the luck of roren Camp written by Brett Hart narrated by Michael Scott produced by thought audio.com there was a commotion in raren Camp it could not have been a fight for an 1850 that was not novel enough to have called together the entire settlement the ditches and claims were not only deserted but tuttles grow grocery had contributed its gamblers who it will be remembered calmly continued their game The Day That French Pete and Kaka Joe shot each other to death over the bar in the front room the whole Camp was collected before a rude cabin on the outer edge of the clearing conversation was carried on in a low tone but the name of a woman was frequently repeated it was a name familiar enough in in the camp Cherokee s perhaps the less said of her the better she was a course and it is to be feared a very sinful woman but at that time she was the only woman in Ren camp and was just then lying in sore extremity when she most needed the ministration of her own sex desol abandoned and irreclaimable she was yet suffering a martyrdom hard enough to Bear even when veiled by sympathizing Womanhood but now terrible in her loneliness the Primal curse had come to her in that original isolation which must have made the punishment of the first transgression so Dreadful it was perhaps part of the experation of her sin that at a moment when she most lacked her sex's intuitive tenderness and care she met only the half contemptuous faces of her masculine Associates yet a few of the spectators were I think touched by her sufferings Sandy Tipton thought it was rough on S and in the contemplation of her condition for a moment Rose superior to the fact that he had an Ace and two Bowers in his sleeve it will be seen also that the situation was novel deaths were by no means uncommon in Roaring Camp but a birth was a new thing people had been dismissed from the camp effectively finally and with no possibility of return but this was the first time that anybody had been introduced AB ideso hence the excitement you go in there Stumpy said a prominent citizen known as Kentuck addressing one of the loungers go in there and see what you can do do you've had experience in them things perhaps there was a fitness in the selection stumpy in other climes had been the putative head of two families in fact it was owing to some legal informality in these proceedings that Roaring Camp a City of Refuge was indebted to his company the crowd approved the choice and Stumpy was wise enough to bow to the majority the door closed on the extempore surgeon and midwife and roren Camp sat down outside smoked its 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 past lives and character the greatest Camp had a Raphael face with a profusion of blonde hair Oak curst a gambler had The Melancholy air an intellectual abstraction of a hamlet the coolest and most courageous man was scarcely over 5T in height with a soft voice and an embarrassed timid manner the term roughs applied to them with a distinction rather than a definition perhaps in the Minor Details of fingers toes ears Etc the camp may have been deficient but these slight missions did not detract from their aggregate Force the strongest man had but three fingers on his right hand the best shot had but one eye such was the physical aspect of the men that were dispersed around the cabin the camp lay in a triangular Valley between two hills and a river the only Outlet was a steep Trail over the summit of a hill that faced the cabin now illuminated by The Rising Moon the suffering woman might have seen it from the rude bunk where on she lay seen it winding like a Silver Thread until it was lost in the stars above a fire of withered Pine boughs added sociability to the Gathering by degrees the natural levity of Roaring Camp returned were freely offered and taken regarding the result 3 to five that s would get through with it even that the child would survive side bets as to the sex and complexion of the coming stranger in the midst of an excited discussion an exclamation came from those nearest the door and the camp stopped to listen above the swaying and moaning of the Pines the Swift Rush of the river and the crackling of the fire Rose a sharp querulous cry a cry unlike anything heard before in the camp the pin stopped moaning the river ceased to rush and the fire to crackle it seemed as if nature had stopped to listen to the camp Rose to its feet as one man it was proposed to explode a barrel of gunpowder but in consideration of the situation of the mother better counsels prevailed and only a few revolvers were discharged for whether owing to the rude surgery of the camp or some other reason jokee cell was sinking fast within an hour she had climbed as it were that rugged road that led to the stars and so passed out of Roaring Camp its sin and shame forever I do not think that the announcement Disturbed them much except in speculation as to the fate of the child can he live now was asked of Stumpy the answer was doubtful the only other being of Cherokee cell sex and maternal condition in the settlement was an ass there was some conjecture as to Fitness but the experiment was tried it was less problematical than the ancient treatment of Romulus and Ramos and apparently as successful when these details were completed which exhausted another hour the door door was opened and the anxious crowd of men who had already formed themselves into a queue entered in single file beside the low bunker shelf on