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About Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (July 4, 1901)
nTIIOnULYRIDIIiGATWAf "Howly mother, gintlemln!" argued Dillon, " 'tis a matther av importince. -Wd ye liave another shoutia' Douny brook? an' me a-bearin' ay ull the divilmcnt, same as , twua last year? VVJd the ripntashun ar the camp, too! In the name av innlninee. luve ye no heads for aa emergency?" Dillon was -clearly In earnest, and when a man of his racial characteristics-Is in earnest things are likely to happen, whether the seen-? of action be Spltzbc-gen or Timbuctoo. His indig nation at our stupidity at the mayor's, the sheriff's, and mine wa3 offensive; but we could offer no sug gestion that might stand for us as combatant There were men in the camp with official titles, and men very prone to swift and accurate shoot ing, .but these collectively were as .naught before the, breath of Dillon. Galena was. like most other of North western mining towns; if at all distin guishable from them, it was by a slight accentuation of that air of bonhomie which is more or less apparent on the visages of all communities of the genus. Dillon owned and genially pre- """Slded over one of the biggest and .brightest and most bemirrored of the combination saloons and gambling re- ' sorts. The mayor, the sheriff, and I sat In ' a back room of the saloon, listening ia tehtly to Dillon's harangue. After he had given us every opportunity to sug gest ways and means for the day of en tertainment, fruitlessly, he elucidated to us his own idea of a program, which was voted on and adopted by unani mous and Immediate consent This narrative deals solely with the first number of the program, so you will be compelled to surmise the others from it ' "We wull begin," aays Dillon, "in the morning", wid what ye might dls hlgnate a toorymint. This is the way av it: We wull have rounded up a bunch av thim divils av bronchos, an' we wull also have rounded up a bunch av jolly buoys; we wull beguile the bhoys to the backs av the broncos, an" we will give the best busther av thim a foine fat purse which be wull spind immfjutely. This, ye may understhand, is legitimut, wid excoiteaient enough to kape aff the raw idge av their tim per. This we wull ' but this Is as in tu b as concerns ua. t A goodly purse waa eoltected against thn cwnirifr nf the nomiLir vent.. Dil lon's "ante" (his own word) was a hun dred, and a number of others came down handsomely. But in the interval between the statement of the idea ana the day of fulfillment tfcare arose the necessity for some modification In the plans. Dillon had relied on procuring a number of bad and unbroken horses, and on having the -many volunteer riders break them on time, or some thing of that sort. When the trial was made, however, it was it mail impos sible to bring together the required number of sure-enough bad horses; that is, horses which could be depend ed on to make excitement under any cfrca instances, so a big list of snapped ad sombreroed competitors could not, consequently, be accommodated. The morning of the Fourth dawned in ail the chaste radiance of July in the foothills, such diy aa recom penses a man for a yew lived in a hut, 150 miles from the nearest railroad . artery, and, aa they" say in Montana, "only half a mile from hell." Directly after breakfast those ranch people from the rival valleys, and ' from all adjacent sections, who bad not been fortunate enough to get in the night before, began to- concentrate In the camp. .. . Dillon drew me out to the veranda. "By me sowl, 'twull be beautiful," says he. "We have a brace av the beasts as wud mlaharse the divil, an' the bhoys ' are folne an' achln' for tha sport. Te'll see ut the day, me son." He was in merriest spirits himself, and I should have enjoyed some of the ef fervescence of his rollicking blarney; but his answering sense of duty to the . day compelled him to drink more fre quently that I bad reason to believe my experience and capacity would permit, mo I was forced to abjure his society. About 16 he got on a table somehow, ' and announced the riding, and invited the contenting Imsters up to throw dice fot choice of horse. , This called forth uproarious yells of applause, .One of the contestants, the North Valley rep resentative, was not present, but hi mentor was, with - full power to act. This latter, however, an old ranch fore- 'maa, with' badly bowed legs and a crooked back, called out renewed cheers by remarking that he 'reckoned it ;dMt make much difference about the throw!', as Curlew far satisfied with .'most any boss." Bat th South Valley contingent de murred at this, and Dillon routed It as WsarWlMMtafy, . Bo old. Joe and ta South Valley nun cast for choice, and the throw was Joe's. He gruffly chose the horse thai should be nearer the aerral cat. Then . they (book out .