The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-10-21
WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REruRLLc.
KANGAROO RAT
THE BOSS
TRADER"

earned his title OF The
boss trader
-Eievsn years ago I went down 10 Old
Mexico with 4 consignment Of mining ma
cninefy from 81. Louis. which WAS 10 be
placed in an old deserted mine ia hOpes Of
making IL pay again. Every pound OF that
machinery had 10 be- hauled $50 miles over
the mountains. by OK team. too-that is,
after We left the railway.
AFTER everything had been set I'D and my
part OF the contract had been fulfilled.
stayed around TO look after things for
awhile. and. naturally. having picked up
some knowledge Of mining. another fellow
and myself started out on our own ac-
count.
The mining laws OF Mexico were too Sc
we're. and as I didn't ike a 'greaser' no
how. me and my partner drifted up into
Arizona ard tried our luck there.
by the time we'd got settled down I'd
let go OF most OF my money. / never WIS
10 hand TO save, but my partner was. He
had about 500. and. IS Il was all in 50 gold
pieces. IL made II just a little bit too heavy
to carry around with him all the time.
We were stopping IN an old cabin that
some fellow had put up and lived in awhile
and then gone away and left It. OF course.
that meant rent free. and We Were glad
to get it.
In the cabin there was a fireplace that
had a brick hearth TO f., and my part
ANA ASAlNU Out NI0I NDulG De a pretty
good place to slash So he took up one
Of the bricks. and hid lis money in a
little hole he dug. And then he put the
brick back. and TO save your life. If you
c'ent know #. you couldn't tell there was
anything there.
We'll. one day I stayed home. sick. while
he went out to work on the claim. and
II wasn't more than two or three DAYS
after. when he went TO look for mis- money
ard found It gone.
"Of course, he accused me of taking il.
How could you blame him. He knowed
him and me was the only two living be-
ings that knowed anything about where he
had It hid. and il didn't seem probable that
anybody that might have stopped at the
cabin during our absence would ever have
thought OF looking under that brick.
Well. i thought I'd like tn drop dead
WHEN he accused me of taking il, and /
told him So. That amt I'll J told. either. I
told him To give NE a little time To think
the matter over. and If | couldn't convince
him | never took his money, why we'd have
to fight, that's all. That's what I told him.
And he said. all right and asked me-
| how long | wanted.
~ told him a couple Of days would he
long enough. l thought. but first / wanted
to examine the place where the mo.Ie,'d
gone FROM
We'll. bless your heart. when We lifted
III that brick there WASH; 2 sign of 4
kpsA Is'NNt tuN 4't Vas just IL Dsls VI
horseshoe nails. He was SO mad when he'd
first looked there that he had paid no at
teiitioD to them nails.
/ But them there nails set me 10 think
ing. and l says. Jim. there's been 4 klnsa-
roo rat at work here
1 What's THAR asks he.
why. one Of them little devils with
the long hind legs and the pouch lIst like
the Kangaroo. / told him. And they're the
biggest traders on earth. They'll steal any
thing they can carry OFF. but they'll Il
ways bring something back and leave 1t IN
place OF what they took.
SO. We laid for thar rat. cause I knoHeJ
he'd come back for them nails some time.
And. sure enough. he did cone. and we
watched him carefully. and took an awful
lot OF pains to keep from, soaring him.
and In that way We found out where his
shack was. and damn me II We didn't find
Jim's sixty five-dOllar gold pieces. all mixed
up with about - half a kcS Of horseshoe
nails.
"I claimed the nails for my wounded feel
fncs. and sold them for s2
> Horseshoe nails was high then in Ari-
zpna