The Luck of Roaring Camp
BY
BRET HARTE
i 1
THE. SUNDAY CITIZEN, ASIESVILLE, N. C., JANUARY 13, 1918.
(Gladstone, the pretmer of Eng
land, is said to have read this story
tai times over during his lifetime. It
la considered one of the greatest
shorf stories ever written. )
There wag commotion In Roaring
rami p. It could not have 'town a
fight, for in 1860 that woe not novel
enough to have called together the
entire settleimeint. Tha ditches and
rlnimn were not only deserted, out
Tuttlc'a grocery" had contributed lte
ramblers, who, it will be remembered,
calmly continued their game tha day
that French Pete and Kanaka Joe
hot each other to death over the bar
In the front room. The whole camp
wan collected before a rude cabin on
the outer edre of the clearing. Con
vernation was carried on In a low tone,
but the name of a woman waa fre
quently repeated. It waa a name fa
miliar enough in the camp "Chero
kee Sal."
Perhaps the less said of her tha bet
ber. She was a coarse, and, It Is to
be feared, a very sinful woman. But
at that time she waa the only woman
In Roaring Camp, and waa Just them
lying In sore extremity, wham she most
needed the ministration or nor own
sex. Dissolute, abandoned, and irre
claimable, she wag yet suffering a
martyrdom hard enough to bear even
when veiled by sytmpathlBlrug woman
hood, but now terrible In hr loneli
ness. The primaJ curse had come to
her In that ordinal Isolation which
must have made the punishment of
tha first transgression so dreadful. It
wan, perhaps, part of tha expiation of
her sin, that, at 4 (moment when she
most lacked her sex's Intuitive ten
derness and care, aha met only tha
haj :-con tempt uoua faces of her mas
culine associates. Yet a few of the
spectators were, I think, touched by
her aufferlrrgs. Sandy Tipton thought
It was "rough on Sal," and, In the
contemplation of her condition, for a
moment rose superior to the fact that
he had an ace and two b owe re In his
leve.
It will be sen, also, that the situa
tion was novel. Deaths were by no
mean uncommon in Roaring Camp,
but a birth was a nw thing. People
had been dismissed from camp effec
tively, finally, and with no possibility
of return; but this waa the first time
that anybody had been Introduced at
initio. Hence the excitement-
"you go in there, Stumpy," said I
prominent citizen known as "Ken
tuck," addressing one of the loungers.
"Oo in there, and see what you kin
do. You'vo had experience In thorn
things."
Perhaps there was ft fitness In the
selection. Stumpy, Hi other climes,
hod been the puntative head of two
families: In fact. It was owing to
some legal Informality In these pro
ceedings that Roaring Oamvp a city
of refuge was indebted to his com
pany. The crowd approved tne
choice, and Stumpy was wis enough
to bow to the majority. The door
closed on the extempore surgeon and
midwife, and Roaring Camp sat down
outside, smoked Ite pipe, and awaited
the Issue.
The assemblage numbered about a
hundred men. One or two of these
were actual fugitives from Justice,
some were criminal, and all were
reckless. Physically, they exhibited
no indication of their pat Jives and
character. The greatest scamn had a
Raphael face, with a profusion of
blond hair; Oakhurst, a ganfiibler, had
the melancholy air and Intellectual
abstraction of a Hwmlet; the coolest
and most courageous man was suarce
ly over five feet in height, with a soft
voice and an ermbcirrawwi, timid
manner. The term "roughs" applied
to them was a distinction rather than
a dcjlnltton. Perhaps in the minor
details of fingers, toes, ear, etc., the
camp may have been deficient, but
these slight omissions did not detract
from their aggregate force. The
strongest man had but three fingers
on his right hand; the best shot but
one eye.
Such was she physical aspect of the
men that were dispersed around the
cabin. The camp lay In a triangular
valley, between two JillXs and. a river.
The only outlet was a steep trail over
the summit of a hlw that faced the
cabin, now illuminated toy the rising
moon. The suffering woman might
have seen It from the rude bunk
whereon ehe lay eeen it winding like
a silver thread until it wob lost. In the
stars above.
