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Face ftnacH, Tbkb ' Prnrnwi,, rnss People.'
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VOLUME X. NO. 41.
! PORTLAND, OREGON, ' THURSDAY, JUNE 23,, 1881.
PER YEAR $3 QETT . ..7-
EASTERN-WASHINGTON.
ESCAPE A HEAVY STORM A RICKETY BUCK- r
BOARlW-THK TRIAL OF VR8, THOMAS. ...'
To rnm K bad emu or ths New NoKTHwiwr j .
The Journey of eighteen mAUs from Moscowi to
Palouse was accomplished on the Instant'lift
bout three, hours of steady staging. The road
ran through the beautiful, btoad and undulating
upland of ParadiseValley, with amall house on till name is Jaeob-Miller, and he lives at Walla
almost every quarter, section, and small farms
and good fences here and there. I he soil resem
bles that of Camas Pralrie.v Much of the land is
claimed by Scandltv4aosxand other foreign-! rickety buckboard haunt Jflmliijpurgatoryj and
'orthroen, who have brought the frugal habit of
the Old World to their new home, and know how
to work everything they own to the" best possi
ble advantage, women . included for these sturdy
yeomen have no more Idea of the liberty and In
dividuality of womanhood than the American
Southron has of the same attributes In colored
men; yet, unlike the latter, they are themselves
toilers, as their farms testify. V '. .. .'-,
There seems to be little vacant land in this part
of Idaho, but we are told that many; homestead
rights among American settlers cau be bought for
a me're song, the well-known restlessness of the
claimants inducing their regular migration bl-
ennJally.
-The scenenrts enchanting iirlovelinjeWYon-
der, to our right, the. mountains of the Co?ur
d'Alene rise; "dark and tree-clad; nearer by are
lower spurs, over which the road runs by. and by ;
beltsf timber mark distant water courses, and
TerdanVfields of wheat and flax smile at us from
the roadsides. !.....'- .' : . V ...
Within stamlles of Palouse City Is a solitary
log cabin where there Is a poet office called Four
Mile, While we were awaiting the distribution
of the mail at this point, our attention was -directed
to. a singular .conformation of thel clouds
overhead, which looked like thousands of fleeces
of water-sokd wool; each fleece well defined and
detached from all the others, all afloat In the air
and tending sou'easterly, their heavier sides Up
permostrThe" alr grew warm and oppressive,
and . the ominous roar of distant "winds' saluted our
ears like a menace of danger. : ; "
, : "if them clouds burst, we'll be fairly drowned'
said the driver, donning an oil-cloth, coat, and
carefully adjusting the lap robes.' "Gotcan nm
berelir ' T .... :'. ".. .
. We produced a' silken apparition (one, of
Fleischner &' Mayer's best )y and exhibited the
came In triumph r 7 -
As well have a rattan," was the next remark.
"But, never mind; the mail's all right, and ws'U
.be apt to outride the storm now." Geu inhere,
Babes!" ' . ' -. ' .
-Awa y went the weH-tralnedr-fou r-i tt-ltantf-ii lrc
t kw'rrbUsy, and lecture twice to large audiences In
ostriches, beneath their feet the flying road, and
over their heads the majestic, sunlit orlflamme
of flying clouds; The lightning came upon us In
sheets. It played at hide and seek In the white
wool nubia in which your correspondent' had
'wrapped her head, aud, receding, left us blinded
by Its brilliancy, Heavens artillery followed
with prolonged salutes. The horses bent to their
work and shot forward on the double-quick.
