Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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pulled out it gold tack the lie* of a bologna sausage and thumped It down on toe bar. Doc Wat&ou thumped bJe own sack ulongttde "Hold on!" i>aylUjht cried. Bottles' right, and 1 waut In on this. "I bet tTi hundred rbat sixty d?\ys from now I pull up at the Tivoli door with the Dyea mail." A rk#ptic*l roar went uv. and a dci en n ? "? d out tpjgtf M h* "Of course ac'll make it." RagrM wMspcreu lu Bottles' car "And there's rivt uuudred Dayl:.;hi\? kg II la slxt> days." be added aloud. riiiy Rawit sd with the wager? gad lletilos hugged Kearna ecstatical? ly "IV TtraHtr, I ban take that bet." Olaf llenderron said, dragging Day light away from Mettles and Kearna. Winner pn? s!" Daylight sir ied. clostug the weger. "And I'm sun go log to whs, aid sixty days 1? a long tfcj i be <en drltk?, so I pay now. Name your brand, you hochlnoos! Nam* your brand!" Scans body opened the outer door. A ?ague gray light Altered In. ' Burning Daylight, Burning Day? light." some one called warningly. Daylight paused for nothing, head? ing for the door and pulling down his aar flaps. Kama stood outside by tho eled. a long, narrow sffanr, slx*?*n lachee wide and seven and a half feei in length, lu slatted bottom raised six inches above the steel shod runners. On It. lashed with thongs of moose hide, were the light canvas bags that contained the mail, and the food and gear for dogs and men. In front of It. in a siegle Una, lay curled five frost-rimmed doge. They were husk lee, matched in else and color, all un usually large and all gray. From their cn.el jaws to tl sir bushy tails they *ere aa Una ae peas in their TTkeneM to timber wolves. Wolves they were, domes Mrs tad it was true, but wolves In appearance aad la all their charao teiistice. On top the sled load, thrust under the las hinge and reac y for Im? mediate nee. were two pairs of snow shoes Daylight was saying good by to thaee who clustered around him. Tha Virgin wanted to kiss him, and. fuddled slightly though he waa with tha whisky ha saw his way out with? out compromising with the apron string He Id seed the Virgin, but ha hissed tha other three women with eeual partial ft.- He pulled on his long mittena. fuoeed the dogs to their fest, aad took bis place at the gee pole. "Muek. you beaut lea"' he cried. Tha enlxeale* threw their weigh is against their breast bands ob the In? stant, crouching low to tha snow and dlgglag la their claws They whined eagerly aad before tha sled had gone half a deaaa lengths both Daylight and Kama (ha tha rear) were running to keep up. Aad so. running, man and dogs dtp pad ewer the bank and down to the freeee bed of the Yukon, aad In the grey tight were gone. On the river, where wee a packed trail aad where snowehces were unnecessary, the rioge avems*> I six mikes aa hour. To neap up with them, the two men were compelled to run Daylight and Kama relieved each other regularly at the gee-pole, for here was the hard week of steering the flying sled and of keeping in advance of it. The man relieved dropped behind the sled, oo oneloaally leaping upon It and resting Aa If t>-eugh a wall. Daylight bad passed freer the hum and roar of the TtvoM into another world?a world of etsenoe and tsamobUlty. Nothing stirred The Yukon slept underaeoat of lea three feet thick The eoid soap continued. Only men of Iron kept the trail at auch low temperatures, and Kama and Day l'ght were pinked men of their races. Rat Kama knew tb? other was the bet? ter man. and thus, at the start he was himself foredoomed to defeat. Not that he slackened bis effort or willing? ness by the slightest degres. but that ha waa beaten by the burden he car? ried In his mind His attitude toward Daylight was worshipful. Stoical, tao> Ituru, proud of his physical prowess, ha found ail these qualities Incarnated In his white companion. CMAPTIR Hi. At Mat/ Mile they reetocked provi? sions, added a few pounds of letters to their loed. and held steadily on. From Forty Mile they had unbroken trail, aad they could look for? ward only to unbroken trail clear to Dyea. Daylight stood It magnificently, but the killing pace wee beginning to tell on Kama. His pride kept his mouth shut, but the result of the chilling of his lungs In the oold snap could not b? con? cealed They traveled till ten o'clock the night they reached Selkirk, and at sin next morning they plunged ahead into the next strati h of wilderness of nearly Are hundred miles that lay be? tween Selkirk end DpfjsV There was ne letup In his pace Twelve hours a day. six In the twilight and six In the dark, they tolled on the trail Three Vmre were consumed In cook? ing, ropelrlng harnesses, and making and breaking camp, and the remaining nlae hours dogs and men slept as If dead The time came when Kama was un? able to go In the leid end break trail, aad It was proof that he was far gone when hs permitted Daylight tc toll all day at the heavy snowshoe work I?ak* by lake they crossed the string of lakes from Mamh to I.loderman. and began the ascent of Chllcoot. By all rights Daylight should have cpmped below the iaV pitch of the pass a the dim end of diy; but he gejpt on and over and down to Sheep ('; mn. while behind l. raged a snow storm that would h l . Slnpasj him twenty four hour* Thi? ladt egeeegrea: strain broke Kama r< -u'." . |g tin morning he could no- triv : \t five when called he sat up after a struggle, groaueu, Mr U tun?, h.a. ,,f l'hi? iKn and tank back *ga'n Daylight did the camp work of both, harnessed the dogs, and. when roud) for the start, rolled the hslples* ludlan In all three eleepiag robes and lushed him top of rhe sled. The gclug was good they were on their lajt lap; and h? raced the dogs down thiough Dyja oanyon and along the hard packed trail that led to Dyea post. And running still. Kama groaning on top the load, and Daylight leaping at the gee-pole to avoid going under the runners of the flying sled, they ar ived ar Dyea by the sea. True to bis promise. Day light did not stop. An hour's time saw | the sled loaded with the ingoing mall and grub, fresh dogl harnessed and a fresh Indian engaged. Kama never spoke from the time of bis arrival UN the moment Dayl'g it, ready to depart, stood beside him to say good-by. They shook hands. ! "You kill urn dat damn Indian," I Kama said. "Savvee. Daylight? Tou kill urn." -He'll sure last as far as Pelly," Daylight grinned. Kama shook his head doubtfully, and rolled over on his side, turning his back in token of farewell, e e ? e A crowd filled the Tivoli?the oid crowd that had ssen Daylight depart two months before; tor this was the night of the sixtieth day, and opinion The Tlsse Came When Kama Wss Un? able te Oo In the Leest. waa divided as svsr as to wbother or act hs would compass the achieve? ment. At toe o'clock bats were still being made, though the odds rosa, bet by bet. against his success. Down la ear heart Che Virgin oelleved he had failed, yet she made a bat of twenty ounoee with Charley Bates), against forty ounces, that Daylight would ar? rive before midnight. She It was who heard the trat yslps of the doge. "Listen!" eh? cried. "its Day? light!" There was a gsnsral stampede for the door; but when the double storm doors were thrown wide open, the crowd fell back. Thsy heard the eager whining of doge, the snap of a dog whip and the voice of Daylight crying encouragement as the weary animals oapped all they had done by dragging ths sled In over the wooden ftoov. They earns In with a rush, and with them rushed in the frost, a visible vapor of smoking while, through which their heads and backs showed, aa they strained In the harness, till thsy hsd all ths seeming of swimming in a river. Behind them, at the gee pole, came Daylight, hidden to the kneee by the ewirllag frost through which he appesred to wads. Ho was the same oid Daylight, withal lean and tired looking, and his black eyes were sparkling and flashing brighter than ever. His parka of cotton drill hooded him like a monk, and fell ro straight lines to his knees. Or 1 mod and scorched by camp-smoke and fire, the garment in Itself told the story of his trip. A two-months' board cov? ered hie face; and the beard. In turn, , was matted with the loo of hie breath? ing through the long seventy-mile run. He ex per ion cod a thrill of surprise aa ths roar of welcome went up and aa every familiar detail of the Tivoli greeted his vision?the long bar and the array of bottles, tho gambling games, tho big stove, the weigher at the gold scales, the musicians, ths