About four P.M. the passengers had all arrived and we were ready for business. A committee was appointed to wait upon the Alcalde, a large powerful negro, dressed in full regimentals, with a cavalry sword suspended to his waist, and explain to him the facts in the case and demand the man’s release; but the old commander felt the dignity of his position, and in a very lofty and dignified manner refused to liberate the Americano until he had settled the account.
Suspecting trouble the Alcalde called out his native troops, numbering about 200 men, to guard the prison. They were armed with a great variety of weapons, consisting of the old-fashioned flint-lock musket, pistols, swords and clubs. Among them the old style brass blunderbuss was numerous, as well as other styles of deadly weapons. I tell you, boys, they were about as ferocious and formidable a looking set of warriors as you would care to run afoul of in a dark night if you didn’t know who they were; but during an engagement the safest place, in my opinion, would be right in front of them.
Well, Tex took charge of the boys, and with a big sledge hammer in his hand we formed into line between the native troops and the calaboose. Tex drew his watch from his pocket and holding it up before the eyes of the Alcalde gave him (the latter) to understand, by pointing to the hands of it, that when the short hand had got to the figure five if the door wasn’t opened he would open it with his sledge, and, furthermore, if he ordered his troops to fire off their guns and things that some of them would get badly hurt. The Alcalde drew his huge sword from its scabbard, flourished it above his head, and at the same time ordered his troops to turn around, face the music and make ready, which they succeeded in doing after some little trouble; but at the same time Tex remarked: “Now, boys, show ’em what you’re got, and we’ll soon show ’em that we know how to use them, too.” Every man instantly drew his gun. They were mostly single-barrelled pistols, although there was a great number of the latest style of revolver, the Smith & Wesson, among them, but they were sufficient for the purpose.
As soon as the time was up Tex held his watch up before the eyes of the Alcalde, replaced it carefully in his pocket, at the same time raising the sledge above his head and advancing toward the prison door. Would the swarthy commander order his troops to fire? He ran his eye along the line of his brave army, then took a careful survey of the crowd of Americans in front of the prison, and looked at the little insignificant weapons that they held in their hands. Would he uphold the dignity of his position and give the order to fire and save his reputation as a warrior? He hesitated; suppose he should get hurt and his army annihilated? Taking the key from his pocket he unlocked the prison door, and the old Forty-niner was free.
Upon our return to California a few months later the fact had been made known that the native did actually receive his pay for transporting the American’s trunk. He was tried and found guilty, and the Alcalde sentenced him to receive 100 lashes and confined him in prison for one year.
CHAPTER XIX.
Tennessee’s Letter From Tex—The War in Chili Gulch—Sam Brown and the Chap With the Mild Blue Eyes—Sam Brown and the Policeman—Old Kentuck and Sleepy Ben.
ANOTHER little incident took place on board of the steam ship “Illinois,” that is worth relating, continued Tennessee “because Tex bossed the job. When we first went down to the dinner table in the steerage, we found that there wasn’t any sugar on the table for our coffee; Tex thought that very strange, and turning around to the ship’s steward, who was standing in the door of the pantry, inquired of him if there was any sugar on board? ‘Oh, yes sah’!’ replied the colored steward, ’there’s two barrels of white sugar here in the pantry sah; but dem is fo’ the cabin sah.’ ‘Well’ says Tex; ‘we must have some of that sugar here in the steerage, for we have all paid the price of our passage, and are just as much entitled to the use of that sugar as the cabin passengers are, and if you don’t bring it out in two minutes we will go and help ourselves.’”
So the steward immediately locked the pantry door, and sent word to the officers of the ship that there was mutiny among the passengers of the steerage. In a few moments Lieut. Smith with a guard of six marines armed with cutlasses descended into the steerage and demanded to know what the trouble was. Tex replied that there was no sugar upon the table, and as there was plenty of it in the pantry reserved for the cabin, the boys had concluded that they were as good as the cabin passengers, and therefore demanded some sugar. And without meaning to show any disrespect to the officers of the ship, sir, yet we must have some of that sugar, and we’ll give the steward five minutes to bring it. If he doesn’t, then we shall be obliged to get it ourselves. The officer then ordered the guard to arrest that man, which they started to do, but as they advanced toward Tex with drawn cutlasses, a hundred of the old