Thrilling adventures among the early settlers, embracing desperate encounters with Indians, Tories, and refugees; daring exploits of Texan rangers and others .. . quietly, unobtrusively, pur-chased a quantity of flour, pork, and tea, paid for it in gold dust,and went out about his business. Herepeated his visits, at different intervals, ^perhaps some half-a-dozen times, beforehe attracted my attention toany thing peculiar in his ap-pearance, and then I should jjMjjhave been at a loss to say ™iwhat I saw more in him atlast than at first. He was apparently abouttwenty-five years of age, ofmedium
Thrilling adventures among the early settlers, embracing desperate encounters with Indians, Tories, and refugees; daring exploits of Texan rangers and others .. . quietly, unobtrusively, pur-chased a quantity of flour, pork, and tea, paid for it in gold dust,and went out about his business. Herepeated his visits, at different intervals, ^perhaps some half-a-dozen times, beforehe attracted my attention toany thing peculiar in his ap-pearance, and then I should jjMjjhave been at a loss to say ™iwhat I saw more in him atlast than at first. He was apparently abouttwenty-five years of age, ofmedium height and slenderfigure, of a dark complexion^regular features, with darkstraight hair, dark eyes, anda beard that covered the lower part of his face—in all of which therewas nothing remarkable—nothing striking. He was quiet, nottalkative—had nothing to say, except about the business he cameon—got what he wanted when I was disengaged, paid for what hegot like a gentleman, and generally retired with an ordinary Goodday, sir, or some similar civility. And yet, as I have said, he beganto attract my attention at last, and I began to wonder why. Was. this simple egg. said I, so FAIR TO VIEW,CONTAINS THE MURDEKERS SECRET. THE murderers ORDEAL. 363 it because he was so quiet, reserved and gentlemanly, and did notpurchase whiskey like the resi, and occasionally get excited andboisterous? Or was it because there was something about him Icould not readily fathom ? At all events, he had begun to interestme in some way ; and the very fact, perhaps, that I could not telliiow or why, led into a closer scrutiny, a deeper study of the man. After this I prolonged his visits as long as I could without causinghim to suspect I did so intentionally. The things that he wanted Igenerally had some trouble in getting, and filled up the interval byremarks about the weather, the country, the mines, the success ofsome and the failure of others—in a word, any thing I could thinkof to induce c
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectfrontierandpioneerli
