Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1891 — TESTING A TERROR. [ARTICLE]

TESTING A TERROR.

He Found out that he had Mistaken His Occupation. When we opened the old “Four X’' mine in Nevada, says M. Quad in the Now York World, it was no time at all before a lively town was founded and hundreds of people came pouring in. lu those days every community had its terror. He wus supposed to be able to out-drink, out-yell, out-shoot, and out-fight everything on legs in his jurisdiction. Some times he was a free-lance, and again ho was employed as a sort of policeman. We wanted a man to protect company property, and one day a giant of a chap, weighing 205 pounds and 6 feet tall, applied for the place. “Are you a fighter?” was the question asked of him. “I am,” he replied. “ I’ve had seventynine fights in seven weeks.” “Afraid of anything mortal ?” “ Nothing mortal or igimortal.” “ Shoot both handed?” “ I do.” “ Use the bowie knife?” “Perfectly at home with it, sir.” “ How many men have you killed this last year?” “ Well, this has been an off year with me, as I was sick abed for six weeks, und so I haven’t got but ’levon.” “ Suppose, now that a terror from some other camp should come over here to clean you out ? Have you ever met any other terror and downed him—a genuine, firstclass terror from the headwaters of Fighting Creek?” “ I can’t say that I ever have, sir—not a regular terror.” “Then you can’t tell how vou would act?”

“ Why, I should probably fight him.” “ But you can't say for sure. However, come back at 4 o’clock this afternoon.” We sent over to Cedar Flats, five miles away, for their terror. We knew him to be the genuine stuff, and when lie arrived we posted him as to whut was w r anted. At 4 o’clock, when our alleged terror returned to the shaft, the Cedar Flats terror suddenly waltzed out on him with a hairraising whoop and called out; “ Whar’s the bloody, bloomin hyena who has been passin’ hisself off around here as a fighter ? Whoop ! Waug! Ugh ! Somebody pint him out to me and then tie my hands and legs while I bite his ears off!” Our alleged terror turned pale and looked nervous, and the Cedar Flats man pranced around, cracking his heels together and crowed. “ Cock-a-doodle-doo! Whoop! Pint him out. Let him stand before me! Whoop ! Tie me all up in knots, head me up in that bar’l, and then I’ll lick him or go over the cliff ! Grout snakes ! but won’t somebody show me the fello v who —!” I pointed to our terror, and the Cedar Flats man uttered a scroaft'i and rushed for him. The chap who had only killed ’leven men just fell right down in a heap, and it was five minutes before we could bring him to. He was whiter than flower and us limpsy as a rag, and it was all of half an hour before he could walk away. “ How do you account for it?” I asked as he was ready to go. ‘‘ I must have gone into the wrong business,” he gloomily replied. “ How do you mean?” “ I ought to have been a preacher I”