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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1906)
THURSDAY, JUNE 7, 190O, THE MORNING ASTORIAN, ASTORIA, OREGON. 8 v. While the Jury WasOut By William Frederick DU ; CoWrlyM lV B. . 3foUur (Jo. X HH mldmornlna; Colorado ami beat down ujon a restless lit tlo group of inna on the steps of tho Fort Morton court- bouse, uitou tlm dimly Cottonwood trees growing dispiritedly on each aide of tbe rond that stretched away from the little sandy aiinr to become, a few hundntd yards liolow, tho main street of Hit) town, uml uiMiu thu tin roof of tbe two atory brick or frame store on arli side of It, The Jury lind boon out Ovcrnlht and, althouifb It wua 10 O'clock In the morning, bad given 110 Ign. 'I'lit) primmer bad not yet boon brought up from tho couuty Jail near by, and tho group of mon directly In terested In tlio proceedings were alt ting and lounging about tho steps, smok- ing ami carrying on desultory conver atlon, Tho district Judge, alttlng on tlia top atop, was an eastern college man, almut forty years of age, once an athlete and Mt 111 with trim, slender figure. Thi) only touch of the western Id bla dress waa tho gray alouch bat worn atralght and firmly aet upon bla ' brown balr. A pretty bit of grating land," be waa aaylng to tho ahorlff a be looked out over tlm level prairie, dotted here and there with an adobe ahark aud oc COilonnl herds of rattle. Tlm sheriff, a brawny, blue shirt ed jrouug fellow of thirty, with unkempt balr and iiniHtnehe, uncrossed bla boot d lega, straightened out one of them, pushed bla Im nd deep into the pocket of bla corduroy trouwra and yawned. Aa bla roat waa thrust back wltb tho movement tho butt of bla 41 ralllr "gun" might Ih seen. WlUiout reply ing, bo drew out a large allver watch aud Mud led It absently. The amnll loa among tho group of banuere on In front of the etope wers beguiling themselves loaning ball, and tho proMtvutlng attorney, a young grad uatn from the east who had come up from Pueblo, called out: "Here you are, Johnnie! (Jive ua a catch!" The small boy who bad Uie ball grin ned sheepishly aud thrw It at him. "Harder; harder!" auld the young lawyer cheerily. "That's no way to pitch a ball. Throw It In tiila way." And the boy'a banda were acorcbed at be caught the return. "Hey, klu yon pitch a currer tie aaked. "It'a se you do It." "All right," aald Hardy, rlalug good naturedly and taking off bla coat "Here you go. Hold on." he added. -You couldn't catch It If I did. Here, Mr. Hackett; go out there and let me throw you a few curve." Tbe other luugbed at thla, for Hack tt, tbe aenlor counael for the defenae, alao up from Pueblo for the trial, waa an enormoua middle aged Hoosler, all feet two In height and welghlug 2TiO poti ndii. Ho had a maaa of crisp black balr and wore a black broadcloth frock coat and trousers, low turned down collar and ready made tie. He waa alow moving and ponderoua, though forceful and ehrewd lu bla profession, deliberate of speech and anythlug but an athlete. "Here, I'll catch you." exclaimed the Junior counael, Wake, a aomowhat lanky, powerfully built westerner, rls- Ing and depositing hla rough brown Back coat beside liurdy'a. "flee, you've got muacle!" be added, rubbing hla handa after the firat pau. "Hurray !"yelled the email boy. "That waa a corker. Olt on to them curves, Clarence!" he cried In worahlpfnl ad alratlou. "Wouldn't mind a little of that exer clee myself." aald the Judge, rlalng In , 4tercstedly and hesitating on tbe atepa. i "WliJ not have a little game while we are waiting?" aald Hardy, half Jok ingly. "Come on, aherlff!" Moved by a common Impulse tbe lit tle group brightened up, threw away their cigar enda aud moved half apolo getically Into the aandy square. At tbe left of the courthouse and adjoining It waa a amall open field of well trodden, dusty grass, whore a acratch ball game waa played occasionally and where horses were tethered during court One of the amall boya waa dlspatchod for a aultoblo bat and ball and a catcher's glove, and by the time the aides were arranged ho como rnclug back with them, highly excited, followed by sev eral other small boys. No one bad tbe slightest Idea of be ing drawn Into a ganio when be left tbe atepa, but the reaction bod worked insidiously. Tbe trial bud been a par Icularly exciting one, and those who bad followed it were tired after the three days' strain In the III ventilated courtroom. The sympathies of all had undoubtedly been with the prisoner, al though tbe state had been vigorous In Its prosecution