The Dakota chief. (Gann Valley, Buffalo County, S.D.) 18??-1913, 1893-12-28
in front Of Simpsons, and some ugly

LA lTOuU Vi Gill y Gnu SOIOC ugly
looks at Tom Scott. I can tell you.
There was a clickin' Of pistols, and l
saw as Scott had his hand in his
bosom, Too. There weren't "A single
English face about. stand aside,
JEFF Adams" says Iehb Humphrey, as
great a scOundrel as ever lived: YOU
hain't got no hand in this game.
Say, boys, are we. :~e Americans, to
be murdered by this sort O scum
1t was the quickest thing as ever |
seed. There was Il rush. an a crack:
Zebb was down with SCOTS bali in
his thigh. an Scott hisseif was on
the ground with a dozen men
holding him. 1t weren't no use
struggling, so he lay quiet. They
seemed a bit uncertain what to do
with him at first, but then n OF
Alabama's special chums put them
up to it. 'Joe's gone he said, moth
ing amt surer nor that: an there
lies the mar as killed him. Some IN
| you knows as Joe went on business t.
the gulch last night. lie never came
back. That ere Britisher passed
through after he'd gone. They'd Il
row-screams is heard 'mong the
flytraps. say agin, he has played
poor Joe some O his sneakin' tricks,
an thrown him into the swamp. 1t
amt no wonder rs the body is gone.
But air we to stan by and see En-
glish murderin' u own chums? l
guess not. Let ledge Lynch try
him: that's what l say Lynch
him. shouted a hundred angry voices
for all the rag-tag an bobtail o.
the settlement was round us by this
time, Here. boys. fetch a rope an
swing him up. Up with him over
Simpsons door, See here, though
says another, coming forrards: Iet's
hang him by the great ilytrap in the
gluch Let Joe see as he's revenged,
il o be as he's buried bout there.!'
There was a shout for this, an away
they went, with Scott tied on his
mustang III the middle, and a
mounted guard, with cooked revol-
vers, round him: for we knew as there
was Il score or so Britishers about as
didn't seem to know any jedge Of that
particular name.
II went out them, my heart
bleedin' for Scott. though he didn't
seem a cent put out, he didn't. He
were game to the backbone. Seems
kinder queer, sir, hangin' Il man to a
fiytrap; but our'n were a regular tree
and the leaves like a brace Of boats
with a hinge between 'em and thorns
at the bottom.
1--WE passed down the gulch to the
place where the great n grows, and
there we seed it. with the leaves,
some open, some shut. But we seed
something worse nor that. Standin'
rounding the tree was some twenty
men-Britisbers all, an armed TO the
teeth. They was waiting for us,
evidently, an' had a business-like
look about 'em, as if they'd come for
something and meant to have it.
There was the raw material there for
about as warm a scrimmidge as ever
/ SEED.
"As we rode up, great red bearded
northumberland were his name
stood out afore the rest, his re-
vOlver cooked in his hand. See here,
boys, he says, you've got no call to
hurt a hair Of that mans head. You
hain't proved as Joe is dead yet: and
if you had, you hain't proved as Scott
killed him. Anyhow. it were in self
defense; for you all know as he was
lying in wait for Scott, to shoot him
on sight. So, l say agin, you hain't
got no call to hurt that man: and
what's more, I've got twenty six
barreled arguments against your
dom it, It's an interesting pint,
and worth arguin' out, said the man
as was Alabama JOe's special chum.
There was a clickin' of pistols, and a
%lOOSenin' of knives, and the two
parties began to draw up to u an
9th T, an it looked like a rise in the
mortality of Arizona. Scott was
standing behind with a pistol at his
ear il he stirred, lookin' quiet
and composed as having no money
on the table; when sudden he gives
a start an a shout. as rang in u
ears like a trumpet. Joe" he cried.
Joe. Lock at HMM the tlytrap".
We all turned an looked where he
was pointin'. Jerusalem. l think
we won't get that picter out of ouI
minds agin. One of the great leaves
of the llytrap, that had been shut
and touchin' the ground as it lay, was
slowly rolling back upon its hinges
There lying like an oyster in its shell.
was Alabama Joe, in the hollow OF
the leaf. The great horns had beer
slowly driven through his heart as il
shut upon him. We could see as he'd
tried to cut his way out, for there wa.
a slit in the thick heshy leaf, an his
bowie was in his hand; but It had
smothered him first. He'd lain down
on it, likely TO keep the damp Of
while he were ava tin for Scott,
and it had closed Oh him as you've