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degrees the natural levity of Roaring
i 'amp returned. Bur were freely of
f' red and taken regarding th'j result.
Three tc :ive that "Sal would get
uirougn with It '; even, that the child
would survive; side bets as to the sex
and complexion of the coming
t ranger, in the mldmt of an excited
discussion an exclamation caime from
those nearest the door, and the caiinp
stopped to listen. Above the swaying
and moaning of the pines, the swift
rush Ojf the river, and the crackling
pf thn fire, rose a haip, .uCruioue
cry a cry unlike anything heard J
fore tn the camp. The pines stopped
moaning, the river ceased to rush,
and the flre to crackle. It seemed as
If nature had stopped to Itoten, too.
The camp rose to its feet as one
man! It was proposed to ex-plode a
barrel of gunpowder, but. In consid'
eration of the situation of the moth
er, better counsels prevailed, and only
a few revolvers were dlevhariwd: for.
whether owing to the rude urgery of
the caimp, or same other reason.
-herokee Bal was sinking fawt. With
In an hour she had climbed, as it
were, that rugged road that lwd to the
stars, and so pasNed out of Roaring
(tap, Its sin and shame forever. I
do mot thing that the announcement
dinturwd them much, except In spec
ulation as to the (fat of tlhe child
'Tan he live now," was asked of
Stumpy. The answer was doubtful.
The only other being of Cherokee
Sal's sex and maternal condition In
the settlement was an turn. There wue
some conjecture as to fitness, but the
experiment was tried. It was 1
problematical than the ancient treat
ment of Romulus and Remus, and ap
parently as successful.
When these details were completed.
which exhausted another hour, the
door wns opened, and the anxious
crowd of men who had already form
ed themselves into queue, wntered
In sinjrle file. Beside the low bunk
or shelf, on which the figure of the
mother was starkly outlined below Hie
blankets stood a pine table. On this
taible a candle-box was placed, and
within it, swathed In staring red flan
nel, lay the last arrlvnl at Roaring
Oamp. Beside the candl-box was
placed a hat, Its Ufte waa soon Indi
cated. "Oentle'm'en," said Btumpy,
with a singular mixture of authority
and ex officio eompiacemoy Oentle
nwm will please pass in at the front
door, round the table, and out at the
back door. Them as wishes to con
tribute anything toward the orphan
will flnd'a hat handy." The first man
entered with his hat on; he uncover
ed, however, a he looked about him,
and so, unconsciously, set an example
to the next. In such communities
good and bad actions are catching.
As the procession filed In, comjmenta
were audlhle criticisms addressed,
perhaps, rather to Stumpy, In .the
character of showman ''Is that
him?" "mighty email specimen";
"hasn't mor'n got the color"; "ain't
bigger nor a derringer." The .contri
butions were as characterlstlo: A fU-
ver tobacco box; a doubloon; a, navy
revolver, sllevr mounted, a gold speci
men ; a very 'beautifully embtoldered
laly's handkerchief (frwa Oakhurat,
the gamhler); a. diamond breastpin; a
diamond ring (suggested by the pin,
with the remark from the giver that
ne "(sa.nr tnat pm ana went two aia
monds heftier") ; si eltong ifhbt; a Bible
(contfCbuter not deSecteJn golden
spur; a sliver teaspoon the Initials,
I regret to say, werw not the Severs) i
a pair of surgeon shears; . lenc.et;
a Bank of England, note for five
pound, and about 20u In loose gold
and silver coin. During these pro
ceedings Stumpy maintained a sllerce
as (impassive as thw dead on his left,
a suavity es Inscrutable as that of the
newly born on hie right Only one
inckteWt occurred to break the mo
notony of the curious procession. As
Kentuck bent over the candle-box
half curiously, the child turned, and
in a tmm of pain, eaue-ht at his
groplng finger, and held It fast for a
moment. Kentuck looked foollsOi and
mibarrasBod. Something Tike a blush
tried to assert itself in his weather-
beaten cheek. "The d d little cues!"
wltih, perhaps, more tenderness and"
care than he mlffht have been deem
ed capable of showing. He held that
finger a little apart from its fellows
as he went out, and examined It curl
ousfly. The exaimtnntlon provoked the
same orginal remark In regard to the
child. In iftict. he seemed to enjoy
repeating It. "He mstled with my
finger," he remarked to Tipton, hold
ing up the member, "the d d little
cuss!"