and tbe Judge had con scientiously done bis duty. Murder bad been committed at Jamestown Creek a few months previously, though a change of venue bad beon obtained to Fort Morton, the prisoner's own town. Coppcrthwalt bad always been a quiet, law abiding ranchman. Ht was under thirty years of age, big, broad shouldered and swarthy, diffi dent In manner and somewhat alow of speech, though he bad been slowly and thoroughly angered In a quarrel over a bunch of cattle. Six or eight steers bad been branded twice, one mark over the other, and the dispute arose ver this. Duke, tno vlcum of the shooting, had borne a bad reputation, Adjhe ylH trM .waiusuiiUj'.iHon or" loss unnaay during hH" Infrequent visits, lie baa killed bis man and bad been known to boast of It several times In Flynn's saloon. After this last quar rel ho had sworn to shoot Coppcrthwalt on sight. The quarrel had occurred In the morning. That afternoon Copper thwalt had Juat left the Eagle hotel to mount bis mustang tied to tho hitching pout lu front, when Duke happened to turn the corner. "Here cornea Duke!" a bystander ex claimed. Copperthwalt started and caught sight of bis adversary. Duks stopped abort and put bis band behind blm, and Copperthwalt, quick as flash, fired once and put a bullet be tween Duke's eyes. Ho bad offered no resistance to arrest and now wss In tho rough little Jail near by whllo tbe twelve good men aud true deliberated In tbe hot back room under the tin roof of the rourthouee. "I guesa my bands are a little too soft to play," said the Judge good ua turedly, feeling a qualm as to the ap proprlateneaa of hla Joining actively In the aport, "but I'll bo umpire If you want me," Tbe two teama were quickly formed, tbe Comanchea against the Hloux. Tbe filoux won the ton and took tho field and the Comanchea were struck out In one-two-three order. When the aides changed. Hardy, tbe prosecuting attor Bey, took the box, and ISIuke, the Jun lor counsel for tbe defenae, caught him After much urging the Judge hud con sented to preside over first base, since Mr. Hackett bad positively refuaed to play and had been made umpire by general acclaim. As soon ss bis honor found himself coatlcas and on the field bo threw himself Into the battle with the greatest euthualaam. There waa many an evidence of "softness" In the condition of tho play He fired onct and put a bulUt betuwn Duke 1 ey. era and a noticeable tendency to let swift balls go by rather than grapple them with lingers unuaed to the bard Impact. Wild throws to bases were not Infrequent, and In conaequeuce there were much bnse stealing and hi larious sarcaam from the players on both teama. The official relations of these men were for the time lost sight of. They were merely healthy, enthu siastic Americans, feeling the Joy of tingling blood In their veins, the test of friendly competition and of physical exercise. The runs were frequent and the er rors numerous, and at the end of the third Inning ao many hands were sore and so many arms growing stiff that It waa mutually decided by the teams to call tbe next Inning the last The score stood eleven runs for the Coraanches (the team made up of Judge Hllller, Hardy, Blake, the keeper of the Eagle hotel and one or two other witnesses), nd nine for tbe Sioux, the battery of which was formed by the court clerk and the sheriff, whose heavy long boots, extending far up Inside his cor duroys, detracted somewhat from any grace of movement be might have had as he lent his entire soul and mind to the clerk's erratic curves, ably backed up by the assistant prosecutor, the ste nographer and several witnesses. At the beginning of the fourth and concluding Inning the deputy sheriff had come up with tbe prisoner, who waa not haudcuffed, and they became Interested onlookers. Copperthwalt's nerve had been superb throughout the trial, and ho seemed to take au intense Interest In the game. Just after play had commenced Hardy knocked a hot grounder to "short," who fielded the ball fiercely to first base. The baseman caught It nut ting Hardy out and then quietly re marked: "Thut settles me! Look at this thumb!" "See here, old man," Hardy panted, examining it, "It's broken." "Well, never mlud. Let somebody take my place. Here, some one you, Mulligan. Come and take the base. I'm out of It." "Guess not," said Mulligan, the deputy. "I ain't played bull since" "tioou with tho gumo!" cried a dozen others excitedly. "Homo one, any one, take tho base!" "Here, Copperthwalt, play first base. We've only got to hold 'em down this Inning, and we'll beat 