The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-07-07

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 well and said he had
sold it to Pike the freighter. He bought
it and others from an old Mexican ned
dler who came over from Sonora and
had gone to Phoenix. There was no heir
for it; we had to go there, too, tagged
out as we were, and there we found GU,
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 tc
! Tucson the next Inornin 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
| got all broke up. Here's the way il
happened: About three weeks afterward
we was draggin along slow and tired enc
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 on the other bank there was
the very bean patch and the house at one
end of it. We unpacked by the water,
and Bill was for taain the gold pan and
tryin for color right off, but got him to
wait till mornin, as we had to get supper
before dark.
81 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
lhey 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 at it pretty sharp, and saw
he was takin note Of the bean sack.
It was standin there with the queer
mark in plain view. By and by he
pointed to the sack and asked where we
got it and what was in it. I told him it
was 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.
S'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 eyes, they
looked equal to any deviltry, and was
just thinkin what precious lookin set
of rascals they was when quit thinkin
altogether. I had to, COS was stretched
out on the ground unconscious. What
saw happened quicker'n I can tell it.
The two near ones whipped out their
6-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 he pulled it there was report,
and he fell forward on his face with
gurglin yell-a pistol ball in his throat.
I made jump to get up, but felt
crushin blow on my head, and that's all
7 remember.
'When come to myself, I was lyin
on some blankets ON the dirt floor Of
dolby shanty, with an old Mexican bag
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 I had been crazy a
week, and reckon / must a had brain
fever. | told the old woman all my
story and all about the beans, but she
wouldn't talk about the murder Of my
friend till three weeks after, when I got
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 livin. That very sack
of beans we had been packin all over
Arizona had nearly 5000 worth of gold
in it in dust and nuggetsl
''The three greasers who attacked us
were her nephews and were just what
they looked TO -brigands-th she
did not say so. They had murdered
couple of miners up in the mountains
and robbed their camp of about 20
pounds Of gold dust. Not wantin to use
it till the affair blew over, they hid the
dust in one of the sacks of beans. There
were dozen or more stacked up in the
old woman's shed, and she had raised
them herself, with her grandson, To-
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 up
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
didn't shoot us both down without askin
any questions.
"My donkeys were feedin around the
ranch yet, and I had my blankets. That
was all they left me. gave the old
woman one donkey and saddied up the