The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-06-23
PASSING OF GARCIA.


~ TO the history of the world he'll want
t. leave many pages fer the dom at Boom
orolis. An when he takes his pen in hand
to write them, If he jest folders the trail of
Cup II Jenkins, he'll hit on all the places
worth stoppin at We may point with
pride today, as Colonel Feggers sed in his
great speech last Fourth Of July, to our
boss car, our high school an our 'lectrio
lights; but, arter all, as he sed ag'in, it's
men that makes q state, an 1t folIers that
it's men that makes county or a town,
an the world wants to know what them
men done.
Everybody knew that Jenkins an Garcia
had 1t in fer each other jenkins had
spilled Garcias family blood, hayin wiped
out his father-in, law Dunlap in a feud to
the death, an Garcia had vowed vengeance
afore hundred witnesses. If they should
fight in the open, we knowed that the
cap'n d do him, fer all that he wuz only
bout half Garcia's size, but Garcia wuz
sly an tricky, like all the Greasers, an we
wuz afeard that he'd waylay the cap'n
some dark night an stab him In the back
We warned tho capn to be on his guard,
but he didn't seem to take no stock In our
sespioions. The cap'n was changed
| 'hhh any way iSF % luLR tlID6 MS
feud with Dunlap, In which Dunlap
had been sent over the river. He spent
a good deal of time at home with his
wimmin an Children, an seemed to shun
| his best friends. He wuz remark bly, slow
| in axceptin inVertations to lkker, an wuz
even known to shake his head when we
axed him to take hand at seven up.
This wuz a circumstance sech as mono of
us had ever heered on afore, an it made
us very sad.
hunger from Moo Yok, who had plant
cd out an orange ranch In Boomopolis fer
his health, threatened to hev the cap'n ar
rested fer shootin Dunlap, an then we all
looked fer trouble fer sure, but the cap'n
only larfed when we told him. That didn'
seem material at all. But though all of us
boys noticed the change with regret,
yet we recognized the fac that all
great mon has their moods an lenses,
when they wants to nurse their pri-
vnte feelins in solertude an when it's
the healthiest plan to let EN- alone. Still,
when the cap'n commenced to act more
like himself we wuz tickled most to
death, an one day, whom he licked tenn
porary barkeep at Doc Moreys fer putin
too much sugar in his whisky, we all felt
as though great, big cloud had been
rolled way from the face of the sun an
that nature wuz a-smilin ag'in.
We WIZ the better pleased at this because
mother lection wuz a-comin on an Billy
Skinner, the marshal, and Johnny Burke, |
the sheriff, wuz both willin to serve their
constituents ag'in. But the law an order
element, SO called, wuz dead ag'in 'em
both, an it looked like we wuz badly beat |
unless we could put up some kind of job. |
This would hev been easy enough, with
leetle gun play fer bluff, If Garcia an
some OF his pals hadn't jined in with |
them law IN order tenderfeet This COIN
bination wuz bout as reasonable as the
devil an holy water, but 1t seemed likely
to win, or at least to end in trubble. Now,
the cap'n wuz our right bower in q fight
He weighed more on sech 'casions than q
wagon load of wildcats on count of his
repatriation fer dead shot. A wave of his
hand, word, a look out of them steel
blue eyes of his'n wuz enough nine times
in ton
But, as bad luck would hev 1t, the cap'n
had shook hands with Garcia an called the
feud off so fer as they wuz concerned,
This misfortune had come bout through
jenkins wife. who had sometimes most
remarkable control over him. She wuz IA
strong minded woman an must hey been
a beauty when she wuz young, though q
trillc lank an lantern jawcd now, arter 30
years on tho frontier an II children In
his softer momeRts, when he wuz a-tryin
to be good, she could wind the cap'n 'roun
her little finger 1t happened that sho
went to Los Angeles to visit her second
cousin soon artCr the shootin Of Dunlap,
an aforG she went she got the capn an
Garcia together an made 'em shake hands
an agree that there shouldn't be no blood
lCttin between EN- until sho got back.
The cap'n took the oath TO please hi swifc;
Garcia because he wuz snake In the grass
anyway an it suited him to lie low.
So it seemed like our hands wua tied in
tho lection, an that half breed Greasor,
Garcia, KNOWN this wuz as sassy as
parSon. As the day fer the lection como
along, some Of the hints an remarks which
he throwed out aggravated us sportin boys
so much that we Il killed him in q mint
if airy one Of us had had the slightest per
sonal provuCaton. But we couldn't in
veoglo him into quarrel with any ind-
yidool We went in a body to the cap'n
an stated the case an suggested that he
lay fer Garcia. But the cap'n only shook
his head II can't do it, boys" he said;
~ promised my wife" And tho thought
of his helplessnoss in the premises cramucd
him so that his eyes filled with tears, like
Il baby's when il hcz the collie.
The sitGrwatiOn Wuz certainly very I'M
promisin, 1t looked like our liberties wu2
bout to be snHtchod away from us by
aliens 1t hurt us to think that the town
in which We lived-long afore the cough.