It was 4 o'clock 'before the camp
sought repose. A light burnt In the
cabin wfhere the watchers nat, for
Stumpy did not go to bed that night.
Nor did Kentuck. He drank quitej
rree'jy, ni rvm.vxi wiin gr-at trusio
his experlemice, Invariably ending with
his characteristic condemnation of the
newcomer- It seemed to relieve him
of any unjust Implication of senti
ment, omd Kentuck had the weakness
of the nalfler sex. When everybody
e.le had gone to bed, he walked down
to the river, and whistled reflactlngly.
Then he walked up the gullch, past
the ca'bin. still whistling with demon
strative unconcern. At a large red
wood tree he paused arjd retraced his
steips, and again passed the cabin.
Halfway down to the river's "hank he
again paused, n.nd then returned and
knocked at the door. It wee opened
by Stumpy. "How goes It?" said
Kentuck, looking past Stumpy toward
the candle-box. "All serene," replied
Stumipy. "Anything up?" "Nothing."
There was a pa use and embnrrasing
one Stumpy etill holding the door.
Then Kentuck had recourse to his
finger, whlh he held up to Stumpy.
"Rostled with It the d d little
cuss," he said, and retired.
The next day Cherokee Sal had
sucih rude sepulture oa Roaring Camp
afforded. After her body had been
oomimltted to the hlltoid, there was
a formal meeting of the camp to dis
cuss what should be done with her in
fant. A resolution to adopt it was
unanimous and enthusiastic. But an
animated discussion in regard to the
manner and feasibility of providing
for Its wants at once sprung up. It
remarkable thnt the argument
pRrtook of none of those, fierce per
sonalities with which discussions were
usual1 y conductHi at Roaring (lamp.
Tipton proposed that they should send
the child to Red Dog- a distance of
forty miles where female attention
could 'be procured. Rut the unlucky
HUgfTOstton met with fierce and unani
mous opposition, tt was evident that
no plan whlcn entailed parting from
their new acquisition would for a mo
ment be entertained. "Besides," said
Tom Ryder, "them teuowe at Red
Iog would swar. It, and ring In some
body else on us." A diwbelief In the
honesty of other camps prevailed at
Roaring Camp as in other Glares.
The Introduction of a. feim1e nurse
In the camp also met with object'on.
It was argued that no decent woman
could be .prevailed to accept Roaring
Camp as her. home, and the speaker
urged that "they didn't want any
more of the other kind,'' This un
kind allusion to the defunct mother,
harsh as It may seem, was the first
of BTOprietv th urmt
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torn of the cam-p's regeneration
Stumpy advanced' nothing. Perhaps
he felt a certain dlicacy in Interfer
ing wmn tne eaittjtton of a possible
successor m ornoe. But when qu
tlond, he averred stoutly that he and
"Jinny"- he maanma-l before alluded
to ould manage to rear the child.
There was something original, inde
pendent, and heroio about the plan
that pleased Ow camp. Btumpy was
retained. Oertaito articles were sent
for to Sacramento. '"Mind," said the
treasurer, as he pressed a bag of
gold dust into the expressman's hand,
"the best that can be got lace, you
know, and filligree-work and frills
d n the coatl"
Strange to say, the child thrived.
Perhaps the Invigorating climate of
the mountain carmp was compensation
for materia.1 deficiencies. Natpre took
the foundling to her 'broader breast.
In that rare atmosphere of the Sierra
foothlle) that air pungent with bal
samic odor, that ethereal cordial at
once 'bracing and exhilarating he
may have found food a;nd nourish
ment, or a subtle chemistry that
transmuted asses' milk to lime and
phosphorus- Stumipy Inclined to the
belief that it waw the latter and good
nursing. "Me and that aas," he would
say, "ha been lather and mother to
hlmj Don't you," he would add,
apostrophizing the helpless bundle
before him, "never go back on us."