which the figure of the mother was starkly outlined below the blankets stood a pine table on this a candle box was placed and within it swath and staring Red Flannel lay the latest arrival at Roaring Camp beside the candle box was placed a hat its use was soon indicated gentlemen said Stumpy with a singular mixture of authority and ex official complacency gentlemen will please pass in at the front door round the table and out at the back door them as wishes to contribute anything toward the orphan will find a hat handy the first man entered with his hat on he uncovered however as he looked about him and so unconsciously set an example to the next in such communities good and bad actions are catching as a procession filed in comments were audible criticisms addressed perhaps rather to stumpy in the character of showman is that him Mighty small specimen hasn't more and got color ain't bigger nor a daringer the contributions were as characteristic a silver Tobacco Box a dubloon a Navy revolver silver mounted a gold specimen a very beautifully embroidered ladies handkerchief from Oakhurst The Gambler a diamond breast pin a diamond ring suggested by the pin with the remark from The Giver that he saw that pin and went two diamonds better a slug shot a Bible contributor not detected a Golden Spur a silver teaspoons the initials I regret to say were not the givers a pair of surgeon shears a Lancet a bank of England note for5 and about $200 in loose gold and silver coin during these proceedings Stumpy maintained a silence as passive as the dead on his left a gravity as inscrutable as that of the newly born on his right only one incident occurred to break the monotony of the Curious procession as Kent tuck bent over the candle box half curiously the child turned and in a spasm of pain caught at his groping finger and held it fast for a moment Kentuck looked foolish and embarrassed something like a blush tried to assert itself in his weather-beaten cheek the darn little cuss he said as he extricated his finger with perhaps more tenderness and care than he might have deemed capable of showing he held that finger a little apart from its fellows as he went out and examined it curiously the examination provoked the same original remark in regard to the child in fact he seemed to enjoy repeating it he wrestled with my finger he remarked to Tipton holding up the member that darn little cuss it was 4:00 before the camp sought Repose a light burnt in the cabin where the Watchers sat for Stumpy did not go to bed that night nor did Kentuck he drank quite freely and related with Great Gusto his experience invariably ending with his characteristic condemnation of the newcomer it seemed to relieve him of any unjust implication of sentiment and Ken tuck had the weakness of the nobler sex when everyone else had gone to bed he walked down to the river and whistled reflecting then he walked up The Gulch past the cabin still whistling with demonstrative unconcern at a large redwood tree he paused and retraced his steps and again passed the cabin halfway down to the river's Bank he again paused and then returned and knocked at the door it was opened by Stumpy how goes it said Kentuck looking past Stumpy toward the candle box all Serene replied Stumpy anything up nothing there was a pause an embarrassing one Stumpy stood holding the door then Kentucky had recourse to his finger which he held up to Stumpy wrestled it that darn little cuss he said and retired the next day Cherokee cell had much rude suppl as Roaring Camp afforded after her body had been committed to the hillside there was a formal meeting of the camp to discuss what should be done with her infant 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 sprang up it was remarkable that the argument partook of none of those fierce person personalities with which discussions were usually conducted at Roaring Camp Tipton proposed that they should send the child to Red Dog a distance of 40 miles where female attention could be procured but the Unlucky suggestion met with Fierce and unanimous opposition it was evident that no plan which entailed parting from their new acquisition would for a moment be entertained besides said Tom Ryder them fellows at Red Dog would swap it and ring in somebody else on it a disbelief in the honesty of other camps prevailed at Roaring Camp as in other places the introduction of a female nurse in the camp also met with objection it was argued that no decent woman could be prevailed to accept roren Camp as her home and the speaker urged that they didn't want any more of the other kind this unkind illusion to the defunct mother harsh as it may seem was the first spasm of propriety the first symptom of the Camp's regeneration Stumpy Advanced nothing perhaps he felt a certain delicacy in interfering with the selection of a possible successor in office but when questioned he averred stoutly that he and Jenny the man will before alluded to could manage to rear the child there was something original independent and heroic about the plan that pleased the camp Stumpy was retained certain articles were sent for to Sacramento mine said the treasurer as he pressed a bag of gold dust into the expressman hand the best that can be got lace you know the filigree work in Frills and darn the cost strange to say the child thrived perhaps the invigorating climate of the Mountain Camp was compensation for maternal deficiencies nature took the fondling to her broader