Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-03-20

with them, and they told me their
story. They said that they were
graduates of Yale college, and had
followed the stampede to the new dig
gings, and got "strapped." Like the
rest of us, they were unable to get out
before spring, when the roads would
be open. 1 invited them to spend the
winter with me, they doing the cook
ing and cleaning, while / did the
shaving and hair-cutting; and l must
say that have seen better cooks who
had not the advantage of a college
education.
Rabbit Creek and Spanish Flat were
three miles apart. The cabin which
I occupied was halfway between the
two places on Warren Hill. One day,
while standing in the door, we saw
four men rush by with guns in their
hands, and after a while a crowd OF
men from Spanish Flat came by. Be-
fore they got to Rabbit Creek, they
caught a man and put rope around
his neck, and started back to Spanish
Flat, intending to hang him from the
hydraulic flume. We joined the crowd
to learn what it meant. The story
was that John Irish had come into
Spanish Flat, and was boarding with a
Mrs. Burroughs, who kept boarding
house. Alongside of her place was a
store kept by Mr.. Brown, and he
boarded at the same place. Irish was
looking for work, and Brown, having
a water-right, hired him to employ
men to dig a ditch and bring water
into Spanish Flat, in order to sell it to
the miners. After Irish had finished
this contract, he took up claim on
the side of the road opposite the Brown
store, buying his water from Brown,
and worked his claim by hydraulic
washing. After working in this way
for a year, he concluded that Brown
was charging too much for water, 80
he built ditch, taking the water that
passed Browns ditch, and brought the
water into his claim.
This started bad feeling between the
two men. Browns ditch always ran
full, and Irish could only take what
water ran past Browns ditch. Brown
sold to the miners, while Irish took
only what he needed to work his
claim. Yet Brown insisted that Irish
was taking his water, and he employed
men to break Irish's ditch. This
trouble had been brewing for a year,
when Brown objected to having the
water run down a small ditch from
which Irish wanted to fill the canvas
hose that drove the fall and force Of
his piped water, which he used in hy-
draulic mining. This ditch, which
Brown objected to, was across the road
from Browns store, and he sent word
to Irish that if he did not stop the
water running there, he would turn
off the water. Irish paid no attention
to Brown, and the next day Brown
invited some of his friends to come to
his store with their guns. They ac-
cepted the invitation. Then Brown
went up and turned the water off.
Irish was working 80 men with three
pipe lines, when one was turned off.
Irish sent his two partners to Brown
to find out what was the matter, and
Brown told them that if they turned
on the water it must be at their peril.
The two partners armed themselves
with pistols, and then turned the
water on.
At this moment a double -barreled
shotgun was stuck out of Browns store
door, and the youngest partner was
killed at the first fire. Then someone
stuck out pistol and broke the arm
of the other. He dropped into dry
ditch. Then the fun commenced. The
men in the store fired, but the shot
and balls struck the ground and went
over the man in the ditch. He return
ed the fire and hit Brown in the wrist.
By this time Irish had gathered bis
men, and they had armed themselves
and were prepared to storm the store,
when those inside of it took to their
heels and ran to Rabbit Creek, and
these were the men I had seen going
by my cabin. Brown, having receiv-
ed wound, had stopped to have it
dressed by Mrs. Burroughs, so he was
delayed, but tried to get to Rabbit
Creek, and was the one who was
he was being taken back with
a rope around his neck by the follow
ers Irish, they intending to hang him
from the wooden fume from which he
had turned the water off.
When we got to Spanish Flat it was
growing dark. Here Mrs. Burroughs
Joined the crowd, and said to the men
that if they hanged Brown, they must
hang her. Then she borrowed knife
from one of the men and cut the rope
from Browns neck. By this time the
sheriff of the county had arrived, and
he made the best speech for mans
life that I had ever heard. He carried
the crowd with him, and got Brown
released, and took him to Jail. At
the time I left Sierra county in the
following spring, Browns trial had not
taken place, and 1 never heard how it
ended. However, 1 had had good
warm cabin to work in all winter, had
learned and practiced a new trade,
and came out in the spring with 81 800
for my winters work, while most of
the miners who came out with me had