men snd women, the Virgin, Celia, and Nellie, Dan MacDonaJd, Bottles, Billy Rawllns, Olaf Henderson, Doc Watson?all of them. It was just aa he had left It, and in all seeming it might well be the very day ho had left The elxty days of Incessant trav? el through ths white wilderness sud? denly teleecoped. and hud no exis? tence is time. They wore a moment, an incident. He had plunged out and Intel them through the wail of silence, and baok through the wail of silence he had plunged, apparently tho next Instant, snd Into the roar snd tur? moil of the Tivoli He drew a deep breath and cried: "The winner pays, and I'm the win ner, ain't 1? Surge up, you-all Male mutes and Slu.u.hes. and name your poison! There's your Dyea mail, straight from Salt Water, and no horn swugglln about It! Cast the lashings adrift. POU all. and wade Into It!" A dozen pa'rs of hnnds wer* at. the sled-lashlngs. when tho young Li I'arge Indian, beudlng at the snme task, suddenly end limply straight ggjgd up In his eyes vsas a great sur? prise He stared shout him wildly, for the thin* h?? aygj undergoing was new to him He was profoundly struck by gg ttOgOesoed limitation He ?hook as whh a p >' *.. and he gave at the knees, slowly sinking down to fall I suddenly scross the ||ad and to know h former resident of Bumter, wa* in the ?meshing Mow of darkness aeross his consciousness. "Exhaustion," said Daylight. "Take him off and put him to bed, some of you-eil. He's sure a good Indian." A few minutes later, Daylight was whirling around the dance-floor, walts? ing with the Virgin. And small won der it was that the Virgin yielded her- i self to his arms, as they danced dance g.'tpr dance, and sick at heart at the >. v>dge that he found nothing in her more than a good friend and an excellent dancer. Small consolation it was to know thai he never loved any woman. She was sick with love of him, and he danced with her as he would danee with any woman, as he would dam e with a man who was a good dancer and upon whose arm was tied a handkerchief to conventionalize him into a woman. At one in the morning he saw Elijah Davis herding Henry Finn and Joe Mice, the lumber-jack, toward the door. Daylight interfered. "Where are you-all going?" he de? manded, attempting to draw them to the bar. "Bed," Elijah Davis answered. "Got to," Joe Hines added apolo? getically. "We're mushing out In the morr.in'." Da:il?.ht still detained them. "Where to? "What's ths excite? ment?" ? "No excitement," Elijah explained. "We're Just a-goin' to play your hunch, an' tackle the Upper Oouatry Don't you want to come along?" "I sure do," Daylight affirmed. But the question had been put in fun, and Elijah ignored the accept? ance. "We're tacklin' tho Stewart," he went on. "Al Mayo told me he seen some likely lookln' bars first time ho come down the Stewart, and we're goln' to sample 'em while the river's fross. Tou listen, Daylight, an' msrk my words, tho time's comin' when winter diggin's 11 be all ths go. There'll be men la them dsys that'll laugh at our summer scrstchln' an' ground-wallerln'." El jab laughed, gathered his two partners up. and was making a second attempt to reaoh the door. "Hold on," Daylight called. "I eure mean It." The three men turned back sudden? ly upon him. in their fsces surprise, delight, and incredulity. "O'wan, you're fooUu'," said Finn, ths other lumber-jack, a quiet, steady, Wisconsin man. "There's my dawgs and sled," Day? light answered. "That'll make two teams and halvo the loads; though wo-all '11 have to travel easy for a spall, for them dawgt Is sum tired." The three men were overjoyed, but ?till a trifle incredulous. "Now look here," Joe Hinee blurted out, "none of your foolln', Daylight. We mean business. Will you come?" Daylight extended his hand and ?hook. CHAPTIR IV. This time ths trail was saslsr. It was better packed, aad they were not carrying mall against time. At Forty kftla thor laid over two days for the ?ake of the dogs, and at Sixty Mile Daylight's team was left with the trader. Unlike Daylight, after the terrible run from Selkirk to Circle City, they had bean unable to recup? erate on the back trail. 