breast in that rare atmosphere of the Sierra Foothills that air pungent with pmic odor that ethereal cordial at once bracing and exhilarating he may have found food and nourishment or a subtle chemistry that transmuted ass's milk to lime and phosphorus Stumpy inclin to belief that it was the latter in good nursing me and that ass he would say has been father and mother to him 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 became apparent he had generally been known as the kid Stumpy's boy the coyote an illusion to his vocal powers and even by Kent's endearing dimunitive of the darn little cuss but these were felt to be vague and unsatisfactory and were at last dismissed under another influence gamblers and adventurers are generally superstitious and Oakhurst one day declared that the baby had brought the luck to Roaring Camp it was certain that of late they had been successful luck was the name agreed upon p with the prefix of Tommy for greater convenience No Illusion was made to the mother and the father was unkn it's better said the philosophical Oakhurst to take a fresh deal all round call him luck and stard them Fair a day was accordingly set apart for the christening what was meant by this ceremony the reader May imagine who has already gathered some idea of The Reckless irreverence of Roaring Camp the Master of Ceremonies was one Boston a noted wag and the occasion seemed to promise the greatest fastidiousness this ingenious satirist has spent two days in preparing a burlesque of the church service with pointed local Illusions the choir was properly trained and Sandy Tipton was dist stand Godfather but after the procession had marched to The Grove with music and Banner and the child had been deposited before a mock altar Stumpy step before the expectant crowd it ain't my style to spoil Fun Boys said the little man stoutly eyeing the faces around him but it strikes me that this thing ain't exactly on the Square it's playing pretty low down on this year baby to ring in fun on him that he ain't going to understand and if there's going to be any Godfathers round I'd like to see who's got any better rights than me a silence followed Stumpy speech to the credit of all humorist be it said that the first man to acknowledge its Justice was a satus thus stopped of his fun but said Stumpy quickly following up his Advantage we're here for a chrin and we'll have it I Proclaim you Thomas luck according to the laws of the United States and the state of California so help me God it was the first time that the name of the deity had been otherwise uttered than profanely in the camp the form of christen was perhaps even more ludicrous than the satius had conceived but strangely enough nobody sought it and nobody laughed Tommy was christened as seriously as he would have been under a Christian roof and cried and was comforted in an orthodox fashion and so the work of regeneration began in roren Camp almost imperceptibly 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 was kept scrupulously clean and whitewashed then it was boarded clothed and papered the Rosewood cradle packed 80 M by a mule had in Stumpy's way of putting it sort of 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 its stumpies to see how the luck got on seemed to appreciate the change and in self-defense the Rival establishment of tuttle's grocery borred itself and imported a carpet and mirrors the reflections on the latter on the appearance of Roaring Camp tended to produce stricter habits of personal cleanliness again Stumpy imposed a kind of quarantine upon those who aspired to the honor and privilege of holding the luck it was a cruel mortification to Kentuck who in the carelessness of a large nature and the habits of frontier life had begun to regard all garments as a second cuticle which like a snakes only slowed off through Decay to be debarred this privilege from certain credential reasons yet such was the subtle influence of innovation that he thereafter appeared regularly every afternoon in a clean shirt and face still shining from his ablutions nor were moral and social sanitary laws neglected Tommy who is supposed to spend his whole existence in a persistent attempt to Repose must not be disturbed by noise the men conversed in Whispers or smoked with Indian gravity profan ity was tacitly given up in these sacred precincts and throughout the camp a popular form of explicative known as darn the luck and curse the luck was abandoned as having a new personal bearing vocal music was interdicted being supposed to have a soothing tranquilizing quality and one song sung by man of war Jack an English sailor from her majesty these Australian colonies was quite popular as a lullabi it was a lugubrious recital of the arusa 74 in a muffled minor ending with a prolonged dying fall at the burden of each verse on board of the arusa it was a fine sight to see Jack holding the luck rocking from side to side as if with the motion of a ship and cring forth this Naval Diddy either through the peculiar rocking of Jack or the length of his song it contained nighty stanas and was continued with conscientious deliberation to The Bitter End the lullabi generally had the desired effect at such times the men would lie at full length under the trees in the soft summer Twilight smoking their pipes and drinking in the melodious utterances an indistinct idea this was pastoral happiness pervaded the camp this ear kind of think said Cockney Simons