The National tribune., 1896-08-20
"we are the people Of the will, viii, Wea',
Au' we don't keer whar we are,
But, tween you'n' me, we're 'orribly bles'

| To emphasize the sentiment, the singer
steered his stumbling footsteps into the bar
of the Red Eye, and the closing door lost the
rest of his song TO the street, an alkall-duSted
thoroughfare, sprinkled with bowlders and
| lined on each side with uneven and un-
slightly fronts of frame buildings.
The Colonel, who was tall, stout, and Ken
| fuckian, looked approval of the sentiment of
the song at the Major, and the Major, who
was short sandy, square, and Misseurian,
thrust his lett hand deeper in his pocket,
turned his toes slightly more outward as a
standing gesture, and poised an index finger
argumentatively in the air.
"Yassir," said the Major, "Parydise Bar
ez glorious gem of the mountings, spark
| lin di'mind, with settin' of gold. All we
need to make fust-class burg of this CHR
rupin' town ez enterprise an leetle order." !"
The Majar stopped and glanced inquiringly
at the Colonel, who was sky-watching and
buzy with thought
"Yo' are right subj" said the Colonel,
heartily, with his hands joined behind him; /;
"Pah'dise City is the nucleus of metropo-
lis, the foundation of a gre't city. 1t has
| futuh in front of it, suh and it thefOh the
mo- needs guidin' hand. / have been
thinkin', sub, that we must o'ganlze and
have local gov'ment"
"Jes' my opinyun, perexactly," quickly
responded the Major. What we need, to
make bewtiful an progressive city outn
Parydise Bar, ez the majesty of the law.
What we want ez Justis of the Peace,
Board of Supervisors, an a" Here the
Major rammed both hands in his pockets,
and looked downward, as if in deep study.
The Colonel looked at him from the cor
ner of half-closed eye. And Shelf" he
added, easily.
"The very words that wuz on my min" !"
cried the Major, looking up. And then the
Colonel went up the street and the Major
went down the street.
There was, indeed, cause for the converse
ton. There had been a lynching in Paradise
Bar the night before. This did not much
matter, nor was it particularly strange for
| lynchings are indigenous to localities where
an unregulated executive is the only branch
of the law. But there had been lynching
the night before that, too. And the poorest
mathematician in camp could easily figure
what would become of Paradise Bar if there
were two departures via the rope route for
every arrival via the stage route.
1t was very unfortunate that, owing to
the darkness and the eclipsed state of in
toxication of the person most interested, in
| the first instance, the boys had lynched the
wrong man. OF course it was all right, SO
far as Jim Mcpherson was concerned, that
they lyncbed him instead of his brother
Buck, for he had been engaged in a ghost
making the previous Fall that entitled him
to pass into eternity. About the same
time Ikey Smith made his big strike, and
! the bows did not attend TO his case in their
excitement, and after it was over they felt a
delicacy about holding him to account for
an old matter which was outlawed accord
| ing to the precedents governing in such
cases. But the mistake made another
| lynching necessary, and that was a serious
matter, for two such events in quick success
sion might spot the fair fame of Paradise
Bar. Buck had been senior partner in the
| intoxication business with his brother, and
| had attended to it SO enthusiastically that
| he was not in condition to escape. So the
committee took time to consider. But his
was heinous offense that could not be over
looked, for he had not only killed man,
/ but had killed him for the express purpose
of jumping his claim. And so his first rise
| in life ended in death.
A few days later nothing was talked of in
| Paradise Bar but the proposed election, the
proposition being received with the same
cheerful enthusiasm that would have been
|
mass meeting was held, a date decided upon,
and a committee appointed to take charge
| of the election and draw up charter.
The boys were all heartily in favor of a
charter, though few of them had any idea
what 1.-The blamed thing looked like"; 80
public sentiment settled upon Judge Samp-
son and Joe Emerson for the committee. and
watched them to see that they went to work
upon the charter.
Judge SIMPSONS physical appearance was
described 10y the boys when they said that
his shadder is better man n he is" In
his search for health he had become peace
/ fully stranded at Paradise Bar. But when
the boys found that he had an old law book
and a copy Of the State Constitution they
looked up to him with respect. He soon
| wrote letters for those whose hands were
more used to picks than pens, drew up the
rude transfers Of mining claims and in the
| realms of Literature and law regned su-
preme
To explain why Joe Emerson was chosen
as his associate would have been hard SUBJ
ject for q stranger to pan out. Joe was agent
for the stage and express companies, great
corporations which he held in awe and rever-
ence. He first strongly attracted public at
tention when he and his revolver stood off a
crowd OF drunken Iun-SeekerS VINO baQ de-
cided to take Sing High, the camps solitary
ChinasDan, from his wash-shop and hang him
by his pigtail. But it was upon his second
exploit that his fame principally rested. He
had little use for pen, it and the sword
being both inferior to a Colts in his opinion
and the routine Office reports were enemies
| whose underhanded tactics he dreaded
Yet il was vaguely rumored in the camp that
he had written something that was published
in newspaper, feat that added more to his
| reputation than half-d0zen funerals would
have done. The something" was letter
TO the Stage Superintendent, and was as fol-
lows:
/ DEER SIR: / take the Company's pen In hand to
| wright you te stale was late agen today il
| held upp. Ther 700 dollars bord, the
/ ROBBERS got tiiai. IL would not have bin much
| late. but fule passcnjers made fife. the Horses
| aud the Stale is not hurt. JOE EMERSON.
| the driver got the fares from the passengers be-
| for they was kid.
Joe and the Judge went right to work,
and in few days the exciting news travelled
| from miner to miner, from claim to claim.
that the charter was finished. 1t proposed
to furnish TO the citizens Board Of three
Supervisors, in whom all powers not dele
gated to the other officers should be vested !;
| Sheriff with a salary of 800 per month,
who was to be ex officio tax-col,ector and
Justice of the Peace and City Clerk COM
bined in one, who was to have $lOO per
month and all coafscated weapons as his
pay.
By universal consent and in the interest
/ nf ,,oano and sohriefv IL xUaa dacidod bo1S