80 the four men pulled on from Sixty Mile with a fresh team of dogs on Daylight's alsd. Ths following night they camped in the cluster of Islands at the mouth of the Stewart. Daylight talked town sites, and, though the others laughed at him, ho staked the whole maxe of high, wooded island. "Just supposing the big strike doee come on the Stewart," ho argued. "Mebbe yon-all '11 bo in on it, and then again mebbe you-all won't But I sure will. You-all 'd batter reconsider and go in with me on It." But they were stubborn. "You're as bad as Harper and Joe Ladue," said Joe Hines. "They're al? ways at that. game. You know that big flat jest below the Klondike and under Moosehlde Mountain? Well, the recorder at Forty Mile was tellin' me they staked that not a month ago ?The Harper 4 Laduo Town Site. Ha! Ha! Ha!" Elijah and Finn joined in hie laugh? ter; but Daylight was gravely In earn? est ?Thors she is!" he cried. "The bunch !? working! It's In the air, I tall you-all! What'd they-all stake tho big flat for If they-all didn't get tho hunch? Wish I'd staked it" The regret in his voice was provoca? tive of a second burst of laughter. "Laugh, dang you, laugh! Why your eyss ala't open yet. You-all are a bunch of little mewing kittens. I tell you-all if that strikes come on Klondike, Harper and Laduo will be millionaires. And if It comes on Stew? art, you-all watch the Elam Harnlsh town site boom. In them days, when you-all come around makln' poor mouths . . ." He heaved a sigh of resignation. "Well, I suppose I'll have to ggf? you-all a grubstake or soup, or something or other." In tho meantime there was naught to show for It but hunch. But It was coming, As he would stake his last ounce on a good poker hand, so he staked his life and effort on the hunch that the future held In store a big etrlko on the Upper River. So he and his three companions, with dogs, and sleds, and snowshoes, toiled up tho frozen breast of the Stewart, tolled on and on through the white wilder? ness where the unending stillness was never broken by the voIocb of men, the Stroh? Of at) ax. or the distant crack of a rifle. Cold they found on tho bars, but not In paying quantities, and in the folio* lug May they re? turned to Sixty Mile. Ten devi lat*r, Harpe? find Joe I the cltj toda) shaking hands with old sue arrived at 8ixtv MUe, and Day? light, strong to obey the hunch that had come to him, traded a third in? terest In his Stewart town site for a third interest in theirs on the Klondike. They had faith in the Upper Country, and Harper left down-atream, with a raft-load of supplies, to start a small post at the mouth of the Klondike. "Why don't you tackle Indian River, Daylight?" Harper advised, at part? ing. "There's whole slathers of creek3 and draws draining in up Ihere, und somewhere gold just crying to be found. That's my hunch. There's a big strike coming, and Indian River ain't going to be a million miles away." "And the place is swarming with moose," Joe Ladue added. "Boh Hen? derson's up there somewhere, been j there three years now, swearing something big is going to happen, living offn straight mooee and pros? pecting around like a crazy man." Daylight decided to go Indian River a flutter, as he expressed it; and lin? gered a few days longer arranging his meager outfit. He planned to go in light, carrying a pack ot seventy-five pouuds and making his five dogs pack as well, Indian fashion, loading them with thirty pounds each. Depending on the report of Ladue, he intended to follow Bob Henderson's example and live practically on straight meat. When Jack Kearns' scow, laden with the sawmill from Lake Linderman, tied up at Sixty Mile, Daylight bun? dled his outfit and dogs on board, turned his town-site application over to Elijah to be filed, and the same day was lsnded at the mouth of Indian River. He continued down Hunker to the Klondike, and on to the sum? mer fishing camp of the Indians on the Yukon. Here for a day he oamped with Car mack, a squaw-man, and his Indian brother-in-law, Skookum Jim, bought a boat, and, with his dogs on board, drifted down the Tukon to Forty Mile. Tuen It was that Carmack, his broth? er-in-law. Skookum Jim, and Cultus Charlie, another Indian, arrived in a canoe at Fbrty Mile, went straight to the gold commissioner, and recorded three claims and a discovery olalm on Bonansa Creek. After that, in the Sour? dough Saloon, that night, they exhibit? ed coarse gold to the skeptical