The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-08-29
AMERICAS OWN DICK TuRP1N.

! Some English People Good-Naturedl9
Tell About Their Meeting This Most
Gentle, Genteel Robber.
The highwayman rides the Grea
North road no longer. and the brave II
erring brood of Turpin, Sixteen String
Jack, Galloping Dick, and the rest have
passed forever. But in America tbs
bandit still tiourishes in the renoter re-
| sions, and, we are glad to say, main
taiES the fine traditions of generosity
courage and courtesy left by the road
! gentry of England for the admiration OF
the multitude who often beWailed their
timely deaths.
The "Black Kid" of the Yosemite val
ley is at present the most renowned of
American highwaymen. and the most
notable of his exploits this summer
have been told in kilograms to the Ex-
press.
! He has held up a score or more of
coaches. and on one occasion when sur
prised by squad of Uncle Sans cav
airy, he got the drop on the colonel in
command, and, to save the officers life,
the men han to let him back away and
bolt into he bush.
The Misses Atherton and Mr. Carroll
ton of London are travelling in western
America this summer, and meeting
| with rather more adventures than usu-
ally fall to the lot of tenderfeet in these
| recherche days, when Rel Dog and Pr
zen Switch are familiar with evening
dress, and the silk hat is no longer a
| target for the cowboys gun.
J The trio were passengers on a coach
which was held up" by the BLACK
Kid" early in July, and Mr.. Carrolton,
in letter to a London friend, relates
the circumstance in detail and with
considerable philosophic humor. In
part his letter says:
las you know. have travelled the
world over In every kind of conveyance
but it was not until / reached the glo-
rious valley of the Yosemite that met
with this particular kind of adventure,
which threw all my preceding expert
ences into the shade.
Il had business dealings with no less
parsonage than the Black Kid a
desperate highwayman, and though it
cost me twenty pounds, consider the
money well bestowed, as 1t gave me a
glimpse into this now rare phase Of life
In the west. Much as I had read of
bandits, l had never pictured to myself
a soft-voced chap OF fine presence and
good manners, who asked you for your
purse in the same pleasant tone that
one uses in asking a friend to drink
with him.
There were dozen well-known
Americans on the coach which the Miss
es Atherton and myself occupied. and
we were all singing and having a royal
time when a cold, clear voice cut
through the hilarious uproar, saying:
If you don't object, partner, will
just take the whole business
Il looked to see who was speaking,
and / saw on a little knoll besides the
leaders, masked man aiming large
gun of forbidding aspect directly to-
ward me. In fact, each separate person
on the coach felt that that unwavering
steel barrel pointed directly toyard his
or her jumping heart. In my excite
ment / perpetrated an Americanism,
for / said:
We are UP against it,
And we were. I coyly held out my
purse. but the fellow said:
Get out here in line. and one of you
is any holding out on me there will be
trouble.
I'VE lined up with the precision and
CELEBRITY of a crack drill corps, and
struggled for the hat privilege I was
elbowed out by millionaire from st.
Paul We all dropped generous dona-
tons into the hat, but two Of the party
withheld valuables. The Black Kid
seemed to sense this, for he called out
sharply:
No monkeying now, or there will be
a rough house and gun play"
The men who had held out fairly
scraped their clothes to produce every
thing.
ITO the ladies the Kid was apologet-
ic and polite. He was awfully nice, and
refused to take either their money or
their jewelry. One Of them carried
small satchel, and the cfivalrous rob-
Der asked if there was anything Of
value in it. She assured him that there
was nothing.
"'Open it just for fun he drawled.
she did so, and /. proved to be full
of silver coins. Any gold?' he asked.
Answered in the negative he said re-
why did you not tell the truth at
first? I hate to hear a lady lie
I'VE all roared at this, and he Joined
in the laugh Having secured all that
he cared to have he told us to keep
quiet and stand still All this time he
stood on the knoll with the gun barrel
resting in the hollow of his left arm.
HE appeared careless and uncon-
but it was the caution that con- |
cealed caution for if one Of us had |
moved menacingly he would have ex-
ploded a cartridge instantly. He stood |
4 little above US, and would have killed
one or all of us if necessary for his own
safety. The Kid has no conscientious
scruples about taking human life.
II would not have shot hiu if l could
nave done so; he was too much of
character and too brave.
IT Offered him my one thousand
pound letter of credit. He laughingly |
declined it, saying that he preferred |
gold.
1.-The millionaire was getting hungry,
md he ventured to speak: I say old |
hap, you are making us late for din
Ter. Let us go and we will keep num- |
IS I'd like to, for I have a dinner date
myself replied the Kid and If I had
,nly you gentlemen to deal with I
would LET Won RIlt Won know the