The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1895-02-13
A MOUNTAIN BRIGAND.
By ALFRED R. CALHOUN.
copyright, 1894, by the Author.l

he flaps had to be raised. A few can
lies stuck in bayonets, which in their
urn were driven into pine box in the
middle of the room, served to illumi-
nate the place. Two armed men were
stationed, one at the rear and one at the
front of the tent, to prevent the approach
If the women and children. Then Kit
McGee asked Collins if he was still
willing to join the band. He said firmly:
eyes, / am"
On the instant his eyes were band
aged, and he was made to kneel down,
with his right hand appraised, the old
man explaining that this form of obli-
cation was necessary, as they had no
Bible in the camp, but" he added,
1--WE uns low to git one fust chance
After these preliminaries, Kit MCGEE
repeated the oath-and particularly
and blood curdling oath it
was-a few words at a time, the candi-
date echoing them after him in n firm
voice. The penalty attached to the vio-
lation of this obligation was form Of
death that was as shocking as it was
novel, but the young man did not finch.
When the oath was concluded, the band
age was suddenly pulled from his eyes,
and looking up he saw three rifles lev
eled at his breast, while the men about
him shouted out:
"Seel The death of traitorP
After this Collins was taught the
grips, passwords and hailing signs, and
he was told that there were bands Of the
same order in the mountains of Ken
lucky, North Carolina and Virginia
Tho ceremony ended by all the men
passing him and giving him the grip.
Then whisky, Union whisky that had
been intended for hospital use in east
Tennessee, but was "confiscated" on
the way, was brought in, and every man
filed his tin cup or gourd-the latter
was the more popular on account OF It's
capacity-and drank to the health and
prosperity of his new brother.
Except old Kit MCGEE, all the men at
this camp were young or on the sunny
side of middle age, and they seemed to
take wild delight in their lawless and
unconstrained existence. After leaving
the tent the men went out to the nearest
fire. On this logs were thrown till for
q hundred yards about the valley was
as bright as day Then Molly McGee
appeared with fiddle, which she hand
ed to her father, and, upending heavy
pork barrel for him to sit ON, she called
out
"Now choose your pardners, all you
uns ez wants to dance, but don't no
one choose me, for I'm gwine to foot hit
tonight with the stranger, Jim Col
Inns. "
Fortunately Collins could dance
mountain fashion," and, eager to
stand as well with the daughter as he
believed no did with the father, he de-
termined to do his ''level best"
There were no set figures in this
dance. 1t was a combination of high
land fling, an Irish jig and darky hoe
down. Fingers were snapped, sharp
yells given when partners were being
swung; but, apart from this, it was
simply rapid working of the feet. a
rude pounding that kept time to the
music, and endurance was the test OF
skill. Whenever couple fell out ex-
hausted, they were greeted with roars of
laughter, and those who laboriously
stuck it out were encouraged to keep at
it by the plaudits of their friends.
81 was determined, said Collins in
telling of this, "to be the last man in
that dance, if l had to be carried off,
but honestly believe that if had at
TO Il II CT,
girl was good and ready she'd have
grabbed me in her arms and danced me
about Just as if I'd been child. Why,
as soon as the dance was over, she gave
ME a seat on cracker box, and then
she sat herself down on my knee, put
her left arm about my neck and told
me she thought was a buster.
Molly McGee's sitting on the young
mans knee could not be regarded, how
ever, as a distinctive mark of her favor,
for every other woman who had taken
part i'll the dance was being sustained in
the same way by her own particular
gallant. These mountain girls are as a
rule very natural and unoonstrained in
theiI intercourse with the other sex
The dancing, varied with boisterous
kissing games and libations Of whisky,
of which the women partook as freely
rs did their escorts, was kept up till
midnight, when Collins went to sleep
under the same blanket with the man
Owen, with whom he had come down
from the hills.
But while indulging in this wild
orgie the young man never forgot his
mission but, without seeming to do SO,
he took in everything going on about
him. Between the pauses of the dance
he noticed that men with rifles slung at
their backs consulted with old Kit Nc
oeo, i.i.u .uou tAIeJ Nau4sned into tho
darkness. They were evidently the pick
cts and vedettes on duty for the night.
Owen told him before they went to
sleep that he was the first man who had
been taken into the gang ON SO short a
trial, and he was sure that Collins would
be right smart glad Of chance to show
no mistake hadn't been made" Owen
had drunk enough to make him COM
municative, or it may have been that he
thought his bedfellow entirely worthy
his confidence, for he told him that
there were "more'n hundred men in
the band at this time" and that they
might easily recruit to thousand from
the Confederate deserters then coming
into the mountains from Joe Johnston IS
army, but that Captain Kit MCGEE
thought that more men would be a
source Of weakness, and in this he was
right.
To be continued.
Unnecessary Alarm.
Cleverton-Do you think it Is proper Ia
wear n silk hat with N dress srit in ha sup,