheeded with all the warming of risk thai
it conveyed. He had heard vaguely of dy-
Mantle, but knew nothing of how it ap-
peared or should be handled. The cylin-
drical objects before him he half thought
ha eop,a forro of oor1u
81 don't see why ole Peg Leg should be
so mighty perticklar bout this outfit O.
stuff" he said to himself, as, picking up
fake of the substance that had scaled
from one of the pieces, he put it in his
mouth and tried it with his tongue. 1t
had a sweetish taste, and he set his teeth
into it.
If Joe had applied his grinders with the
force and enthusiasm that he would have
shown in cracking q hickory nut, there
might have been a premature explosion
and my story never have been told; but be
quickly discovered a caustjc property in
the substance, and, not liking the flavor,
spit it out He put the box on fat rock
that served as table, convinced that he
wanted nothing of its contents.
CHANGING to glance up the mountain
side, he saw the boughs shaking in a scrub
oak. At the back of the camp leaned one
of those old style army rifles, chiefly for
midable to the one who fires them, known
as the ''Long Tom" With more anima-
ton than he had shown at any former
time in the day, Joe seized the frearm
and eXclaimedi
Il sees yer, and yer my meat; here goes
fur Drilled squirt FIR dinner" and started
up the mountain to secure the game.
The path which he must take to reach
the place where he had seen the squirrel
was steep and roundabout. When, after
hard scrambling over rocks, he came near
the place where he had seen the squirrel,
that evasive rodent was not to be found.
But climbing higher and looking beyond
the summit of the ridge into little noun
tain park, Joe spied a jack rabbit feeding
in an open space. AS he crept toward the
creature, following It's Wpstartings, short
runs and upsittings, in the effort to get a
chance for sure shot, he saw to the wind
ward ameng the pine trees across the val
ley red deer, which caused him to aban-
don the rabbit at once
Hits great morpin fur critters astir,"
said Joe to himself in high glee. Who'd |
a thunk that tritiin squirt nd led up ter
deer. n thar may be somethin a heap !
bigger n one deer a waitin fur me-"
There was something, "a heap bigger a |
waitin." Crack, crack, crack, came the |
sharp report of several rifles off on his |
right; there was singing of bullets about |
him, so close that one passed through his |
hat; and there arose hideous yelling out |
cry, which made his flesh creep and for a |
moment weakened him SO much that he |
nearly tumhled from fright.
The symptoms of returning courage and |