Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-06-13

sion of his camp were seven painted
Apaches, the same ones undoubtedly
that had Jumped" him so recently.
Joe, who had hoped that his unpleas-
ant visitors had gone away for good, was
far from pleased to see the enem- estab-
ilshed in his camp. Peering between
the side of boulder and Spanish bayo-
net plant which efectually screened him,
the Missouri boy watched the perform
ance of the red men, who were making
themselves wholly at home They had
killed his burro, and the choice parts of
its carcass stuck on sticks were roasting
about fire made of poles torn from the
sides Of the shack. They had upset and
overhauled the valise and pretty much
everything else in camp in search of am-
munltion, "whisk," tobacco and les.
valued articles of plunoer. The dyna-
mite they perhaps deemed "bad medi.
cine for it lay in the box on the fla
rock where Joe had left it three hour.
before when the squirrel had lured him
from the camp.
What specially grieved Joe's heart was
the killing of his purro, the only posses
sion he had in the world except the tat
tered clothes he wore. Now, that after
all the fuss he found himself still alive,
the boys courage came back sufficiently;
for him to get very angry over his loss.
As relief to his feelings he cooked his
rifle and sighted it at different members
of the group, thinking as he dallied with
the trigger what pleasure 1t would give
him to send bullet among them as q
sauce to their meal. For youth Of Joe's
capacity for doing the wrong thing this
tooling with the trigger was most unwisc,
as was shown presently when he pulled
Just trifie too hard; the hammer tell
and the heavy army piece pointing into
the midst Of the Indian group went off
with louder bang and more emphatic
rebound-so it seemed to Joe-than ever
| before.
The vicious kicking of the gun against
his shoulder, the noise and smoke of it's
explosion, and the feeling of astonish-
/ ment at its unexpected performance, oc-
| cupied Joes thoughts for an instant.
! Before he had time to be frightened at
what he had done, he was Jared aad
shaken as if tie mountains were rock
ing, and was stunned by deafening roar
that rent the ar Loose rocks went
rolling down the slopes, trees were rush
ing to the earth, and Joe saw, as in a
fantastic dream. the top Of giant pine
that had overhung the mine high aloft
and still going upward, as if it never
would stop. Everything in the canon
| seemed to be in the air flying away from
1 the spot where the camp had been. After
the dust had somewhat settled Joe,
looking down upon the site of the shack,
could see there only a great hole in the
ground, while a heap of earth had taken
the place of the Great Cinch tunnel. The
saoS fred by mistake had missed every
Indian and pumped straight into the
! box Of dynamite.
At the time when Joe's shot was fired, :,
Peg Leg Crawford, riding burro and
driving his pack animals before him on
bis way back to the the camp, had reached
the mouth of the canon. Another turn
in the path would bring him in sight of
his mine. He was speculating as to how
tnings had gone on in his absence.
4 wonder what that fool boy Joe's
been doin' while I've been gone" he
| soliIoauized. "He's done no work ter
/ speak of, that's dead sure, an it's gHat
:! streak o. mercy if he hain't been up ter
mischief. If h, should get ter foolin
with that dynamite--"
At this point in his reflections Craw-
ford found his burro's footing unsteady,
owing to an unexplainab!ctremor OF the
. earth There was a commotion in the all
4. if several cyclones were fighting for
the right OF way through the canon, anc
q great roar came 70 his ears as i ths
thunders or whole rainy season were
combined in one peal. The next-thine
he realized was that he and his burro:
were On the ground together IN heap,
where by unanimous consent they waited
until the elements subsided.
When things had quieted down the old
p-ospector, who was not very nimble ~
his pins, pulled himself out OF the tangls
OF hurros, got his animals on their feet
and stumped up the capon to find GU
| what had haDnenei He expected tc