By the time he was a month old.
the necessity of giving him a name
would have been under a Christian
roof, and cried and Ttaa comforted In
cuj orthodox fashion.
And so the work of regeneration
berran in Roaring Camp. Almost im
perceptibly a change came over the
settlement. The cabin assigned to
"Tommy Luck'or "The Luck," as
he was more frequently called first
showed signs of Improvement. It waa
so 'long trodden carelessly beneath
their feet. A flake of! glittering mica,
a fragment of variegated quarts, a
bright pebble, from the bed of the
creek, became beautiful to eyes thus
cleared and strengthened, and were
invariably put aside for "The Luck."
It wa wonderful how many treasures
the woods and hilteidee yielded that
would do .for Tommy." Surrounded
along
kept scrupulously clean and white- i by playthings such ae never child out
washed. Then It was boarded, cloth
ed, and papered. The rosewood cradle
packed eighty miles by mule 'had,
in Stumpy's way of putting lit, "sorter
killed the rest of the furniture." So
the rehabilitation of the cabin became
a necessity. The men who were in
the habit of lounging In at Stumpy's
to see "how The Luck got on" eeemoil
to appreciate the change, and, In self
defenee, the rival eetabl.ahmemt of
"Tuttle's grocery" bestirred ;'self, ftn l
Imported a carpet and mlrrois. The
reflections of the latter on the appear
ance of Roaring Camp tended to pro
duce stricter habits of personal clean
liness. Again, Stumpy Imposed a
kind of quarantine upon those whJ
aspired to the honor and privilege or
holding "The Luck." It was a cruel
mortification to Kentuck who. In th'j
carelessness of a large nature and tho
haiblts of frontier life, had begum t-
regard all garments as a second cuti
cle, which, like a snake's, only
sloughed oft through decay to be de
barred thla privilege from certain
prudential reasons. Tet such was the
became aparent. He had generally subtle Influence of innovation that he
been known ao "the Kid, "Stumpy's
boy," "the Cayote" (an allusion to hl
vocal powers) , and even by Kentuck s
endearing diminutive of "the d d lit
tle cuss." Ilut these were felt to be
vague and unawractory, ana were
at last dismissed under another In
fluence. Gamiblers and adventurers
are generally superstitious, and Oak-
hurst one day declared mat me oaoy
had brought "the luck' to Roaring
damp. It was certain that of late
they had beim successful. "Luck" waa
the name agreed upon, with the pre
fix of Tommy for greater convenience'.
No allusion was made to the mother,
and the father was unknown. "It's
better." said the philosophical OaR-
hurst, "to take a fresh deal an
round. Call hton Luck, and start him
fair." A day was accordingly set
apart for the christening- What was
meant .by thia ceremony tne reader
may hnaglne. who has already gath
ered some idea of the reckless Irrev
erence of Roaring Camp. The mas
ter of ceremonies was one "Boston,"
a noted wag-, and the occasion seemed
to promise the greatest facetiousnees.
Thle Ingenious satirist had spent two
days in preparing: a burlesque of the
church service, with pointed local al
lusions The oholr was properly train
ed. Jid Sandy Tipton was to stand
godtallier. But after the procession
had marrhed to the grove with music
and banners, and the child had been
deposited l.efore a mock altar, Stum
py stepped before the expectant
crowd. "Tt aln t my style to spoil
fun. ho vs." said the little man. stout
lv, ev'ng the iflaoea around him, "but
it strikes me that this thing ain't x
actlv on the squar. It's playing It
preMv low down on ths! yer bahy to
ring in fun on him that he ain't going
to understand. And ef there's going
to he any eodtfathers round. I'd like
to see who's got any better rights
than me." A sUence followed Stum
py's Kpefch. To the credit of all
humor'ets be' it said, that the first
man to acknowledge Its justice was
the satirist, thoa stopped of his fun.