meditatively reclining on his elbow is evanly it reminded him of Greenwich on the long summer days the luck was usually carried to The Gulch from when the golden store of Roaring Camp was taken there on a blanket spread over Pine boughs he would lie while the men were working in the ditches below laterally there was a rude attempt to decorate this Bower with flowers and sweet smell and shrubs and generally someone would bring him a cluster of wild honeysuckles aelas or the painted blossoms of La mariposas the men had suddenly awakened to the fact that there was Beauty and significance in these travles was they had so long trotten carelessly beneath their feet a flake of glittering Micah a fragrant of variegated quartz 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 was wonderful how many Treasures the woods and hillsides yielded that would do for Tommy surrounded by play things such as never child out of Fairyland had before it is to be hoped that Tommy was content he appeared to be serenely happy albeit there was an infantine gravity about him a contemplative light in his round gray eyes that sometimes worried Stumpy he was always tractable and quiet and it is recorded that once having crept Beyond his Corral a hedge of tesselated pine bows which surrounded his bed he dropped over the bank on his head in the soft Earth and remained with his model legs in the air in that position for at least 5 minutes with unflinching gravity he was extracted without a murmur I hesitate to record the many other instances of a sagacity which rest unfortunately upon the statements of prejudice friends some of them were not without a tinge of superstition I crept up the bank just now said Kentuck one day in a breathless state of excitement and D my skin if he wasn't a talking to a jbird as was a sitting on his lap there they was just as free and sociable as anything you please a jawn at each other just like two Cherry bums how be it whether creeping over the pine bows or lying lazily on his back blinking at the leaves above him to him the bird sang the squirrels chattered and and the flowers bloomed nature was his nurse and playfellow for him she would let slip between the leaves golden shafts of sunlight that fell just within his grasp she would send wandering breezes to visit him with the balm of bay and resinous gum to him the tall redwoods nodded familiarly and sleepily the Bumblebees buzzed and the Rooks CAU a slumberous accompaniment such was the golden summer of Roaring Camp they were flush times and the luck was with them the claims had yielded enormously the camp was jealous of its Privileges 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 preempted this and a reputation for singular proficiency with the revolver kept the reserve of Roaring Camp in Violet the expressman their only connecting link with the surrounding World sometimes told wonderful stories of the camp he would say they've a street up there in roren that would lay over any Street in Red Dog they've got Vines and flowers around their houses and they wash themselves twice a day but they Mighty rough on strangers and they worship an engine baby with the prosperity of the camp came a desire for further Improvement 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 luck who might perhaps profit by female companionship the sacrificed that this concession to the sex cost these men who were fiercely skeptical in regard to its General virtue and usefulness can only be accounted for by their affection for Tommy a few still held out but the resolve could not be carried into effect for 3 months and the minority meekly yielded in the hope that something might turn up to prevent it and it did the winter of 1851 will long Be Remembered in the Foothills the snow lay deep on the sieras and every Mountain Creek became a river and every river a lake each Gorge and Gulch was transformed into a tumultuous water course that descended the hillsides tearing down giant trees and scattering its drift and debris along the plain red dog had been twice underwater and Roaring Camp had been forewarned water put the gold into them gulches said Stumpy it's been here once and will be here again and that night the North Fork suddenly leaped over its banks and swept up the Triangular Valley of Roaring Camp in the confusion of Rushing Water crashing trees and crackling Timber and the darkness which seemed to flow with the water and blot out the fair Valley but little could be done to collect the scattered Camp when the morning broke the cabin of Stumpy nearest the riverbank was gone higher up The Gulch they found the body of its unlucky owner but the pride the hope the joy the luck of Roaring Camp had disappeared they were returning with sad Hearts when a shout from the bank recalled them it was a relief boat from down the river they had picked up they said a man and an infant nearly exhausted about 2 mi below did anyone know them and did they belong here it needed but a glance to show them Kentuck lying there cruy crushed and bruised but still holding the luck of roren camp in his arms as they bent over the strangely assorted pair they saw that the child was cold and pulseless he is dead said one Kentuck opened his eyes dead dead he repeated feebly yes my man and you were dying too a smile lit the eyes of the expiring Kentuck dying he repeated he's a taken me with him tell the boys I've got the luck with me now and the 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