The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1892-01-15

caIlOfe OulleC INSIDE OF MIN, BrlcR ateS
was the one who picked him up, carried
him home, and nursed HIM tenderly till
heIdied, and Brick it was who performed
the last rites, preaching brief but fOrci-
BILE homily on the advantages of strict
honesty.
When little Sherburne, assayer at the
Highland, was sick with mountain fever,
it was Brick who stopped work and
stayed by his bedside for three weeks,
end who took the lads body to Leadville
and shipped it home. And when George
Hawley, who had been Bricks enemy
for years, lowered between life and
for ten days as the result of an accident
at the Columbia shaft house, it was
Yates who nursed him back from the
jaws of death, bit crippled, but strong
enough to work and grateful almost to
worship.
But the English company operating
the Highland mine shipped in, one day.
lot of Cornish miners-rough, british,
ignorant fellows, far different from the
splendid boys whom the crazy freaks of
the manager who succeeded Wallace had
forced to quit work. From this time on
Bricks work was hard, but he never fall
tered. All the old residents were his
staunch friends, but with these loutish
COrnishmen he could establish no peace,
though he did all for them that he would
haye done for others. They had no
gratitude, no finer feelings, and though
Brick used every effort to establish
friendly relations with them, it was in
vain.
One Saturday night there was trouble
at the Highland, and Peveril, the new
manager, was killed by the men and his
body thrown into a gully. the word
passed into camp and Brick heard. He
had known aud disliked Peveril, as had
every one else in the camp, but his duty
was clear He saddled his Lroncho and
rode up and got the body.
Next day we gathered down at the
little cemetery to see Peveril consigned
to earth. Brick had begun to read a
chapter of the Good Book over the grave,
when there was a cOmmotion and he
looked up to see what was the matter.
Four or five drunken Cornishmen, the
worst characters at the Highland, came
through the crowd, headed by Evan
Evans, the leader of last nights riot.
They stalked up to Brick, but he con-
tinued his reading. Evans raised his
big, dirty hand and struck the Bible
from Yates's grasp. A dozen hands
IGdCllCl lOI ICNOlNCIS, UuG DIlCh IdlStJ
his hand as a command to refrain.
Evans" he said slowly, you are in
tClferin' with TIL work of God, but let
us have no words. Cease this here
trouble an go yer way. I'm goin' ter
bury bury this here Teller eff die fer it,"
And lie again reached for the Bible, but
had hardly taken hold of 1t when Evans
raised his heavy boot and kicked the
preachers lowered arm. Like a flash of
lightning Bricks hand flew to his re-
vOlver, there was a report-and Evans
lay on the ground dead, the blood gush-
ing from a gaping hole over hfs eye.
Brick was very pale, as, the Cornish
men having been forced by the crowd to
take their dead leader and leave, he COR
tinued the service.
When he had finished he looked
around and said quietly: "Fr'en's, I'm
sorry, but thar sh'd be no interferin'
with such matters. Tell them chaps I'll
preach the service over Evans eff they say
500
That night a shot was fired from the
dark alley next to Jake Smiths saloon,
and we boys, rushing out, found Brick,
a wound in his chest, dying on the side
walk.
As we carried him in and laid him on
the bartender's cot, he signed to me to
bend closer and whispered: Chilly, ole
boy, they've got me guess the Lord
was on my side. but nuther me mr. him
seen that skulliin' cuss in tn alley.
Ministers have come and gone at IL
since then. They have been scholarly
and refined, ignorant and rough, good
and indifferent, and some of them have
endeared themselves to the people of
IL, now quite city. But it is worth
while, when some one is extolling the
virtues of this or that good man, to hear
some old-timer say: ''Wa-al, mebbe so.
But you jest oughter hev knOwed Brick
Yates, Thar wuz man.-The ArqOndut,