"But" said Stumpy, -quickly, follow
ing up his adraivtage, "we're here for
a- christening, a.nd we't' ha' e It. I
proclaim you Thorn Luck, according
to the kuva of the i'nlted States and
the State of Oal!ifoml, so help me
God-" It was uttered otherwise than
profanely In the camp. The form of
rhritcnlng waa pr.-haps evn more
ludicrous than the latlrlst had con
ceived: hut, strangely enough, nobody
aaw it and nobody laughed. "Tom
" was christened aa mox'.omtkf mm tn
thereafter appeared regularly every
afternoon in a clean shirt,, and face
still shining from his adiutions Nor
were moral and social sanitary laws
neglected. "Tommy," who was sup
posed to spend his whole existence In
a persistent attempt to repose, must
not be disturbed by noise. The shout-
of fairyland had before. It ia to e
hoped that Tommy was content Ha
appeared to "be securely happy albeit
there was an lrefantlne gravity about
him, ' a contemplative light in his
round gray eyes that sometimes wor
ried Stumpy. ; He was always tract
able and quiet, and it is recorded that
once, having crept beyond his "cot
nail" e. hedge of tessalated pine
boughs, which surrounded his bed
he dropped over the bank on his head
In the soft earth, and remained with
his mottled legs In the air in that po
sition for at least five minutes with
unflinching - gravity. He was extri
cated without a murmur. I (hesitate
to record the many other Instances
of hl sagacity, which rest, unfor
tunately, upon the statements of pre
judiced frienda. Some at them were
not without a tinge of superstition.
"I rep' up the bank Just now," said
Kentuck one day, in a breathless state
of excitement, "and dern my skin If
he wasn't a talking to a Jay-bird as
was a sittln' on his lap. There they
was. Just as free and sociable as any
thing you please, a Jawln' at each oth
er Just like two cherry-'bums." How
belt, whether creeping over the pine
boughs or lying laally on bis back
blinking at the leaves above htm. to'
him the birds sang, the squirrels chat-
tered, and the flowers bloomed. Na
; ture was his nurse and playfellow. For
him she would let slip between the
lng and yelling which had gained the j leaves golden ettafts of sunlight that
reii just wj;injn nus graep; snc woiwa
send wamdnring breezes to visit hkm
with the balm of bay and resinous
gums; to him the , tall red-woods
nodded familiarly and sleepily, the
bumble bees buzzed, and the rooks
cawed a slumbrous accompaniment.
Such was the golden BUmjmer of
Roaring Camp. They were "flush
times" and the Luck was with then'
The claims had yielded enormously
The camp was Jealous of Its privi
leges and looked suspiciously on
strangers. No encouragement was
given to immigration, and, to make
their seclusion more perfect the land
on either side of the mountain wall
that surrounded the camp they duly
pre-empted. This, and a reputation
for singular proficiency with the re
volver, kept the reserve of Roaring
Camp inviolate. The expressman
their only connecting nk wftta the
surrounding world sometimes told
wonderful stories of the camp. He
would ear, "They've a street up there
In 'Roaring. 'that would lay over any
street in Red Dog. They've got vine
and flowers round their houses, and
they wash themselves twice a day.
But they're mighty rough on strang
ers, and they worship an Ingln baby."
With the prosperity of the camp
came a desire for ifurther improve
ment It was proposed to build a
hotel In the following spring, and to
Invite one or two decent families to
reside there for the sake of "The
I.uck" who might perhaps profit by
female companionship; The sacrifice
that this concession to the se cost
these men. who were fiercely skepti
cal Hi regard to Its general virtue an
usefulness, can only je accounted: for
by their affection for Tommy A tew
still held out But the resohre .could
not be carried iato effect for three
months, and the minority meekly
yielded in the hop that something
might turn up to prevent it And It
did. - ' - - v' ' '
The winter of 1SI1 will- Ion be re
membered in the foothill. Tha scow
lay deep on 'the Sierras, and every
mountain creek became a river, and
every river a lake, Bach gorge and
gulch waa) transformed tnto a tumul
tuous wasroounss that dear sad sit the
camp Its Infelicitous title were not
permitted within hearing distance of
Stumpy s. The men conversed tn whis
pers, or smoked with Indian gravity.
Profanity was tacitly given up in
these sacred precincts, and through
out the camp a popular form of ex
pletive, known as "D n the luck;
and "Curse the luck!" was abandoned,
as having a new personal bearing.
