Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1899-01-25

,ea"y Pald on a mime. 1t ought to
nave been down yesterday. but orr
missed the regular connection for
Inc Dalles. I've been to the STAGE
office, but Haworth says for me Ia. see
you. What can you do?'
| Get the bullion to The DalIes nv
noon tomorrow.
| But it's 24O mile
Nobody knows that better than 7
DO, Mr.. Price. but you get YOUR bull
ION ready and in half an hour send il
1own TO the stage stables in a wa gon.
And L went down. the street. The
superintendent was still at the sta
bles.
Did You see Price, Hank?'
Yes, sir I says.
| Gan you make it?'
Sure thingn I says.
All right. Pack your teams
Il had the stock tenders hook nm
SIX horses that 1 picked out. then
went to the boardin' house. CHANGED
my clothes and went back to the
suaoies with two two-gallon demi-
johns OF whisky. Price was there
With the bullion. Tt weighed just 4O4
pounds. 1 had 'em put it in the bot
tom of the stage and throw lot of
sacked feed in on top of it, then |
climbed up to the seat. Three or
four shotgun messengers started to
foller me, and said: Hold up, gen.
tlemen; one mans enough on this
trip. The only trouble that I'm likely
to run into that 1 can't handle my
self is at Willow Springs, where
there's always a crowd of rustlers.
One man may get through all right,
but if they're lool1in' for trouble or
suspicion what you fellers could do
wouldn't last as long as a snow ball
in HI. You'd only be an advertise
ment for trouble had my way and
drove off with the bullion, feed and
four gallons of whisky and knowed
that if passed Willow Springs all
right I'd make it. The Springs was
the toughest place on the road, and
whenever there was a holdup we
could bank ON it being by some of
that Willow Springs gang, made up
as 1T 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 if it comes to show
down.
at got to the Springs long in the
night. Toward mornin' I was hittin
the trail mighty fast, I tell you. Il
knowed they'd be gang there, for ait
the last station passed they told me
that the regular had been held up the
morning before, so long before I got
to the sta ton I commenced whoopin
and yellin and singin' as loud as
could and sure enough when / rolln(
up there was about 20 of the tough
est lookin' fellers you ever saw, all
heeled and didn't look like they had
been to bed. Lord. wasn't I drunk!
Whoee! Most of 'em knowed me, and
the antics / cut made 'em laugh. Il
was too drunk to pay any attention
to the station keeper or the stock
tenders, but I grabbed one of the
demijohns, and yellin for the boys to
come on, I staggered into the house
I poured about half a pint of good,
strong whisky into each one of them
fellers, and in my drunken way /
managed to tell 'em that was takin'
the coach down to replace an old one
On the south end and had load of
food for The way stations.
"I 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 I sang another drunken song
and staggered out to the coach, where
the station keeper was takin' out the
grain, and spoke quick and low: I'm
runnin' extra to The Dalles with bull
lion. Have the tenders change my
team for the freshest and best you've
got-quick, man:
ooh, I'm a jolly stage driver
Stay with it boys. Here's s'more.'
And I staggered back with the other
demiiohn. Well, sir, in Is minutes
had that gang fixed-plenty. What
wasn't on the floor or the ground out
side was a-tryin to fight over the bal
ance of the whisky. I saw my team
was hitched up and made a runnin'
jump for the front boot, grabbed the
lines, and how I did curt loose from
the-Ai Whooni Well. I eat my din
ner in The Dalles and got mighty well
paid for that trip. The Willow
Springs gang held up the regular that
followed me the next day. They was
dead on that the bullion was due all
right.
Comm back I struck a wagon
brain of Is families. and they was in
trouble. The cussed Tnjins had made
rush and stampeded some of their
bosses. You could see the Injins, five
or six of 'em. a-drivin the bosses
across the valley two or three miles
away. The women and children in
the the train were cryin' and yellin'.
purity nigh scared to death. The men
they were goin' to pull out wasn't
on schedule time. SO took out leader.
tied the others up, grabbed my Henry
off the seat and yelled for five men to
come on. The Injins was headin' for
a mountain, but I knowed the coun-
try too we'll to believe they were goin'
there so rode to head 'em off below
My thoroughbred was too fast for the
others, and ] was soon IN range.
cut loose and unloaded two ponies.
and the other Injins left the bosses
and curt for shelter. / headed the
train bosses back and met the other
feliers comm up. / reckon my souls
nj right If them women's ble-sin's IL
any good. told 'em to hook up and
pull right out Of there, and did NOS
have time to tell 'ean twice."-St
Louis Post-Dispatch.
Barry O'Brien, in his new biogra.
ply of Parnell, gives some curious