The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-16
NIGHT IN AN ARIZONA TAVERN.
How the Tenderfoot Made the Old
Gentleman Dance.

Ephraim, the proprietor of Twenty
Mile, had wasted his day in burying a
man. He had found him, or what the
Apaches had left of him, sprawled among
some charred sticks just outside the
Canyon del ORC. 1t was a useful dis
covery in its way, for otherwise Ephraim
might have gone on hunting his stray
horses near the canoyn, and.ended among
charred sticks himself. Very likely the
Indians were far away by this time, but
he returned to Twenty Mile with the
man tied to his saddle, and his pony ner-
vously snorting. And now the day was
done, and the man lay in the earth, and
they had even built fence around him /;
for the hole was pretty shallow and
coyotes have way of smelling this sort
of thing long way of when they are
hungry, and the man was not in coffin
They were always short of collins in
Arizona.
Day was done at Twenty Mile, and the
customary activity prevailed inside that
flat-roofed cube of mud. Sounds of sing
ing, shooting, dancing and Mexican tunes
on the concertina came out of the win
dows hand in hand. to widen and die
among the hills. A timber, pretty boy
who might be i9, was dancing energetic
ally, while a grave old gentleman with
tobacco running down his beard pointed
pistol at the boys heels, and shot holes
in the earth now and then to show that
the weapon was really loaded. Every
body was quite used to all of this-except-
ing the boy. He was an eastern new
conner, passing his first evening at a place
of entertainment.
Night in and night out. every guest at
Twenty Mile was either happy and full
of whisky. or else his friends were max
ing arrangements for his funeral. There
was water at Twenty Mile-the only
water for two score Of miles. Conse-
quently it was an important station on
the road between the southern country
and Old Camp Grant, and the new mines
north Of the Mescal range. The stunt,
liquor-perfumed adobe cabin lay on the
ground floor of the desert like an isolated
slab of chocolate. A corral, two dosolate
stable sheds and the slowly turning wind
mill were all else. Here Ephraim and
one or two helpers abode. armed against
Indians and selling whisky. Variety in
their vocation of drinking and killing was
brought them by travellers. These passed
and passed through the glaring vacant
months-some days only one ragged
fortune hunter, riding pony,
again by twos and threes, with high
loaded ourros and sometimes they came
in companies, walking beside their clank-
ing freight wagons. Some were young.
and some were old, and ali drank whisky,
and wore knives and guns TO keep each
other civil. Most of them were bound
for the mines. and some Of them some
times returned. No man trusted the next
man, and their names, when they had
any would be O'Rafferty, Angus,
Schwartzmeyer, Jose Maria and Smith.
All stopped for one night; some longer.
remaining drunk and profitable 10 Eph-
rain now ana then one stayed perna-
nently. and had fence built round him.
Whoever came, and whatever befall them.
Twenty Mile was chronically hilarious
Arizona night.
On this particular evening they had
tenderfOOt The boy, being new 10 Art
IONA. SIN trusted his neighbOr. Such