-Now and then a single drop of water struck our
faces, cutting like electric needles. AVe gained
. upon the storm. We outrode It. It 'was 'a race
between clouds and horses, neck and neck, with
horses after a while ahead; But the clouds had
suddenly changed direction, or a different version
would be in order. The horses traveled over the
six miles Cayuse miles at that in a trifle Over
twenty-three minutes, .landiug us safely at
Palouse, where we took refuge In the Pioneer
otelhaTpfliirl
and a half years ago, had made Itself famous by
caving In upon our audience and letting every
body down Into the cellar. It is braced and
theroof atKttisteTrtnewalllng wind,' thinking
of the loved ones at home, with the feeling of
, - mingled p4lh and pleasure of one whose mind and
i; body are In different places. '
- - The storm rode on toward Moscow, where It
In the form of a sudden deluge. But the fleeces
that reached Xewlston were ground Into hall
"stones as large as little bowlders by the time they
were ready to fall; and we were, Indeed thankful,
when the news of the hall-storm In that city
Ctme to hand, that the wild winds had borne It
over our heads and left us high and dry during
the Journey, though we sympathised with the un
. fortunate people of Lewiston. ;
..The next morning found us aboard a rickety
mall 'cart, appropriately styled a buckboard,
Which bobs In tri-weekly trips bet ween-Palouse
-m&ftoltsx; antrwhlchHnearly deslroyed us before
Aslant, and It was Impossible to sit upon It, ex-
vept with the greatest difficulty, because of Its
propensity to pitch the passenger over upon, the
driver." To add to the discomfort, a high wind
was blowings and the rain ell in torrents, and
a more abject-looking spectacle .was I never wit
nessed than we are confident we presented when,
wet, chilled, wretched and rheumatic, we alighted
at the BaldwIn TIouse In Colfax and crept up
stftlrs to bless lheroprletdrl)rilie stage line. In
emphatic English because of his conscientious
disregard of the plainest terms of a mall contract.
Walla, and we learn Is -under bonds to provide
reasonably comfortable transportation for travel
ers on his route. May the twjsted seat of that
may the young upstart at the stage office in- Col
fax, who called himself his "agent" and Impu
dently refused to get a half-dollar job of repairs
put on it; be compelled to ride on a slanting board
just like It for the coming.century ! Allien 1
'-Rest and dinner at the Bald wln'House (Mr. and
Mrs. Ed. Beach, formerly of Albany, proprietors),
then we accept the standing invitation of our
well-known Wolfard friepds, where the rheumat-
ical consequences of that rickety ride pursue us
with twinges as acute as indescribable. It Is
impossible tOsrecover sufficiently to do our work
here and retulhi to Palouse on the 8th, as ad
vertised, but we brace up from sheer necessity to
WeTJaptlsrChurc wLTcIi more
rest becomes as Imperative as work,-and more
blessings on that buckboard are again in order. .
The trial of Nannie Thomas for the murder of
Uzzie Shanks twas In prospect, and was the talk
of the town. In the company of a large number
of other sight-seers, we visited thefairwuere'the
prisoner was la durance, and found her in the
front apartment directly opposite two grated cells,
in one of which an Indian and a Chinaman were
confined, and In the other three white meu We
were told that the woman was locked up at first
in the cell with the Chinaman I but we hope the I
La I. 4 fcj I. ... ..4. '!...-.. Jl
rvporv is uuuuc. pm wimiiuij aituaitti
badly enough when we saw her, with no furni
ture but a straw bed on. the floor and, Jia. privacy
of any kind no chance, even for a minute, to
obscure lienelf from the , gaze of five Imprisoned
men. - She was more self-possessed than, any of us
when the bolt shot back and we were admitted to
her presence.- She was neatly attired in mourn
ing, and Was easy 1n her manner and evidently
pleased to see 'the faces oTwomen. She baa been
con fi oeuV Jndam p a udd rearycels
months
ittnrlonger, but 11 Was finally decided by
Judge Wiogard that It was best to begtiToh the
8th, and get li over and off their hands as soon as
possible. Amoug the well-known lawyers present
were Hons. H T. Caton and-P-C. Sullivan, who
. . . . . . . .