(! for precedence in order of rtd jag, and this time the South Valley Broacbo buster won, electing to ride awd. There was one other contest ant, who did not throw but I am an-K-MSms my story. tM these vlisslaarle ail road - IJL'i aorralward. the exodus ira Cr-z COsfi bar of Its deft at fr: "TM. TU corral was situated at i cr rsmfcy t the galea, oa a , r 1 it C3 tawwr kwt than that f .M tzi ts Oar nuts dtvlatoa af When I got down the flat was cleared for action, and the man called Curlew was preparing to ride. He had barely time to draw his sleeve across his perspiring face when the half-choked and bewildered pony had leaped, like a flash, to his feet; at the Bame fractonal part of a second. Curlew was lightly ensconced in the saddle, stirruped and pulling off the pony's hood. Blinded by the sun, dazed and frightened by the weight on hU back, the bay stood quivering for a short space. But a stinging cut from Curlew's quirt discovered bis bond age to him. Up he reared, straight and unhesitatingly, tiil, losing his bal ance, he dropped over backward with an ugly thud, the broad horn of the cow saddle digging Into the ground just where Curlew should have been. But the red-hafred rider was to one side, waiting. He must have been quick as light, for I assure you the play of the pony was not slow. Again and again the bay rose in the air and repeated the backward fall. Curlew each time eluding it and each time swinging in the saddle a3 the playful brute came to his feet. It was all incredibly rapid, and how the boy handled bis long, loose-jointed legs Is yet a mystery to me. There were 12 of these backward half-somersaults In that 90-foot corral, and then the manoeuvre was over, forming merely an unostentatious prelude to the real tactics of the fight With a shrill whistle of rage that brought my heart against my ribs the bay made several sharp sidelong jumps and then took to running. Through the corral gate, across the flat, up the steep pitch, and into the town he went, the whole company of Interested spec tators following at their variously best paces. Curlew set him with swaying ease, the hackamore rope hanging loose in his hand; he made no attempt to stop or to guide. In the midst of the town the run ended in the inevitable buck, and thenceforth the tun waxed fast and fu rious. We were not mistaken in'our horse; the brute was all his looks in dicatedand more. The battle only lasted some 15 minutes, but in that short space of time he called into ac tive use every resource of equine trick ery and threw himself into every start ling contortion that horse anatomy permits of. He bucked straight and sideways, and turned and fell, and reared and kicked, squealing again and again in that fierce, unholy manner, till it seemed Impossible that the plucky red-haired rider could longer endure the awful back-wrenching strain. A fall, too, meant death, for the horse would have slashed him be fore he touched ground or struck with front feet as be lay. During the first 12 or 14 minutes of the fight that boy's life was not worth the value of a cigarette; between rage and fear the horse was stark mad, and bad there been the sign of an opening would have leaped headlong into the repute 1 inferno a half a mile below. As the moments wore on and his whole repertoire of strength and strat ergy was worked through, without In the least unfixing his rider, the white- eyed pony began to lose heart; it was the first time that any man had been so tenacious of grip, and gradually his leaps became weaker and less vicious. Then Curlew's quirt and blood-seeking spurs urged him to more vigorous ef forts, but even these could not much longer sustain the engagement Drip ping with blood and sweat, nearly dead with fatigue, he finally sue cum bed, and permitted himself to be guided by the rider at will. A hearty cheer burst from the crowd, and Cur lew, rather pale and weak, but ever smiling, was rapturously dragged from the saddle and carried into Dillon's, an inert monument of glory to bis memory and demonstrative friends. After the hero, his worshippers, the antagonistic party, and all outsiders had been, duly refreshed, which re quired some little time, we bent our selves again to the matter in hand, and prepared to witness the second bout of the maa against horse battle. There was almost as wide a differ ence of the two riders as between the bay and the buckskin. The South Valley champion was much shorter than Curlew, and better knit If I had not seen the confusing dexterity of the lanky, red-haired boy, I should have esteemed this the likelier man. His movements were alert and be bowed much experience; In complex ion