crowd. Daylight, too, wae skeptical, and this despite his faith in the Upper Coun? try. Had ha not, only a few days be? fore, eeen Carmack loafing with his Indians and with never a thought of prospecting? But at eleven that night, sitting on the edge of his bunk and unlacing his moccasins, a thought came to him. He put on his coat and hat and went back to the Sourdough Carmack was still there, flashing his coarse gold in the eyes of an unbe? lieving generation. Daylight ranged alongside of him and emptied Car macks sat* into a blower. This he studied for s long time. Then, from his own sack, Into another blower, he emptied seversl ounces of Circle City and Forty Mile gold. Again, for a long time, he studied and compared. Final? ly, he pocketed his own gold, returned Carmacks, and held up his hand fcr silence. "Boys, I want to Uli you-all some? thing,' he said. "She's sure come?the up-river strike. And I tell you-ail. clear and forcible, this is it. Tbero alnt never been gold like that in a blower in this country before. It's new gold. It's 30t more silver in it. "Who-alla Got Faith to Come Along With Me?" You-all can see it by the color. Car mack's sure made a strike. Who-ali's got faith to come along with me?" No ons volunteered. "Then who-all '11 take a job from me, cash wages in advance, to pole up a thousand pounds of grub?" Curly Parsons and another, Pat Monahac, accepted, and. with hla cus? tomary speed, Daylight paid them their wages in advunce and arranged the purchsee of the supplies, though ho emptied hla sack in doing so. He waa loavlng the Sourdough, when he sud? denly turned back to the bar from the door. "(lot another hunch?" was tho query. "1 Mire have," he answered. "Hour's sure going to bo worth what a man will pay for it this winter up on the Klondike. Who'll lend mo I ome money?" On the Instant II score of the mon who had dec lined to accompany him on the wild goose chase were crowd? ing about htm with proffered gold' nacks. "How much flour do you want?" asked tho Alaska Commercial Com? pany'* storekeeper. "About two ton " The proffered gold-snckl were nor wlthrtrnvT). tw uph ' '? ?r?orr fi lendi Your friends have need of a bank account, and vre seek your co-opera? tion in inviting them to open that ac? count with this bank. With strength to protect and service to satisfy the mo3t exacting needs, we are able to help them in any financial matters. THE PEOPLES' BANK Conservative Banking It's said, the RICHEST PER CAPITA Nation on earth is France. France is not the greatest producing nation, but its Wealth is Due Entirely to its SAVINGS. The Farmers' Bank and Tru^t Co. Its Policy. Tin? Policy mi tbJe bank is to eoa tloct it* buaineas along the neoet aoa ?arvattve hoes; to restrict lta aper? atlons to legitimate anteraxieee; fct etlaainate all speculative ventures. THE BANK OF SUMTER. SUMTER, * C. UTV/TIP /^TintarXnTVTrP a cub plaster, phibslbb JVLCi, UlliMriJN 1, frp1? VCJRB BBICK- DBAIN Hov flrain ^ice Flour, flats PtaF, Bran. J . Vjiaiil, Mixed Oiw eai Phlckee Feed. Horsos. Mules, S^SlVif" No Order Too barg? Or Too Basalt. Booth-Harby Live Stock Co. SUMTER. SOUTH CAROLINA. GEORGE H. HURST, UNDERTAKER AND EMBALMER 2M N MAIN STREET Day Phone 539 Night Phone Ml Undertakers and Embalmers, and Private Ambulance HEARSES FOR WHITE AND COLORED Ring 14 or 251?Day or Night Prompt Service J. D. Craig Furniture Company 8, 10. 12 West Liberty Street. Frosl: Proof Cabbage Plants. We growcely guaranteed plants, true i<? name, r*coian?e?de?i bj sli mho hav? used the d. Our prices areas follews: 1,001 to 4.ono plants at 91 is per : iimnjuxl; \?m) io D.UOS at $1.00 per thousand; 10.? mo to h r?Bii per thou ?an<l. A^t'iiu Ninif?l in ?vrrv town V?'rite ft>r tvtoklet ab culture. efcc. Verl ?M*? F.AR1 Y JER8RY. kBOWB by all SS the narliaat painted head; CliARI^S PON WABKPfELD, ?ann? typ?, but larger ami little later: Slice hssiON. largest and earliest of sll tint varieties: FLAT l)lTT*^H. eur larx*. flat, late caboege and a leader. We guarantee fall count In avery box. safe delivery to \ out express office, *n<> ?atUfiwKiou or noney refunded. Plaat? a'upped when ordr 1 ? (i; ?> , ,c 1 ,, .. mpf%A money by !?<?.? . I>eiter. gxpreae Meaey ?>rder or 1 I'oat ? Milt ?? M< uv'y 1)1 . 1 ? The Carr-Carlton Co., Box 61, Meggens, S. C.