They might be creeping, while we were sleeping,
And half were asleep and snoring deep, while
But devil a one let go his gun, whether he woke
"There's some think Injins p'ison, and others
And night and day they are melting away, clean
But don't you go and make mistakes, like many
For dirt is dirt, and snakes is snakes, but an
We were seeking gold in the Texan hold, and
More rich and rare the stuff ran there at every
Like men gone wild we t'iled and t'iled, and
The hot sun beamed, and our faces streamed
I was captain then of the mining men, and I had
For a wilder set I never met at derringer and
Nigh every day there was some new fray, a
And the viciousest brute to stab and to shoot,
Phil Blood. Well, he was six foot three, with
His face all scabb'd, and twisted and stabb'd,
Sour as the drink in Bitter Chink, sharp as a
Limp in one leg, for a leaden egg had nick'd
No beauty was he, but a sight to see, all stript
With his grim-set jaws, and his panther-paws,
With pick and spade in sun and shade he labour'd
But when his spell was over,--well! he was
And being a crusty kind of cuss, the only sport
When work was over, seemed to us a bit too
For to put some lead in a comrade's head was
And the sharpest joke he was known to poke
But game to the bone was Phil, I'll own, and
With as good a will to be killed as kill, true
Of honour too, like me or you, he'd a scent,
Would rather be riddled thro' and thro', than do
But his eddication to his ruination had not been
And his stupid skull was choking full of vulgar
With anything white he'd drink, or he'd fight in
But to murder and kill was his wicked will, if
* A sarpent's hide has p'ison inside, and an
If he seems your friend for to gain his end,
Of the snakes that crawl, the worst of all is the
A spotted Snake, and no mistake?' that's what
Well, we'd jest struck our bit of luck, and were
When who should stray to our camp one day,
Drest like a Christian, all a-grin, the old one
And though the rest look'd black as sin, he
Now, the poor old cuss had been good to us,
I'd have trusted him with life and limb as soon
For tho' his wit was gone a bit, and he drank
His heart was kind, he was well inclined, as
Food had got low, for we didn't know the run
And our hunters were sick, when, jest in the