Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1902-01-16

| whole of Castle Creek on top of them. My
Cinnamon weren't a circumstance Aggy
said they boiled @ut the lower end of the
| tunnel where he was standing so fast he
| couldn't recognize them, and, as a matter
| of fact, three or four of EN- were washed
a mile down creek before they could make
land. Aggy gathered that 1t was time TO
move again, so he pulled back for Idaho.
| There wasn't anybody really drowned, ex-
| cept old Tom Obey, a cOusin-Jack whose
only amusement I'm life was to wear out
his pants laying low for cinches In the
student poker game, and you couldn't
rightly say he was any loss to the COM
munity. SO Aggy used to regret some
! times that he hadn't stayed to face the
music. They might have playeU horse
with him for a while but 'twould soon
have blown over-miners not being re-
vengeful by nature-and he was TO have
had an eighth interest, besides his salary,
If the thing was success.
But there was no good of crying over
split milk, and us two went prospect
ing.
1--WE located for a permanent stand
down on Frenchmans Creek, near where
three of cap Abyss greaser sheep herd
ers had their camp. They did our hunt
ing for us, and as there was nobody but
them around and they were the peaceful
est people in the world, we didn't feel the
need of any gun except Ag's old six-shoot-,
err. That was the cussedest machine that
ever got invented by man. When you pull
ed her off she'd spit fire in all directions,
filling the crotch Of your hand with pow
der burns, and sometimes two or three of
the loads would go off at once, when
she'd kick like a Texas steer. There was
much talk of bear around, and we were
always going to buy real gun, some
day, but we never got at it.
"Well, we prospered pretty well, consid-
ering how little we worked. A large part
0f "a Ina Ny1G fnIr IN with MIA vim
monte with the herders, and still more in
arguing questions about religion and
things like that; but we had a decent cab
in built-with the kind assistance Of the
herders-and as we struck a rich little
streak that run out ten dollars per man
day with no trouble at all, we were in
clover.
AT last our stock of grub ran low, and
Jones slid up to Salmon City to load up
again. 1t was quite a trip, and as I didn't
think 1t was square to work while Aggy
was away, 1 took up with the herders.
They were the decentest folks 1 ever
struck. Play a little music on the guitar,
sing songs that always wound up where
a mans songs would begin, and tell sto-
ries and smoke cigarettes-that was the
layout for them. Old Cap Allys was a
Christian, and he wouldn't let man herd
sheep all by himself-surest way to get
crazy that ever was invented-so he sent
the boys out three in bunch.
"Those fellers had the darndest lot of
fairy tales l ever did hear. And super
stitions! Great Jupiterl Any little blame
thing that happened meant something;
this thing was good luck; that meant bad,
and If you tried to Josh them out of 1t,
they'd shake their heads and look at you
as If they thought you weren't truly re-
ligious. One of their yarns was about Ell
Diablo de Fuego. The Devil of Fire
which Miguel said ran in his family.
Seems that when anything wrong was
about to happen, this blazing, ripping mon
ster showed up as a warning. 1 told Nee
that I thought the monster was misfor-
tune enough, without anything else, but
he was scandalizedai
"Psst? says he DO not spik sooch
t'eeng as dthat! Ay di mi! Jesu-Maria
mi-Cristo Jesu smuy dolce poquito!
Dthat- mex heem arrrrrrive dthat cen
slant, eef dJoo spik2 weez dees-rrree-
speckv
'"'AlI right Nee says ]. Wen let
her go at that-todo ell mismo por mi,
sabe? But how's the bear crop?'
lay, cara! Is plenty ba-rev
says Pope. Keel three-four ship las
nigh! That mex that two mus sect oop
for watch. an all ship mus be in clos
corral! 1 speet on the soul Of that
bare!
"Gad! that wasn't cheerful news a little
bit. If there's anything in this world
more than don't like, it's a bear-hes so
darn big and strong and unreasonable, and
unless you can catch him sitting, you can
pump lead into him until you're black in
the face, and it's all one to him. Well, l
thought 1 might as well camp with the
herders until Aggy came back.
when he did show up he was rather
under the influence OF strong drink, and
from the looks of the wagon he'd brought
with him, 1 should say he'd bought about
everything that was movable in Salmon
City. amt easily astonished, but must.
admit that some of the truck got the best
of me. 1 kept asking What in blazes is
this, Ag? and he always answered ASK
the driver Well now, If there was any
choice between the two. the driver was
drunken than Aggy. so you cam imagine
what a lot of satisfaction 1 got. There
was one thing that I simply couldn't
make head nor tail of, and / stayed with
him until l got an answer on that.
"'Why, it's an alcohol cooking-stove,'
says he, great medicine-no trouble to
cook now at ALL Just light her, says he,
waving his hand, and whoop! away she
goes! Where's that can of alcohol? Here
she is! Have a drink, ny?
1T took a small swig of 1t in little
water to please him, but there weren't
stimmiiants enough in the country to raise
nv spirits that night 1 put all the plumb
err that 1 could lift up in the cock-loft,
and the rest left setting around.
" i don't exactly know where you fell
lers are going to sleep says l. trying TO
be sarcastic PITY you didn't order
folding bed, Ag?
" I did" says he.
"a foldin'- bed? 1 repeats, not believ-
ing my ears. -,
land a piano. says he. What is nome
without a piano? Answer: It's a place
that can't hold the forte-good joke
keno-go UP to the head, Jones'
"'Well,' says I, after some other thlhSs,
who's going to pay for all this?
a. God knowsr says he, waving his
hand again, Goodnight! and with that
he fell down between new bureau and
patent portable blacksmith's forge, ana
putting his head on a concertina' went
sound asleep.
az couldn't follow suit for some time;
it's one thing to come home full OF oudge
and animal spirits yourself. and II s quite
different to have your pardner WORK II On
Won. At last however, 1 concluded II Wouiu
he ali the same next century, and turned
IN hut was so ratified that forgot the
bears. and didn't lock up with the usual
care. -
1T must have been about two IN the
morning when 1 woke all in tremple'
had the feeling that things were away on
| but l couldn't place what was the matter,
until looked a. the square or moonlight
on the floor that came through the VIII
| dow, and ! was near to screen IKE
| tomcat for there was a mohstrous black
/ shadow bobbing back and forth IN the