The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1907-11-07
Electricity
And Dynamite.
copyright, 1907. by E. c. Parcells1

Ii,
and they had good cause to- If there
was ever fend in human form it was
Ramirez, the Spaniard. He had come
ashore on the coast of Chile with the
wreck of q Spanish vessel, and within
fortnight he had committed robbery
and murder and had been obliged &c
fee to the mountains. There he got q
little band together and killed and
robbed as a trade. After the officers
Of the law had failed to kill or capture
the man he was pursued by the sol
Tiers and finally driven into Peru.
" len the war broke out there were
hundreds OF adventures who would
nave sadly joined Ramirez, but after
in>.:-<';;s i:!g his band to a hundred he
would take no more.
Up among the mountains, just over
the Peruvian line, the American Min
ing and Smelling company had been
Developing the Humboldt silver mine
1t was a rich mine and had paid a
goodly sum for it's concessions Rami-
rez had come within five miles of it on
two or three occasions before the war,
but had then hesitated and turned
back. 1t was guarded by over hun
dred government troops, and the poems
who did the mining had been armed
by the company. The war called the
poems were drilled and told that they
must defend themselves. They entered
into the spirit of the thing for the next
two weeks, but then an event hap
pened that caused all but about TWEEN
ty OF them to desert. Ramirez paid a
visit to the mine in, person. He ap-
peared one afternoon unaccompanied
He was dressed in a white duck suit
carried a cane and wore a new SOM
brero, and the manager at first took
him for some prosperous resident of
the valley. The BLACK Death" entered
the Office, as any gentleman would,
and, taking the proffered chair, he
quietly said: ~
81 am Ramirez. You may possibly
have heard of me-"
mot Ramirez, the-the banditv' ex-
claimed the manager sr 81,
1.-THE same, If you wish to apply the
term. have called on little matter
Of business. l have not hitherto dis
turbed you because you are Ameri-
cans and are taking no part in this
war, but I am now in want Of money.
l have assessed you at $4,000 in
gold.'
"But, my dear SIR began the as
tonished manager.
There are no butts with Ramirez,
sir want $4,000 in gold, packed on
a mule, without unnecessary delay"
The managers first feeling Of awe
and fear fed away as he looked at
the man before him. Clean shaved
and we'll dressed, the dread Spaniard
did not look ferocious or formidable.
His eyes and mouth betrayed inherent
cruelty, but here he was all alone,
and the manager had 300 men at his
back. The fellow seemed to know
what was passing in the others mind,
for presently he laughed in a sheer
ing way and said:
go ahead and try it if you wish"
II shall not pay you the money"
was the firm reply.
"Ah. l see! You will depend upon
your poems. Very we'll. Let us make
one single experiment. You there! I
want you in the office a moment
1t was summer time, and the win
dows were open. He had called to
half a dozen men outside who were
moving piece of machinery. They
came into the office and stood with
their hats in their hands while he
looked them over with a grim smile
and queried:
did any of you ever see Ramirez?"
'Holy mother, but you are the manw
shouted one as he turned and fed, fol-
lowed by his companions, spreading
the news as they fed
"You see," said the 'Black Death"
as he turned to the manager, ''your
ransom is now 100000"
I'll never pay cent of it, never! l
ought to have you arrested as you
stand"
"Just as you will. You refuse to
pay. Take the results
With that he turned on his heel and
walked out of the Office and fingered
for a couple of minutes that the men
might see him and be duly impressed.
That evening there were only fifteen
men out of 800 left at the mine. The
rest had run away with the fear Of
death upon them. The fifteen labored
all night with pick and spade. 1t was
only at noon the next day that their
labors were completed. Then the only
approach to the mine had been trench
ed and mined and electric wires car
ried into the office building. Ramirez
had threatened there would be results
The manager was ready to face them.
That day went by without alarm. So
did the two following. Ramirez had
twenty-five miles to go and return.
He had to call in his raiding parties
and fit them out.
At II o'clock on the morning of the
fourth day he appeared at the head Of
his hundred men. They lost no time in
forming up Ten minutes after the