appeared lor tneMieiendant; District Attorney
Allen, District Clef k Ayers, U. 8. Marshal Hop
kins, and also Messrs'Ellsworth, Hoover, Dool It
tie, Wolfard and Klncaid. The court-room was
crowded, during the triaVwomen and lawyers
around the bar, and men standing everywhere
else. We could only attend for a little while on
the 9th, as we had begun to recover from that
twisting ride, and had renewed an engagement to
lecture at Palouse, but. We Improved xjie time we
had, and must say that the eagerness ol some of
the witnesses to convict the defendant waa plaiii-
enough to be strong presumptive evidence In her
m -v M At 11 ' lit. a A
favor, une 01 inese -wining wi messes" was a J
severe cross-examination by Mr. Caton; but to no
purpose,4 She told her story plainly and stuck to
it well, but It had no weight with the Jury, as it
ttanch now, and we eleepjlnajltiiejoom men have MM mect h
defendant be hung. A Mr. Shelter was another
"willing witness." Yet they failed to establish a
single point that would convict Jhe woman of
complicity in the double murderfor which her
husband had already been-hanged; Brumfleld
' dropped some oOfs heavier fleeces of wetted wooTJlmJeloped from Kansas with Lizzie Shanks, and
in tne company 01 1 nomas and tils wife had come
westward. They had swapped names at Walla
Walla to quiet the fears of the old Lothario, who
feared that his step-son would follow him. This
exchange of names enabled the real Thomas to
draw Brumfleld's money from the Walla Walla
banks. ',.(" .' ; ?, , .
As an Inexorable business engagement calls us
to Palouse, we are compelled to let this matter rest
right here till our return, when we will resume
the subject Inclination must be held In steady
7g. tojhjjtf" We
lhat
louse he hind a pair of spanking trotters
would attract horse fanciers in Portland. v
Some eight or nine miles out from Colfax, and
just aa we were mounting to the brow of srtrttt, a
frightened horse came bounding toward our team,
trailing a long rope, to which was attached a
heavy log of wood aboutten feet long, that came
wlthlu a very few Inches of Ihe homes feet.- The
danger was over lii an lustant, but the chances for
a frightful smash-up were never better, and it was
a good while before the nerves of the team could
be quieted and their confidence restored. A crowd
of excited boys were met a mile further on, who
were rejoiced at our tidings of their runaway,
which, for aught we know to the contrary, Isnn
nlng still. "I .
Palouse City has hot improved as rapldiyas Its
former progress led us to hop. Other-towns-are-f xhrw
taking the lead. Yet a gootl saw-ml 11 (Powers &,
Co's), a planing mill (Johnson A Ettlnger's), two
hotels, and several stores do a gool business, the
one trouble in getting alohg being their distance
from market. Women oflVrNbutter and eggs for
the New Northwest till we are half tempted to
buy a sutler's wagon and go Into the provision
trade, ami haul their goods to Penawawa for ship
ment. There Is good pay for somebody In such a
venture, and we drop this hint for theheneflt of
anyone seeking employment who. can .own and
mansgo a team- ,
has
become I
x 1
hi
The Woman Suffrage movement
very popujar here, tlie men being as much
favof of It as the women. All are In favor ol or
ganization, and we hope soon to hear good news
irom them in that direction.
Sent Sunday at a Methodist camp-meeting
about two miles from town on the banks of the
winding Palouse, where a goodly number of coun-
try denizens were assembled under the leadership
of Elder Strong, whom we had formerly 'met In
Boise. In the evening, we accepted the escort of
our relat I ves, M rr and Mrs. Johnson, and repaired
to their beautiful home In Mountain Cove, about
Ave miles "from Palouse,. where We spent Monday
In thelrgenlal company, and returned In the
evening for a third lecture.'
i On -Tuesday- we -ea nie: baek - to- Col fax t i noar
cousins' wagon, In front of a load of furniture rom
the Palouse Manufacturing Company's works of
Johnson A Ettliiger. The' load was top-heavy,
but the journey was accomplished without acci
dent ; ;v 1
The murder trial was over, and Mrs. Thomas
was acquitted. Everybody was sneaking In praise
for fourteen I nf tha aririimont ri Inhn Allan tha iMnlliniiinltf
Prosecuting Attorney. But, if they praised the
argument of Mr. Allen, they, were enthusiastic
over that of Mrv Sullivan, which, is described as
logical, eloquent, .exhaustive and unanswerable.
Mr.. Sullivan Is considered the leading advocate
In Walla Walla," awaiting the .tardv
progress of that lumbering Imperfection of mascu
line mismanagement inappropriately styled the
law. She has grown JhlnandanxlouBT and has
suffered much from cold and filth and dampness.
