The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1893-12-09
IN ARIZONA.
BY CONAN DOYLE

ing as / opened the door OF the room
where our little semi-literary society
met; "but | could tell you queerer
things than that 'er--almighty queer
things! You can't learn anything
out OF books. sirs, nohOw. on see,
| il amt the men as can string English
together and as had good eddicatious
as finds themselves in the queer
places I've been in. They're mostly
rough men, sirs, as can scarcely speak
| Alright, far less tell with pen aud ink
the things they've seen; but il they
could, they'd make some Of your
EUROPEANS hair riz with astonish-
ment. They would sirs-you bet!"
His name was jefferson Adams, /
believe; know his initials were j.
A, for YOU may see them yet deeply
Whitfield on the right hand upper
panel OF our smoking-room door He
lett Us this legacy, an also some
artistic patterns done in tobacco
! juice upon our Turkey carpet; but
beyond these "reminiscences. our
American story-teller has vanished
from our ken. He cleaned across our
ordinary quiet conviyiality like some
| brilliant meteor, and then was lost
in the outer darkness h. That night,
! however, our New Mexican friend
was in full swing.
Mind you" he continued, II
! hain't got no grudge against your
men OF science. l likes and respects
chap as can match every beast and
plant, from huckleberry To a grizzly,
with jaw-breakin' name: but il you
wants real interestin' facts-some-
thing a bit Juicy-you go TO your
whalers and your frontiersmen, and
your scouts and Hudson Bay men.
their names
Now, which of you gentlemen has
ever been in Arizona? None, I'll
warrant I've been there sirs-lived
there for years; and when | think
what I've seen there, l can scarce
git myself to believe il now. | was
one of Walkers filbusters and after
we'd busted up and the chief was
! shot, some Of us made tracks and To-
Gated down there. A regular English
! and American colony we was, with
Jul WIVES diIu Cuiluicu anu dll COiu-
plete
ITO think OF such a land being
! built for few greasers and half
! breeds lisa misusin OF the gifts of
! Provid nee. Grass as hung over a
chaps head as he rode through 1t and
ees so thick that you could nj get a
glimpse Of blue sky for leagues and
/ leagues, and orch DIS like umbrellas.
Maybe some on you has seen a plant
as they calls the ''hy Gather" in some
| parts OF the States"
"Diano2 muscipula," murmured
| our scientific man Par excellence.
'Ah, Die near municipal, that's
! him! You'll see fly stand on that
ere plant, and then you'll see The
two sides Of leaf snap up together
and catch IL between them, and
grind it up and mash it to bits; and
hours after, If you open the leaf,
you'll see the body ly ny half digested
and in bits. We'll. I've seen these
fytraps in Arizona with leaves eight
and ten feet long, and thorns or
teeth foot or more.
Its about the death OF Joe Haw-
kins l was going TO tell you-'bout as
queer think, l reckon, as you ever
heard tell on. There wasn't no.
! body in Arizona or New Mexico as
didn't know OF Joe HawKins-Ala-
bama 10 y as he was called there. A
reg'lar out-and-outer, he was; about
as hard a case as ever man clapt eyes
on. Rila him, and he war worse nor
a blizzard. I've seen him empty his
Six-shooter in a crowd as chanced TO
| jUste him a-goin' into Simpsons bar
when there was dance on; and he
BOWED Tom Hooker cause he split
his LIQUOR over his weskit by mistake
NO~, at the time / am tellin' ye on,
when Joe Hawkins was swaggerin'
about the town and layin' down by
laws with his shOotin' irons, there
was an Enel shman there OF the
name OF Tom Scott This chap Scott
war BritisheI u his boot-heels and
yet he didn't freeze much 10 the Brit
ish set there, or, rather, they didn't
freeze much 10 him. He was quiet,
simple man, Scott was-rather too
quiet for tough set like that He
kept himself mostly apart. an didn't
interfere with nobody so long as he
were left alone. BAD luck or good,
that man kept stiff lip on him.
This Scott was sort o. butt among
the men OF Arizona for he was so
sort o. quiet and simple like.
"It happened in Simpsons bar.
Alabama Joe aud one OF the other
rowdies were dead on the Britishers
in those DAYS. and they spoke their
opinions pretty free. That partic'lar
night Joe was fghtin drunk and
swagpered about the town with his
six-shooter, lookin out fer chance
Then he turned into the bar, where
he knowed he'd find some OF the In
glish as ready as he was hisself sure