The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-01-11
Saw The Ghost Of Murphy.

Dave Keyon came down from Butte,
Mont, the other day. A change in for
tune, earned by profitable speculation,
in the Silver Bow District, by which he
comes out clearly $4,000 ahead, has
changed the plain Dave" to "Mr. Key
on" "Mr. Keyon" is not unknown in
Colorado, having until with the past two
years been simple miner in various
camps in the State. But Colorado held
"no luck" for him, and he deserted it for
other fields more to his profit, and with
better result, says the Colorado Sun.
The chief interest in Mr. Keyon's life
lies not in the fact that be made $50 600
in Montana, but that he once saw real,
bona 6de ghoAt in Colorado, aud his visit
to Denver recalls the Incident 1t caused
some comment at the time and was un
comfortable fox Mr.. Keyon. Now that
he has some money he may we'll mock at
ghosts. 1t is worth telling over, and he
reviewed it the other night with consider
able satisfaction.
1n 1884 aye.worked solitary pros
pect up in the Sugar Loaf district, near
Leadville.
1t wasn't much more of a prospect than
is usual with prospects, excepting, per
haps, as Mr.. Keyoh would say, sit was a
~ bad prospect" for the miner was
running it himself and his money was
going into the ground good deal faster
than the shaft. He named it the Hidden
Marvel, or something like that priuci-
pally because whatever marvel there was
about it was undoubtedly and iudisruta-
bly, so deeply hidden that it never came
to light,
II went 10 work Mt that there pres
pect," remarked Mr.. Keyon, putting a
10 cent cigar, for he is still above all
things not extravagant, "in the Spring of
'S4. The SNOW warn't all off the ground
and it used to melt and run down on the
top of me until I fixed up sort of a dam
and let it run off onto some other fellow g
property. The other fellow was named
Ed Murphy, and one afternoon heca
over to me and stood over the ten-foet
hole had dug for God knows what rea-
son, and called down to me that had
better take that dam away, or there would
be trouble.
81 had little dispute with Ed once be.
fore, and told him to go back and shut
his mouth. Then be sassed me and |
sassed him, and the next thing knew
| We were both pretty hot under the COL
lar.
81 crawled out and went at him, and
somehow or other got mad enough to
get my gun. and the next thing knew
| Ed was chasing himself down the hill
and I was shooting at him. Once he
stumbled and fell, and the last / saw of
him he got behind some. rocks. Then ]
cooled down and went back to work.
"Well, I thought but little of that un.
til almost o'clock that night when one
of the boys from down the gulch came up
to my claim. He brought bit of news
that paralyzed me. ed Murphy's shot,
said be.
"'When p said I.
"'Don't know they found him down
the road here with two bullet-holes clean
through him, deader than Virginia City
New.
swell, you can bet your pick that ]
began to perspire about that time.
asked who shot him, and the men aaid
nobody could find that out-probably
some hold up or somebody who had it in
for Ed and came over from Lsadville to
do him up.
"They had sent for the coroner, he
said, and if the boys could get any clew
to the man who shot Ed, why-some-
thing nice might happen to him in the
shape of well-atteuded farewell recep.
ton.
"When this man went away got to
| thinking. OF course it did not occur to
me to give myself away. I saw there
wasn't the slightest suspicion against me,
and was mean enough to crawl out of
it if I could. / don't think any one else
would have done differently. You see it
don't matter so much what you may do
if you see a way to get out Of it, and l
didn't think it was of enough importance
to get me hung for him, at any rate. But
it worked me up, anyhow, and when I
couldn't get to sleep I went outdoors and
speculated as to the best method of get.
ting out of Lake county pretty quick.
Finally I decided to get my stuff togeth-
er-I didn't have any Saratogas or hand
sachels, either-and light out the next
day, under the excuse that I was going
over to the city. There was
big moon sailing around that night
and you could see pretty much of ev-
erything just the same as if it we're day
time.
swell, had been standing outside of
the door ut-balf an hour, guess
when I looked over to the place Ed had
the nerve to call the dump on his prop.
erty,' and saw some one moving about.
was glad of company just then, and l
sings out to him. But he didn't make
any reply. He just puttered around that
dump and every once in while would
look down. into the hole. Finally,
he turned so I could see his face and
we'll, he knocked me out 1t was Ed
Murphy.
"Of course l was scared And then
it occurred to me that if Ed was dead
there was no particular reason for his
spirit visiting his Claim, for knew there
was nothing in it. Then l shouted to
him apain and got no answer.