I'll give you what you want, but mind I never will
pass this road again, and shall undoubtedly publish your conduct in the
Arkansas newspapers."
Gibson chuckled with delight; he had humbugged a stranger, and did not
care a fig for all the newspapers in the world; so he answered, "Welcome
to do what you please;" and, untying the boat, he soon crossed the
stream. Before allowing the stranger to enter the ferry, Gibson demanded
the money, which was given to him under the shape of five ten-dollar
notes, which he secured in his pocket, and then rowed with all
his might.
On arriving on the other side, the stranger led his horse out of the
boat, and while Gibson was stooping down to fix the chain, he gave him a
kick on the temple, which sent him reeling and senseless in his boat;
then taking back his own money, he sprung upon his saddle, and passing
before the cabin, he gently advised Gibson's wife to "go and see, for
her husband had hurt himself a little in rowing."
These extortions are so very frequent, and now so well known, that the
poorer classes of emigrants never apply for the ferries, but attempt the
passage just as they can, and when we call to mind that the hundreds of
cases which are known and spoken of must be but a fraction of those who
have disappeared without leaving behind the smallest clue of their
former existence and unhappy fate, the loss of human life within the
last four or five years must have been awful.
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