There was strong talk of postponing the trial JarJa.-K4-,4i,, i i-
sustained his previous honors and won many new
ones. . The Jury had been burdened with an In
terminable array of Irrelevant testimony, hot one
word of which went to prove that Mrs. Thomas
had committed the murderfpr had even witnessed
It. xYet the excited populace demanded blood,
and the prisoner's fate hung upon a thread. With
the decision of the Jury, however, came a reaction.
Only here and there a man or woman could be
found who indulge I In bitter denunciation of the
accused and her Jury.' "'
: The Palouse folks say that Colfax (of which, In
truth, they are naturally Jealous) Is disappointed
because there was no hanging In prospect to bring
new business to the town on execution day. Of
course this is Idle banter, but It Is certain that
there h atr least one bloodthirsty man In Colfax.
His name Is George J. Buy, and he Is editor of
nil infiuK v iti iuui iiBiiniii wiiiimi sis a 1 1 si rna
sl 't . ... . V 1 - " '-" a-ssv
rtUMiinojomewi y'amomaia-aaru-rate
an
se the
Klury cheated him out of a first-class hanging re
Lport are so fearful that he pronounces himself al
most ready to be a woman's rights man; because
he thinks women w ould help him on In his blood
which, unfortunately for the acquitted woman,
was published with, some Inaccuracies that do
her great Injustice The Interpolations authorized ,
by herself and acquiesced In by the editor are In
italics, aud all friends of Justice are asked to Judge
of the matter upon Its merits. - . ' -
Old Mr. KrumflelJ waa not 'married to LI i tie. t 8h wm
his secontl wife's dausltter. He eloped with her, iin Am
txrwi Mit m nt Ajrvir ftn tle ralouwoUftfryJ' fVl he "
and she had entered Into a connpinMr to derojrtbeoM man
out to California and kill him for bis monejr, Wb?n w
got there, no suiuble place waa found (or th parpoae,anl
we then atarted Fr the I'alouae country. On the steamer ,
the old irentlrman became alarmed leal Llssleti hu.band
should foljow and kill him, and he anKtreated a change of
name, which waa asYeed to, but wed Id not change theus
until we left Walla Walla. The night we encamped en th
Touchet, Dud, my Vualmad, aald that waa a good place to
do the deed, but Little objected, and liud decoyed him out
of camp, killed htnv, took hla money, nadrr u J hlm,-anr -
hla body In the creek. We then pmweded to-
Hbenra, aa Indicated J n the teatlntony. Dim day, while -
there, my huiihaiid lolt me the whole story nbtmt kiUinp ""
hmmfleltl, osd ' said Little matt he killed or she might be
tray them. (. remonstrated wlth hlm and thought I had
peranaded blm not to do It. HOon after our experience wltb
the laat wltneaa before the killing, we enuamped at the .
place Indicated In the evidence, and while I was at the
wagon getting aome articles for aupperj and Utile wa
bendlag over the Are preparing the evening meal, my hna
band approached her from behind andhot b'r through
the head. When I heard the report, I knewwhat had hap
pened, and ruahed to the scene in frantic drapalr, crying,
MIUid, for Qod'a sake, what have you done He an
wered, "Shut'Vour mouth t" and plcketl -nphe body,
wnicli lie canrled aome rderana then dropped, lie again
plrkMLop..4lliri?dJLMP tbehlilaomeiorty teatwnei
he agafn dropped It, and called to me, saying, "-Nannie,
( d d n you I come and help me carry this. I ajialated
Im to the top of the hill, and he draggod It the remainder
the way. You aak me why I kept the secret, bat If yow
area married man you can realise my position. I loved)
my hoaband, and wou-ld have died rather than betray blm.