'em easy. There's one out already." Copperthwalt looked uncertainly at the deputy, then tt tbe Judge, and quickly pulled off bis coat and stepped to tbOlf t. Ul faxa JbAWfli'ltirbT the prison pallor; and this warnFsuu light and fresh air seemed wonderfully sweet to bis spirit Taken suddenly way from the actlvs, vigorous life of tbe ranch, for seven months confined la a dreary prison, tbe world had seemed gradually to recede from bla Ufa. This sudden contrast of green, open field, ringing with the hearty voices of his fellow men, and the vision of the free, limitless prairie on all sides was a tragic one to the man. lie glanced at tbe players about blm, paualng In the game and thinking only of it "Go ahead," be aald quietly. "I'll play." The Comancbes failed to make a run during tbe rest of the Inning, and when tbe Bloui came In they made two runs almost at once, tying tho score, amid great enthusiasm. As Copperthwalt came to the bat It was evident that the psychological mo ment of the sport bad arrived. Every thing bad been completely forgotten save tbe game, and so Intense was the Interest that tbe approach of the court house Janitor was entirely unnoticed. ue bad come slowly down from tbe steps and, after a few moments of bewildered surprise, stood leaning against a tree near the catcher, watch- lug tbo prisoner as he slowly moved the bat backward and forward over the plate. "One ball!" yelled Mr. Hackett, mop ping his neck with his handkerchief. "Two balls!" "Btrlko one!" "Three balls!" Crsckl Tbe ball flew straight from tbe bat high above tbo right fielder's head, and Copjierthwolt wss safe on second be fore the ball was fielded In. Tho Janitor bigan to grow very un easy aud edged alowiy down the field toward the first baseman. Tbe crowd yellwl aa Copperthwalt, still panting, edged off towurd third. Harvey turn ed suddenly and tried to catch blm napping, but In his excitement he throw a little wild, the baseman missed it and Copperthwalt reached third amid much uproar. The Sioux were all gathered now In a fruntlc crowd between third aud borne, yelling like their prototypes, and the Comancbes wero also noisy. "Go It, CoppeTthwalt," shouted bis team mates. "Get home and we'll win the game! Steady, now! Look out, look out! Dou't let them catch you!" ".Now, Hnrdy," pleaded tbe Judge, "for heaven's sake, play ball! Don't let blm make this run!" "Steady, Hardy!" aald tbe catcher. "Watch my signs." Tbe Janitor bad crept up close to first base. "Bay, Judge," be whispered to his honor, who was now dancing like an Indian and watching every move of the pitcher and Copperthwalt with de vouring anxiety "say, Judge, the Jury baa come In and la ready with the verdict" "Oh, to h with the Jury!" snapped out the Judge. "Go on with tbe game!" Hardy slammed in tbe ball straight over the plnte, tbe baseman bunted It for a sacrifice bit and Copperthwalt. who had crept nearly halfway, rushed In and slid triumphantly to the plate on his stomach. "Safe!" yelled the umpire, and pan demonium broke loose. I "I guess safe's the word, all right," muttered the Janitor to tho deputy, j who had Instantly started for the j prisoner. "I had a wink from the fore-1 man of the Jury as he came In." Death From Lockjaw , never follows an injury dressed with i Iiticklcn'g Arnica Salve. Its antiseptic I and healing properties prevent blood J poisoning. Chas. Oswald, merchant, of Picnsselaersville, N. Y, says: "It cured Seth Burch, of this place ,of the ugliest sore on his neck I ever saw." Cures Cuts, Wounds, Burns and Sores. 25o ! at Charles Rogers, drug store. The Pittsburg girl who pays $100.00(1 j for her foreign title probably understand that the divorce sometimes costs ' $1,000,000. Deadly Serpent Bites are as common in India as are stomach and liver disorders with us. For the lat ter however there is a sure remedy: Electric Bitters; the great restorative medicine, of which S. A. Brown, of Ben-, nettsville, S. 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Trial bottl free. A Wonderful Book of 400 Ps$es Thoroughly Illustrated By 265 Actual Photographs taken at the time of the Awful Catastrophe This great book which retails at $1.50 and so much desired by every one is now offered as a premium with The Morning' Astorian In order to get the Book subscribe for the MORNING ASTORIAN at the regular subscription rate, 65c a month and 50c addditional to cover cost of express age. Old subscribers can get this book by paying the additional charge of 50c, Only a limited number of books will be given away come early and avoid the rush.