almost black, with a bearded and somewhat sinister face "Charier Raw lins, late at N'MlxIco, an' bad whin he's dhrlnkln,'" as Dillon catalogued him. The buckskin pony remained la his downcast posture and allowed tin New Mexican to saddle him unresist ingly, merely cocking bis hslry ears one forward and the other back and watching behind through the tall of his slltted eye. I was standing along side old Joe during this peaceful over tore, and noted the old man's chuckle, grim and ominous. . Charier led his mount out from the corral to the flat, and jamming his finely worked Mexican hat down- over his area, van I ted cleanly to his seat. The yellow pony waked op Immediately aad took tha back, not wildly and fa roetooalr, as the bay had done, bat fa a aabjs, matter-of-fact sort of way that oariacad oa It was hi aataral gait Juat aa aaothar bora might bar gal loped or trotted, to did Ul beast hack, aad for two Mad hoars ssatatilaH tha tac wvam a foliar. tear ta all that heart-breaking period did his tta eal progress exceed 100 yards! It was most astonishing, not one superfluous movement was made; be simply kept on and on, each Jump being alost semi circular, that is, landing with his head where his tail had started from, and vice versa. This is what the cowpunrhers call changing ends, and it is not difficult to imagine the cff.vt of suoh a pro tracted merry-go-round sensation on the rider. The bucking was neither high nor fierce, but the strain of that continuous swirl must have been rack ing. There was one slight variation which the scrubby bnckskln allowed himself In his system, though this wa of such nature as to be rather discon certing to a rider with a head already far from steady. It was to turn in the air after the usual fashion, but instead of alighting on stiffened legs, to fall clumsily on one side, the pony saving himself by bending his foreleg back under hlra. It was an ugly trick to evade, and the black New Mexican must have been clear grit to told hU own so long. His face grew pallid and drawn, and after awhile his stom ach revolted. At the close of the second hour he was helpless; his will was still In th i thing, but his body wa3 limp and in effective, and the blood slowly trickled from his nose and ears. The pony still worked with the monotonous reg ularity of a steam exhaust and th; end was unquestionably near. When it came, the man was sprawled to one side, and the horse immedi ately lapsed into his usual drooping attitude of watchful sleepiness. Some of us ran to assist Rawlins, who lay Just as he had fallen, too weak to rise. But he waved us back; his face was malignant with shame and anger, and distorted by pain; altogether, with the pallor and the blood-streaked beard, he was not an exhilarating sight Roll ing over to his side, he raised himself partially on an elbow, and before wa could close on him had drawn hli Colt's and fired. The big gun spoke sharply, and with a moan that was al most human the buckskin por.y lurched heavily to the ground. We reached Rawlins in time to take the smoking revolver from his nerve less grasp; but as he fell back again, I heard him mutter thickly: "There, curse ye, y' mud-skinned hell-bound: Ye'll wear no more men out!" The prostrate broncho-buster's friends had taken him up, and Dillon was in the midst of a brilliant address, awarding with much ornate language the purse to Curlew, when an incident In the form of antl-climax took th? floor from the speakej and wound up the sport with a hearty "burst of good natured acclamation. I had the history of this Incident afterward. It seems that the boys of the town the juveniles, I mean had organized and schemed to place an un registered and unexpected entry in the contest; and their scheme was emi nently successful and amusing. Th-s camp supported a little half-breed youth of about 12 years, a marvel in his love for and command over horses; be must have been born and reared upon their backs, so easily did he be come them. It was this urchin, Pe dro by name, who was elected to rep resent the younger faction In the rid ing. There was one difficulty that would have baffled most boys; no bad horse was forthcoming, but Pedro was so extremely Indifferent as to the na ture or build of his mount that even this was an easy adjustment At the extreme upper end of the town was a butcher's cow corral, and in it confined a bunch of cattle new from the range; one of these, a great red and white 4-year-old steer, was selected, and Pe dro eagerly started on his ride to fame. Dillon was getting well warmed to bis much-prepared and patriotic ora tion, when Pedro and the frantic steer appeared, rushing down the pitch from the town above. There was an unre strained howl from the assemblage. In which even Dillon