The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1907-01-03
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HOW HE SAVED HIS GOLD

dOW HE SAVED HIS GOLD,
j. V. Dusenberry was one of the
victims or the Yosemite bandit who
held up the passengers of five valley
stages In one continuous perform
ance.
Dusenberry lost only sixty cents.
out on his person when the highway
man searched him were ten twenty
dollar gold pieces and a gold watch
and chain.
Dusenberry had left the stage
shortly before it reached the bandits
ambush. He was following slowly
behind, gathering wild flowers and
intending to take a cross country
path later on and head off the stage.
which was obliged to follow the tor
tuous road.
the highway man stopped the five
stages one after the other. AS he
stopped one he ordered the driver to
pull off the road in such way as to
conceal the coach and horses from
the stage following. The passengers
he lined UP behind a clump of trees.
Dusenberry, ignorant of the excite
ment ahead, was dawdling along en-
Joying the beauties of nature and
adding blossom by blossom to the
bunch Of wild flowers in his hand.
He turned a sharp bend in the
road and found himself looking into
the barrel of a rifle. Behind the rife
was tall, STOPPING figure with head,
face and neck swathed in cloth.
Through one Of the crevices in the
face covering cleaned an eye.
Hands up!" came in a quiet tone
or voice from another creyice.
Now, stand at the head of that
line" continued the voice.
The highwayman then resumed
the operation of stripping the pas
sengers Of their wealth which Dusen-
berry's unexpected appearance had
interrupted.
Instead Of standing at the head of
the line, however, relates the San
francisco Chronicle, Dusenberry
sauntered down to the other end and
Joined those who already had been
robbed. Behind the friendly shelter
Or an old lady's parasol Dusenberry
made a Encouragement OF his per-
sonal property. The $500, part of
which belonged to fellow traveller.
ana the watch and chain he dropped
inside the waistband of his panta-
looms and sudden chill around the
ankles told him Of the safe arrival
In his socks Of his valuables.
1t was not until all the passengers
had been ordered back into the
stages that the bandit remembered
pusenberry. He found the passen-
ger agent and demanded his money.
pusenberry gave up the sixty cents
and a knife.
Better let me keep the knife"
said Dusenberry. eff you take it it
might cut friendship"
The knife was returned, and after
sounding the outside of Dusenberry's
pockets for more coin, the highway.
man told him to "chase himself"
While standing in line many of
the passengers, says Dusenberry,
threw their valuables into the brush.
They returned later to find them
them gone. They had been picked
UP, however, by the detectives who
took the bandits trail, and were re-
stored subsequently to the owners.
The highwayman opened the Wells
Fargo box, but refrained from taking
the $50 he discovered there. His
modesty, he explained, was due to a
dislike to interesting the express COM
pany in his capture for so small a
sum. He borrowed Dusenberry's
linen buster, spread it on the ground
and on 1t laid all the loot he did not
want. He turned this bundle over
20 one OF the passengers for distribu-
ton later to the owners.
He was very cool,' said Dusen-
perry, but took no chances, either
OF surprise or subsequent identified
ton. The mask he wore hid even
his hair and disguised the shape of
mis- head. He wore a loose-ftting
suit and his feet were swathed in
gunnysacks. The detectives found
that after we had left the fellow had
discarded his mask and the loose
hitting clothes and burned them. He
was tall man, but maintained a
.
Srouching position, and I do not sun
pose any who saw him could guess
his height within a couple of inches.
In the valley nobody seems to think
there Is much chance Of capturing
him.
BATTLES WITH RHINOCEROSEs. |
Mr.. William Cotton OswelI. who
made his second expedition into the |
Interior of Southern Africa in 1S47. |
had two terrible experiences with
r1inoceroses. His son, in the lately
published biography of his distin-
gutshed father. records these adyen-
lures.
He had one pre-eminently good
horse. stael. the very pick of all he |
ever had In Africa, fast and most
pweet-tampered. and so fearless that
he would, without whip or spur or |
Any urging. carry his master right up
NJ 9 lion and stand perfectly mo-