Vocal music was not Interdicted, be
ing supposed to have a soothing, tran
quillizing quanty, and one song, sung
by "Man-o'-War Jack," an English
eaHor, from her ma-Jestey's Australian
colonies, was quite popular as a lulla
by. It was a lugubrious recital of
the exploits of "the Arethusa, Seventy-four,"
in a muffled minor, ending
with a prolonged dylng fall at the
burden of each verse, "On b-o-o-o-ard
of the Arethuaa." It was a fine sight
to see Jock holding The Luck, rocking
from side to side as if with the mo
tion of a ship, and - oroonrng forth
this naval ditty. Either throug-h She
peculiar rocking of Jack or the length
of his song it contained ninety stan
zas, and was continued with conscien
tious deliberation to th bitter end
the lullaby generally had the desired
effect- At sucu times the men would
lie at full length under the trees, in
the soft summer twilight, ' smoktoij
their pipes and drinking la the melo
dious utterances. An indistinct' idea
that thto was pastoral iippinesa per
vaded the oamp. "This 'ere kind
think,"' . said the Cockney Simmons,
meditatively reclining on his eloow,
"Is "evingly." It reminded him of
Greenwich.
On the long- summer days The Luck
was usually carried to the gulch, from
Whence the golden store of Roaring
Camp was taken. There, on a blan
ket spread over plne-boughe, be would
lie while the men were working In
the ditches below. Latterly, there
was a rude attempt to decorate his
bower with flowers and sweet -smelling
shrubs, and generally some one
would bring htm a cluster of wild
honeysuckles, asaleaa,.or the painted
blossoms of Las Marlposaa. The men
had suddenly awakened to tin fact
that there were beauty and arignlfl
eanoe Id these trtflsa. whick tbatr bad
hillsides, tearing down glabt trees i
catteruw it drift and debris
t9ie plain. Red Dog had been twice
Vndjer water, and Rearing Caimp had
lb. ,1 iurwitrned. "Water put the gold
Into them gulches," said Stumpy. "It'a
been here once and will be here
again I" And that night the North
Fork suddenly leaped over its banks,
and swept up the triangular valley of
Roaring Camp.
In the confusion of rushln water,
erushtog trees, and crackling timber,
and the darkness which seemed to
flow with the water and blot out tha
fair valley, but little could be done
to collect the scattered camp. Whan
the morning broke, the cabin otf Stunv
py nearest the river bank was gone
Higher up the gulch they found the
body of 'Its' unlucky owner; but tha
pride, the hope, the Joy, the Luck, Of
Roaring Camp had disappeared. They
were returning with sad hearte, when
a shout from the bank recaued them.
It was a relief boat from down the
siver. They had picked up, fihey said,
a man and an Infant, nearly exhaust
ed, about two miles below. Did any
body know them, and did they belong
here?
It ireeded but a glance to show Chem
Kentuck lying there, cruelly crushed
and bruised, but still holding the
Luck of Roaring Camp in his arms.
As they bent over the strangely as
sorted pair, they saw that the child
was cold and pulseless. "He Is dead,"
said one. Kentuck opened his eyes.
"Dead?" he repeated feebly. "Yes,
my man, and you are dying, too." A
smile lit the eyes df the expiring Kentuck-
"Dying," he repeateid, "he's a
taking me with liim tell the boy I've
got the Luck with me now" and tho
strong man, clinging to, the frail babe
as a drowning man Is said to cling
to a straw, drifted away Into the
shadowy river that flows forever to
the unknown sea.
l4THTTST SMTTTT TOf
MOVE FKEIGHT"
Cw 1 1 1 "'""Lt-
s-y J
4 V f
es-n-f e f v f"
, - ALFE&DH.3M1TH '
Alfred If. Smith, MeAdWs first
.tsistant, the man who will be la
direct charge of the operation of r
all ths Tallroads In ths country, Is
not s "front office man." He knows .
railroading from the ground np.
- -There are other lailroad officials
wh are better financiers, better
engineers, or cleverer politicians) "
: bat when it comes to getting; trajla ,
J over the tracks they ail take cJf. ,
! tthctrhat to Smltfe, 1