Joined, and the dirty, dare-devil brat shot out an an swering grin from the careening back of bis astonished steer. It was a thing to make the old gulch quiver with laughter. Som one had dressed the boy especlallr for the game; he had on a pair of heavy fringed, full-slied sbaps, at least eight Inches too long tor him, and only kept from entirely covering bis feet by the shanks of a pair of huge Mexican spurs, all bells and bangles. His Impish face was sur mounted by a S-lnch sombrero, a heavy quirt In one hand and in th other a coil of rawhide lariat, which was looped only over the steer' horns. And how that animal was twisting himself, head down and tall up! But tho boy clung Ilk a arnacli, by what means I have no conjecture. It Is well known that a steer has no withers, that he can buck through the cinches of any saddle, and a cowboy without a saddle is not formidable. Tt there waa that leaa youth heathen, hampered by the awkward trappings they had put on him, perched on hi arching, un girded steed with all th pert compos ure of a tomtit oa a pump handle, which I old Joe' simile. "Cum aff av that, ye youag limb," shouted Dillon, th ster 'rushed madly by us; th boy waited, however, till th crowd was aad, and then, skillfully twitching his rope from the steer's horns, slid harmlessly to the ground. He could scarcely walk for the grotesque accoutermants, but when he did reach us, the boys grtd him riotously. "Olv th moner to th kid," aald Curlw lacoalcalry. "That' a trick I caa't do," aad midst clamor of com. oadaUoa aad aaaaat th half-brd areata waa fJraa th Ta aaaaat axaoet a aatMftas taatat. aattor ta tall Captjuw Nathan General Washington wanted a man. It was In September, 1776, at the City of New York, a few days after thu battle of Long Island. The swift and deep East River flowed between the two hostile armies, and General Wash ington bad as yet no system establish ed for getting information of the en emy's movements and Intentions. He never needed such Information so much as at that crisis. What would General Howe do nexi? If he cross at Hell Gate, the American army, too small In numbers, and de feated the week before.mlght be caught on Manhattan Island as In a trap, and the Issue of the contest might be made to depend upon a single battle; for In such circumstances defeat would in volve the capture of the whole army. And yet General Washington was com pelled to confess: "We cannot learn, nor bave we been able to possess, the least information of late." Therefore he wanted a man. He wanted an Intelligent man, cool-headed, skillful, brave, to cross the East River to Long Island, enter the en emy's camp and get information aa to bis strength and Intentions. He went to Colonel Knowlton, commsndlg a re markably efficient regiment from Con necticut, and requested him to ascer tain If this man so sorely needed could be found In his command. Colonel Knowlton called his officers together, stated the wishes of General Washing ton, and, without urging the enter- CAPT, II ALB DISGUISED AS A DUTCH SCHOOLMASTER, prise upon any Individual, left the mat ter to their reflections. Captain Nathan Hale, a brilliant youth of tl, recently graduated from Tal col legs, was on of those who reflected upon th subject H soon raacaad a conclusion. He was of th vary Sowar of th young mn of New Eaglaad. aad oa of tha host of th roaagvr aoMlara of th patriot army. B bad barn aaaaatad for th taw trr, aad hi motlv ta adopUag for a ttaw taw arofsaaloa af arm vaa arly patriotic. This we know from the familiar records of blllfe at the time when the call to arms was first heard. In addition to his other gifts and graces, he was handsome, vigorous and athletic, all in an extraordinary de gree. It be bad lived in our day he might have pulled the stroke oar at New London or pitched for the college nine. The officers were conversing In a group. No one had as yet spoken the decisive word. Colonel Knowlton ap pealed to a French sergeant, an old soldier of former wars, and asked him to volunteer. "No, no," said he. "I am ready to fight the British at any place and time, but I do not feel willing to go among them to be hung up like a dog." Captain Hale joined the group of officers. He said to Colonel Knowl ton: "I will -undertake It" Some of bis best friends romon. strated. One of them, afterwards the famous Gen, William Hull, then a cap tain In Washington's army, bas re corded Hale's reply to bis own attempt to dissuade him. "I think," said Hale, "I owe to my country the accomplishment of an ob ject so important. I am fully sensible of the consequences of discovery snd capture in such a situation. But for a year I bave been attached to the army, and bave not rendered any material service, while receiving a compensa tion for