The Delta independent. [volume] (Delta, Colo.) 1886-19??, 1897-08-04

fIiec hau Brahteu MN Dut a reprieye,
allowing him, in the end, only the priv
ilege of dying by his own hand rather
than by the hands Of his foes. Bafiied
in their vengeance as they would hav.
carried it out, they had Us partial COM
pensation the knowledge that they had
forced him to the dread alternative. \
Penalty-if not that which they
desired-had been paid for his crime.
THE END.
WHY THE FIGHTER REFORMED.
Discovsrsd That ths straasss's sDsss Were
Sharp a.d That He CeslA Use rhsm.
Everybody, and q great many other
people, who ever put in any time around
Dogtown either knows or knows of Bill
Morris. There used to be q great deal
of mining going on around Dogtown-
placer mining, and Bill was n celebrity
all the way down Butte creek from
Hupp's Mill to Chico. There was hard
ly man Of any fighting proclivities in
that part of California who had not in
the course of his career tried Bill on to
his sorrow.
and tumble fighter, depending more on
strength and agility than science, and
his invariably successful experiences
in this line persuaded him that he had
q dead cinch on anyone who was fool
ish enough to engage with him in q dis
cussion as to who was the best man.
This feeling of security tended to make
Bill arrogant, not to say naughty, and
his manner to strangers wns tinged
with an offensiveness as pronounced as
it was unmistakable. He became fully
persuaded that it was his bounden duty
to harass and annoy every stranger who
came along until the victim was left no
resource but to resent the provocaton
given him and join Issues there and
then.
Bill went up TO Nimshew one dsy on
some business, and while he waa(e eufAs
bsrroom Of the hotel talking TO 80 Of
his mining friends tall, aim maueame
riding down the mountains on small
broncho. The traveller hitched his horse
to post in front OF the hotel and walked
into the barroom to get drink. lie At
tracted no particular attention except
that it was observed by some present
that he had particularly long legs. Bill
noticed this fact also, and IL occurred
to him that 1t would be q source of great
amusement TO show his friends what
stride the traveller had and to illustrate
it by making him get out Of the room 1t
full speed.
With this laudable object in view, he
responded affably to the strangers
pleasant salutation, which was accom-
panied by an invitation to drink. In
the conversation that ensued Bill made
an observation to the effect that IL
struck him as rather absurd that man
with legs as long as those in the pos
session OF the traveller, should squander
valuable time in riding broken-down
broncho when so much more ground
could be covered by walking. closing his
remark by stating that an ordinary
jHck rabbit wasn't in IL with the man
to whom he was addressing his conyer-
sation.
This nettled the stranger somewhst,
and he threw out q hint in the direction
of how much more profitable II might
prove to attend to ones own affairs
than to worry about those Of others.
Such boldness was not calculated TO In
duce the conversation to Ianguish. Bill
was unaccustomed to what he char
acterized as back talk, and the traveller
was promptly challenged to fight. He
failed to see the necessity for this, and
tried to excuse himself on the ground
of suffering with chiIls and In no ,.r.
dition to fight. Bill declined 70 recor-
nize this as valid, and the stranger.
with much reluctance. prepared 70
meet as best he could Bills onslaught.
No time was wasted in scieptific Dis