Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-09-28

a two bit cigar, and all had to do was to
press a little button and Niger in uni
form would fetch me liquor. Changer
Humph.
1T was the same everywhere Up OIL
the walla Walla division the country is all
settled up and changed, but you couldn't
fool old Hank on the rivers and noun
| tains. / drove once alone from Walla
Walla to The Dalles, 240 miles, in about
Is hours Them river Injins up In that
country was bad too-cowardly cusses,
sneakin, crawlin, shootin from bushes and
won't give you anything like as fair
fight as the 1njins east of the Rockies.
The way of that drive was this: I had just
got In off my rs mile run, washed up, had
my supper, dressed and was startin for
dance down in The Bottoms when met
the Wells Fargo office agent comm a-rushin
up the street.
Hank, he says, 4 was huntin you'll
We're in devil Of fixl We've got nearly
go, 900 in gold bullion just come In that's
due in The Dalles by tomorrow night at
| the close Of business hours, or one Of our
best shippers stands to lose lot Of money
already paid on mine. 1t ought to have
been down yesterday, but our down stage
throwed wheel and missed the regular
connection for The Dalles, I've been to
the stage office, but Haworth says for me
to see you. What can you do?'
Get the bullion to The Dalles by noon
tomorrow.
But it's $40 mile
Nobody knows that better than do,
Mr. Price, but you get your bullion ready
and in half an hour send 1t down TO the
stage stables in a wagon. And l went
on down the street The Superintendent
was still at the stables.
Did you see Price, HANK
eyes, sir, l says.
Can you make Its?
Sure thingl' l says.
An right Pick your teams
II had the stock tenders hook up six
! horses that picked out, then went to the
boardn house. changed my clothes and
went back TO the stables with two two gal
Ion demijohns OF whisky. Price was there
with the bullion. 1t weighed just 404
pounds had 'em put it in tho bottom Of
the stage and throw u lot of sacked feed in
on top OF it, then l climbed up to the seat.
Three or four shotgun messengers started
to foller me, and said: Hold up, gentle.
men; one mans enough on this trip. The
only trouble that I'm likely to run into
that ! can't handle myself Is at Willow
Springs, where there's always a crowd OF
rustlers. One man may get through all
right, but If they re lookin for trouble or
suspicion anything you fellers wouldn't
last as long as SNOWFALL In HI You'd
only be an advertisement for trouble.
had my way and drove of with the bull.
lion, feed and four gallons OF whisky and
knowed that II l passed Willow Springs
all right I'd make it. The Springs was
<6a nat ri tha Axx.ha
ever there was holdup we could bank on
it being by some Of that Willow Springs
gang, made up as it was OF cattle rustlers,
boss thieves, road agents and all around
bad men. Haworth had give me a pointer
that he thought the gang was a-lookin for
the bullion, and the last thing he said
was: Now, Hank, look out for your team
and yourself. Let the express go II it
comes to show down.
Il got to the Springs long In the night
Toward mornin l was hjttin the trail
mighty fast, l tell you. I knowed they d
be IA gang there for at the last station
passed they told me that the regular had
been held up the mornin before, so long
before | got TO the station l commenced
whoopin and yellin and singin as loud as
l could and sure enough when l rolled up
there was about 90 of the toughest lookin
fellers you ever saw, all heeled and didn't
look like they had been to bed Lord
wasn't l drunk Wheel Most Of EN-
knowed me, and the antics cut made EN-
laugh. l was too drunk to pay any atten-
tion to the station keeper or the stock
tenders, but l grabbed one of the demi
johns, and yellin for the boys to come on,
l staggered into the house. 1pourcd about
half pint of good, strong whisky into
- r II
en- way managed to tell EN- that l was
takin the coach down to replace an old one
on the south end and had a load of food
for the way stations
II told the station keeper that five of
the sacks of grain on top was for him and
for him to have it taken out Then sang
another drunken song and staggered out
to the coach for the other demijohn. l
reeled up to the coach, where the station
keeper was takin out the grain, and spoke
quick and low: I'm runnin extry to The
Dalles with bullion Have the tenders
change my team for the freshest and best
you've got-quick, man:
"'Oh. I'm a jolly stage driver
:" Stay with it, boys Here's s'more.' And
staggered back with the other demijohn.
Well, sir, in Is minutes l had that gang
flxed-plenty. What wasn't on the floor
or the ground outside was a-tryin to fight
over the balance of the whisky. saw my
team was hitched up and made runnin
jump for the front boot, grabbed the lines,
and how l did cut loose from therel
Whoopl Well, eat my dinner In The
Dalles and got mighty well paid for that
trip. The Willow Springs gang held up
the regular that follered me the next day.
They was dead on that the bullion was
due all right.
Comm back struck a wagon train Of
Is families, and they was in trouble The
cussed Injins had made a rush and STAN
peded some of their bosses You could see
the Injins, five or six OF 'em, a-drivin the
HOSES across the valley two or three miles
away. The women and children in the
train were cryin and yellin, purity nigh
scared to death. The men was scared,
too and didn't know how they was Doin