The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-09-08
fHp ROANOKE TIMES FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER 5, 1898

poor, but we thought we were near the
end of the trip, so we didn't worry. 1t
took nearly two weeks to get to Tucson,
but when we went to the little Mexican
store the old man in charge remembered
the bean sack very we'll and said he had
's>ld it to Pike the freighter. He bought
it and others from an old Mexican ped
dler who came over from Sonora and
had gone to Phoenix. There was no help
for it; we had to go there, too, tagged
out as we were, and there we found our
Mexican peddler, who told us he had
bought the beans-several sacks of them
at little roadside ranch down in So
nora, about 100 miles south of Tucson
Stranger, when we started back to
Tucson the next mornin we wouldn't
have sold our interest in that blasted
bean ranch for $50, 900 apiece. Yet, aft
er all, poor Bill left his body there, and
l got al broke up. Here's the way it
happened: About three weeks afterward
we was draggin along slow and tired one
afternoon when we come to the shanty
where the peddler told us he got the
beans. We knew it right off by the de-
scription. There was the little runnin
stream, and OH the other bank there was
the very bean patch and the house Mt one
end of it. We unpacked by the water,
and Bill was for talSin the gold pan and
tryin for color right off, but got him to
wait till mo.&lin, as we had to get supper
before dark.
II started gettin some sticks to build
fire, and Bill went to the packs for the
coffeepot and fry pan, and just then
three greasers on horseback rode by us
and up to the door of the house, where
they got off their horses. After little
palaver with an old bag that came to the
door one of them came over to us and
said 'Bueuos noches' very polite. a
greaser would be polite if he was goin
to cut your throat the next minute. AS
he passed our baggage he kind a-started
and looked ut it pretty sharp, and saw
he was takin note of the bean sack.
1t was standin there with the queer
mark i'll plain view. By and by he
pointed to the sack and asked where we
got it and what was in it. told him it
was a sack of beans, and we bought it
over the line in Arizona. Pretty soon
he asked us to come up to.the house and
spend the evenin. We said we would
after supper, and then he went off.
Half an hour later, as we was squat
tin by the fire drinkin our coffee, all
three of 'em come down and stood
around. Swarthy faced, with mean look
in mustaches and murderous ewes, they
looked equal to any deviltry, and was
just thinkin what precious lookin set
of rascals they was when quit thinkin
altogether. had to, COS was stretched
out on the ground unconscious. What
saw happened quickern can tell it.
The two near ones whipped out their
G-shooters and had us covered, and the
other one grabbed the bean sack. Bill,
always quicker than me, jumped up,
a-reachin behind him for his gun, but
before lie pulled it there was a report,
and he fell forward on his face with a
gurglin yell-a pistol ball in his throat.
made jump to get up, but felt n
crushin blow OH my head, and that's all
| remember.
when come to myself, was lyin
on some blankets on the dirt floor of n
DOLBY shanty, with an old Mexican hag
bendin over me. beg her pardon for
calm her bag, for she saved my life. but
when woke up thought sure she was
satan. She told me had been crazy q
week. and reckon must had brain
fever. told the old woman all nv
story and all about the beans, but she
wouldn't talk about the murder of INV
friend till three weeks after, when rot
strong and well, and told her | was
going back to Arizona. She up and told
me next mornin. and, stranger you'll
agree that me and Bill was two of the
unluckiest cusses Twin. That very sack
of beans we had been packin all over
Arizona had nearly $1,000 worth of gold
in it in dust and nuggets
1.-The three greasers who attacked us
were her nephews and were just what
they looked to be brigands--th though she
did not say So They had murdered a
couple of miners up in the mountains
and robbed their camp of about 90
pounds of gold dust. Not wantin to use
it till tho affair blew over, they hid the
dust in one of the sacks of beans. There
were dozen or more stacked up in the
old womans shed, and she had raised
them herself, with her grandson, 10
year-old kid, to help her. They marked
the sack, but did not tell her about the
gold in it, and while they were off on
some more deviltry the old woman mp
and sells some of her sacks of beans to a
peddler that happened to come by.
When the robbers came back again, they
missed the marked sack, but it was too
late to get it, and they pretty near beat
the old woman to death.
They'd forgot all about it by the time
we came by, but they knew their mark
on the sack and saw it had not been
open, and the only wonder is that they