rthy of the cause for which he died--the
liberty of his country; and instead of the cringing recantation of the
others, his speech was a firm asseveration of his own innocence, the
unjustness of his trial, and the arbitrary conduct of his murderers. As
the cap was pulled over his face, the last words he uttered between his
teeth with a scowl were "Carajo, los Americanos!"

At a word from the sheriff, the mules were started, and the wagon drawn
from under the tree. No fall was given, and their feet remained on the
board till the ropes drew tight. The bodies swayed back and forth, and
while thus swinging, the hands of two came together with a firm grasp
till the muscles loosened in death.

After forty minutes' suspension, Colonel Willock ordered his command to
quarters, and the howitzer to be taken from its place on the roof of the
jail. The soldiers were called away; the women and population in general
collecting around the rear guard which the sheriff had retained for
protection while delivering the dead to their weeping relatives.

While cutting a rope from one man's neck--for it was in a hard knot--the
owner, a government teamster standing by waiting, shouted angrily, at
the same time stepping forward:

"Hello there! don't cut that rope; I won't have anything to tie my mules
with."

"Oh! you darned fool," interposed a mountaineer, "the dead men's ghosts
will be after you if you use them lariats--wagh! They'll make meat of
you sartain."

"Well, I don't care if they do. I'm in government service; and if them
picket-halters was gone, slap down goes a dollar apiece. Money's scarce
in these diggin's, and I'm going to save all I kin to take home to the
old woman and boys."

CHAPTER IX. FIRST OVERLAND MAIL.

On the summit of one of the highest plateaus bordering the Missouri
River, surrounded by a rich expanse of foliage, lies Independence, the
beautiful residence suburb of Kansas City, only ten miles distant.

Tradition tells that early in this century there were a few pioneers
camping at long distances from each other in the seemingly interminable
woods; in summer engaged in hunting the deer, elk, and bear, and in
winter in trapping. It is a well-known fact that the Big Blue was once
a favourite resort of the beaver, and that even later their presence in
great numbers attracted many a veteran trapper to its waters.

Before that period the quaint old cities of far-off Mexico were
forbidden to foreign t