which I make no return: I wish to be useful, and every kind of service necessary for the public good becomes ' honorable by being neces sary." He spoke, as General Hull remem bered, with earnestness and decision, as one who bad considered the mat ter well, and had made up his mind. Having received bis Instructions, he traveled fifty miles along tb Sound as far a Norwalk, in Connecticut One who saw him there mad a very wise remark upon him, to th effect that he was "too good looking" to go as a spy He could not deceive. "Some scrubby fellow ought to have gone." At Nor walk he assumed the disguise of a Dutch schoolmaster, putting on a suit of plain brown clothes and a round, broad-brimmed bat. He had no diffi culty In crossing the Sound, since be bore an order from General Washing ton which placed at his disposal all the vessels belonging to Congress. For several days everything appear to have gone well with him, and there Is reason to believe that be passed through the entire British army with out detection or even exciting suspi cion. Finding the British had crossed to New York, he followed them. He mad his way back to Long Iilsnd, and near ly reached th point opposite Nor walk whoro ho hand originally landed. Ren dered, perhaps, too bold by success, he went Into a well-known and popular tavern, entered Into conversation with the guests and made himself very agreeable. Th tradition Is that he mad himself too agreeable. A man present, suspecting or knowing that be was not th character he had as sumed, quietly left th room, commun icated his suspicions to th captain of a British ship anchored near, who dis patched a boat's crew to capture and bring on board the agreeable stranger. His true cbsracter was Immediately re vealed. Drawings of some of the Brit ish works, with notes In Latin, went found hidden In th sole of bis shoes. Nor did he attempt to deceive his cap tor, and th English captain, lament ing, as b said, that "so fin a fallow had fallen Into hi power," seat blm to Nw York la on of bis boats, and with him th fatal proof that h was nr. September list waa tb day oa which a raacaad New York th day af tha graat ft which laid oa-talrd of th little city in ashes. From the time of bis departure from General Washing ton's camp to that of bis return to New York was about fourteen days. He was taken to General Howe's head quarters at the Beekman mansion, on the East river, near the corner of the present Fifty-flrst street and First avenue. It is a strange coincidence that the house to which he waa brought to be tried as a spy was the very one from which Major Andre departed when he went to West Point Tradi tion says that Captain Hale was ex amined In a greenhouse which then stood In the garden of the Beekman mansion. Short was his trial, for be avowed at once his true character. The British general signed an order to bis provost marshal directing blm to receive Into bis custody the prisoner convicted as "I ONLY REGRET THAT I HAVE BUT ONE LIFE TO LOSE FOR MY COUNTRY." a spy, end to see blm hanged by the neck "tomorrow morning at ' day break." Terrible things are reported of the manner in which this noble prisoner, this admirable gentleman and hero, was treated by bis, jailer and execu tioner. There are savages In every large army, and it is possible that this provost-marshal' was one of them, it is said that be refused him writing materials, and afterward, when Cap tain Hal had been furnished tbem by others, destroyed before bis fsce bis last letters to bis mother and to tho young lady to whom be was engaged to be married. - As those letters were never received, this statement may be true. The other alleged horrors of the execution it Is safe to disregard, be cause we know It was conducted in the usual form and In the presence of many spectators and a considerable body of troops. jOn. fact shines out from the distracting confusion of that morning, which will be cherished to the latest posterity as a precious Ingot of tb moral treasure of the Ameri can people. When asked if he hsd anything to say, Captain Hale re plied: "I only regret that I have but ono life to lose for my country." The scene of bis execution was prob ably an old graveyard In Chambers street, which was then called Barrack street Oeneral Howe formally noti fied General Washington of his execu tion. In recent rears, through tb in dustry of investigators, the pathos and sublimity of these events bave been In part revealed. A few year ago bronxe statue af th young hero was unveiled In the New York City Hall Park. It I great, ly to be regretted that our knowledge of thl nobl martyr la o slight; but w know enough to b ur that a merits tb veneration of hit country- Tb maa who marries for moay merely trad hi liberty for a maal ticket