Morris tribune., 1892-04-20

II had q mighty good pard in them days,
named Minty; but reckon he's dead, for
he was keerless about talk and firearms
whenever he got on a spree, which was
most every chance. Me and Minty was
down st San BernardiHo, when word comes
that pay dirt was struck mighty rich up
at Dead Squaw's Gulch, near Ovens lake.
1--WE struck out to wunce, and when we
got up thar we found the diggins in full
blast and every one chuck full of hope
and a-talkin nights of callin the place
Mountain City instead of Dead Squaw's
Gulch, which I'll allow hasn't a pleasant
sound We found tents and shacks built,
and of course there was the usual gang
of sneakin gamblers-cuss 'em, how l do
hate 'em-and thar was a grand Sierra
saloon, whar keards were played and hard
whisky drunk at all hours, and a lot of
pore painted things in short skeerts danced
at night.
GA mail route was opened to Los An
gelcs, but beyond that thar was no sign
of law, and as a conscience we he'd to
open graveyard up the hill, and most
every mornin we planted some one who'd
been killed down at the saloon the night
before. If the KILN had stopped then it
wouldn't "a been so bad, but we soon found
out that honest, sober men, az had families
at home, were being murdered in their
cabins jest to rob them of the dust they'd
gathered. .
"'Bout this time Cap'n Bolton, who was
a minin sharp and gin'ral specklater, KEN
to Dead Squaw's Gu1ch with his wife. The
cap'n was fine lookin man of forty, but,
OH my! what a regular little beauty that
wife was, to be sure-and so innercent. The
Bottoms lived in little cabin way off
from ev'ry one else but the cap'n was
allus along to help on law and order, so
when the honest miners began to be robbed
and kilt we formed a vigilance committee,
and as Cap'n Bolton-no one axed where
he got his title--waS a cap'n already, we
'lected him cap'n for keeps.
'All went mighty lovely for a little
while. Then the KILN and Robin began
again, and Cap'n Bolton and the vigilantes
was forever on blind trail, and we was
almost discouraged. We uster to send in
our dust to Los Angeles with Mike Null
len, who carried the mail once a week on a
blackboard. Mike had been sojer, and he
was brave as grizzly and honest as a hull
skyful of suns.
mike started off bright and early one
mornin to go to Los Angeles, a three days
trip, but he hadn't been gone more'n three
hours when the horse with the blackboard
KEN a-tearin back to camp, with the mail
bag and the gold dust gone, and Mike
Mullen him a-dyin on the seat. Twas me
and my pard that lifted the driver off, for
he was powerful bad shot, and any man
but him would "a been dead. After we
got a little whisky into him he opened his
eyes and said:
Boys, twas Cap'n Bolton that laid for
me and sprung on me unbeknownst down
at the Divide. Say you'll do for him as
he's did for me, and I'll die happy
''You can just gamble that we was all
'stonished, but we promised Mike, and
then he said, Pm a-goin, boysp and he
went.
'Wa-al, we started down to Bottoms,
but as we neared thar Mrs. Bolton came
out with rifle in her hand and axed what
we wanted, and we said we wanted the
cap'n most powerful bad She said he was
right down sick all night, and she'd thank
us if we'd come some other time, SOS not
to sturb him. Then up and told that we
must have him. and she ran into the house,
closed the door, and next thing we knowed
two rifles was a-pointin at us through the
chinks, SO we lit out.
''All day we kept watch on the cabin
II
we had time on hand we made up bundles
of dry sagebrush and wood, and when it
KEN dark we rolled 'em down, determined
to smoke the cap'n out or to roast him in
side. if so be he perfar'd that.
''Al1 this time the two kept up fire and
three of our men were wounded, so when it
KEN night we was all just wild for re-
venge, but we didn't want to hurt the
woman though I'll allow she wasn't lest
what we believed her when we worshiped
the tracks of her little shoes in the sand.
We wanted the capn to come out and be
decently hanged, but he said he'd see US all
further first. Then we called to the WON
an, and she lowed she'd stand by her hus-
| band.
"Wa-al, to make Il long story short, my
pard struck Il light with his flint and
steel, and as the pile was dry as powder,
up she fared and flashed, and we crept
back to watch what followed. Socn we
seed the woman a-runnin towart, us
a-shriekin, but when she came up she
didn't faint, but sat down OH rock and
watched the fire.
'tThe next morning thar was only an ash
| heap whar that cabin had been, and thar
was no sign of a human thar; the cap'n had
| gone back to dust. But what do you sup
pose that 'ar woman did next2" and Boggs
paused and began to fill his pipe.
81 suppose, said at y venture, ''that
she secured the blacklist dress the camp
afforded, and then turned her back on
Dead Squaw's Gulch."
stNo, sir, she didn't do nothin of the kind.
She knowed that the cap'n had a great lot