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Show 214 TALES OF THE COLORADO PIONEERS. express. Buckskin Joe soon followed Bill; I had to do it. Seven-up Pete went next; I had to do that, too! Now, I became a marked man. Some called me bad, but I was always on the side of the weak and helpless.' "'Since then I have had some pretty lively times; have been a prospector, miner, Government scout, cow boy, stage driver and trapper, and between times amused myself gunning for Indians and Greasers on my own account. Yes, I have been handled pretty roughly; have been 'chawed' by grizzlies, scalped by Indians, nearly burned at the stake, shot and knifed dozens of times, blowed up once or twice, and on one occasion fell into a quartz mill, and run clean through before it could be stopped. On another occasion I was dropped in a sluice box and panned out as pure as virgin gold.' "' Now, friends, you have said that this beloved minister shall not preach in this camp, to a lost and dying world. You have said this, and you come to enforce your threat. You carry your guns, knives and sabers, and come equipped with all this arsenal, for what? Simply to bluff this defenseless, unarmed minister of the Gospel, who means you only good. But there is no bluff in this game. I hold four aces and the five spot, and the first man who moves a bluff I'll raise him. Boys, I mean business. You know me of old; you'll hear the Gospel once; you'll hear it now.' BACKING UP A MINISTER. |