Tliu9one of the most horrible mysteries thai
has everXhuug ujon the hearts of a people has
been partially solved. The suspicion thatThomaa
had Intended t6 murder his wife instead of Liuia
Shanks Is forcedoipon us. . That Mrs. Thomas was
fearfully Jealous of the two, Is apparent. That
they Were enamored of each other, was generally
believed. If he. killed, the dead man's paramour
on purpose,- It must have been because of a recent
misunderstanding betweeivthem. Ills confession
to-his wife-would IndlcateHhlr1Bur iris more"
probable that he mistook the one for the other in
the gathering darkness, and, like Laura . Fair,
made a mistake in the killing. The women were
dressed very nearly alike, and the villain shot at
the victim In the dusk, of the evening through
sun-bonnet that concealed tier features! Of the
truth of this we shall never know; but one cannot
but admire the heroism of thg child-wife (she waa
but seventeen when the deed was done), who held
her peace even to the risk of encountering the fa
tal halter rather JhanT Wtray the brute of a .husr
band who had committed the blackest crime in
the catalogue. She Is now In the motherlyj.
" Mrs, PLLLmtUm-4tZffi
where she will remain until remittances from her
howlTniotherwlll enable her to return to Kansas.
What a bitter experience for such a .mere. child I
No wonder a Jury would pot convict her. Messrs.
Caton and Sullivan are Justly proud of Ijer acquit
tal, and the verdict, though a surprise at first, la
commended now by the best citizens here...
Thin letter is too lengthy to admit . of the de
scription of Colfax, for which the reader, may look.
In the next issue, Na. B, D..
Colfax. June l.V 1RS1. ' ' ' ' L
can't risk that buckboard afalntniiMi
lam b-I Ike and genTIeHaeTfTOnd. IPuor BuyafT-Heiy131"106"
reminds us of a certain farmer's old white horse,
that was much given to balking. A veterinary
isurgeoBofTeml enee toeure ths-horseofhifbnd
habit, ana by way or fulfilling his contract be
clianged the color of the animal to a bright bay.
Tlie horse workeI pretty well for a while; but by
and by he got used to the change and balked again.
I TIrJarmjrjmTved Jjahlyjor ajyhljenjl
said, snaking tils head, "I'm afraid there's a good
deal of the old white horse In him yet'! . After
Buys had blownJhJmself out in Eugene, we hoped,
his radical change of location would cure him of
his chronic tyranny, suspicion and stupidity,
put alas 1 we're afraid there's a good deal of the
old Eugene character in him yet. ;
Charley Hopkins is making a lively paper of
the?qeererrHrrau It as rulyTlQTlngnLh'muiF
Miss lUchel JL Bddleyof the Faculty 'or the,..?
Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, re
ports that twenty-four of the graduates of that
school are receiving as much as one thotisand dol--lars
a year, and less than two thousand ; twenijr I
as much as two thousand, and less than three n
I thousand! Cgnjas much as Uireejhoiijufi, and
less man jour tnousanu; .live as muchas four
thousand, and less than -five thousand; three as
muclr as five thousand,- aud less than fifteen 1 .
thousand; four between fifteen ami twenty
thousand; while three of the alumni-have ac
cumulated enough to allow them to retire from
le-sXaCTrbT
the Llddle brothers, and bowl away toward Pa
Tle women of Portland, Me,, several years age T
petitioned the city government , to apo!nt av
woman to take charge of women arresied by theC"
police. Aiier ren t f ror t r t Iwywtrw i U w ed. to
have the woman, provided they paid forherserv
Ices out of their own pockets. Sluce then, tie
city pays one-half of her salary and the women
thiLSlly'L Jhd av IvoCelxa)
the municipal election, the city would have paidT"
the woman as it does Its policemen. ;
Mrs. Sarah Little is the Superintendent of the
Wisconsin Blind Asylum, which was burned and
rebuilt a few years since. . Her husband, who1 was 7
then at Its head, died soon after, leaving a family
of little children. As his tuccessor Mrs. IJttlev
has managed everything . o aatlefactori
tconomiraiiysnpBrlntsnrtlng. io msawtlwe
I A 1
WaT-TTSmhTtHa the
m -y --J -vaa wvvas I asltim 1st M nfaH mi aa ka J AJ . a
I Thomas andtalned the following ex slanation, J lh?ntut!uhVBtat pu-
A .. -
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