Roseburg review. (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, February 27, 1885, Image 1

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    HAS TUB.
FIN EST JOB OFFICE
IN DOUGLAS COUNTY. ...
CARDS. BILL HEADS, LEGAL BLANKS,
And other PriQtlogiacla Hag
Large ani Hsayj Pesters ni SiswIanl-HHs,
Net!y nd expeditiously ese-wrted -AT
PORTLAND PRICES.
BY-
J. R. N. BELL, - - Proprietor.
On Test -Biz
Months -Three
Months -
$2 50
1 50
1 00
These are the term of those paying In adrince The
Review offers flue indaoetneuta to ftdTertisero. Terms
reaaonikble.
VOL. IX.
ROSEBURG, OREGON, FlilDi :Y:5' FEBRUARY 27, 1885.
NO. 47.
13 ISSUED
FRIDAY. MORNINGS,
Review
X
J. JASKULEK,
: " " ' PRACTICAL'
Watctaater, Jeweler ani Oiiticiaii,
Dealer lu Watches, Clocks, Jewelry,
Spertaeles and Eyeglasses.
: akd a mix urn or
Cigass,l'6bacco & Fancy Goods:
. - -' V '
Th only reliable (Jntoraer in town for the proper adjust
ment of Spectacle ; always on band.
Depot f th Genuint Brazilian ?bbl Spec
tacles and Eyeglasses.
Offick First Poor South of Postofflce,
IEOSEBUKU. OREGOX.
LMIGENBEBG'S
Boot and Shoe Store
".'.'. ;. ItOSEIIUKU. OREGOar,-:.! v e,
Oa Jackson Street, Opposite the Post Office,
Keeps on hand the largest and best assortment of
Eastern and Haii Francisco Boots and
. Shoes, alters. Slippers,
- And everything in the Boot and Shoe line, and
SELLS CHEAP FOR CASH.
loots and Shoes Made to Order, and
Perfect Fit Guaranteed.
I use the Best of Leather and Warran all
my work.
Repairing Neatly Dona, on Short Notice.
I keep always on hand
TOYS AND NOTIONS.
Musical Instruments and Violin Strings
a specialty.
. LOUIS I,AEXBEItU.
CREEK PIILLS
CLARK & BAKER, Props.
Having purchased the above named mills of
K. Stephens & Co.. we are now prepared to fur
nish any amount of the best quality of
LUMBER
ever offered to the public in Douglas county.
We will furnish at the mill at the following
prices:
No. 1 -sough lumber . ......... . . ... ...... .$12 V M
No. 1 flooring. 6 inch $24 M
No. I flooring, 4 inch ...$26 31
No. 1 flnsihing lumber. . . . . .$20 M
No. 1 finishing lumber dressed on 2 sides $24
No. 1 finishing lumber dressed on 4 sides $26 V M
CLARK & BAKER.
L. F. LANE.
JOHN LANE.'
LANE & LANE,
attorneys" at law.
Hotel.' - -v. . -v.,,
a. . i -t -. ,V ", , " . :
CHARLEY HADLEVS
13 13 JE H II O I
Next Door Live Oak Saloon.
Shaving and Hair Cutting in a Workmanlike
Manner.
ROSEBURGi OREGON.
JOHN FRASER,
Home Hade Furniture,
WILBUR. OREGON.
OPH0LSTE1Y, SPRING MATTRESSES, ETC.;
' . Conat&utly on hand.
FURNITURE
I have the Best
STOCK OF FURNITURE
. South of Portland.
And all of my own manufacture.
. No Two Prices to Customers.
Real dtU of IXmglaa County are reqnested to give me a
call before purchasing euewhere.
ALL WORK WARRANTED.
DEPOT HOTEL,
Oakland, Orejeou.
RICHARD THOMAS, Proprietor.
This Hotel lias been established for a nuni-
ber of years, and has become very pop
' ular with the traveling public.
FIRST-CLASS SLEEPING ACCOMMODATIONS
. ? THE
Table supplied with the Best the Market affords
-Hotel at the Depot of the Railroad.
H. C. STANTON,
DEALER, IK
Staple Bry O-oods,
. Keep connUntly on hand a general assortment of
Extra Fine Groceries,
WOOD, WILLOW AND GLASSWARE,
ALSO
CROCKERY AND CORDAGE,
A full stock of
SCHOOL r BOOKS,
'.- i
Such aa required by the Publk County Schools.
All kinds of Stationery, Toys and
. Fancy Articles.
TO SUIT BOTH YO17N0 AJJD OLD. ....
Buys and Sells Legal Tenders, furnishes
cneees on Jfortiand, ana procures
Drafts on San Francisco.
SEEDS ! SEEDS !
ALL KINDS OF THE BEST QUALITY.
ALL ORDERS
Promptly attended to and goods shipped
. with care.
Address,
IIACIIEXY St BEXO,
Portland, Oeegon.
LIKE HIS MOTHER USED TO
MAKE.
"I was burn In Indhiny," aaya a stranger,
lanlc and lim.
As us .elh-rs in the restaurant was kind o'
. guy'ui' him.
And undo Jake -was slldin' lmn another
pumpkin pie
And a' extra cup o coffee, with a twinkle in
hia eye .
"I was born in Indlany more'n forty year
' ' ago ".
And 1 haftit been back In twenty and I'm
workln' baek'arJs alow;
But I've et In every restaurant twixt here
- and Santv Fee,
And I want to state this coffee tastes like
gittln' home to me!
Pour us oi t another, daddy," says the feller,
' warrain' tip,
A-speakim,' Croat a,aucerrult as uncle tuck
his cup ' " ... - , - - -
"When I set d oursign out vender," he went
oa, to Uncle Jake .
" 'Come in and git Home coffee like your
mother used to make'
1 thought of wy t,ld mother, and the Posey
County farm,
And me a little kid agn, a-hangin' in her
. arm. - ' '- - -
As she set the pot a-biiiu' broke the eggs
an' poured 'em In"
And the feller bind o' halted, with a trimble
In his chin.
And undo Jako lid fetched the feller's coffee
. back, and stood
As solemn, ler a minute, aa a undertaker
would; ,
Then he sort o turned and tlp'oed to'rds tha
kilc ien dcorr-anl next,
Here comes 1.1 old wae out with hlm a-rub-bin
of her specs
And she rushes for the stranger, and she hoi-,
lers out "It's him!
Thank God we've met himcoran'! Don't
- you know your mother, Jim!"'
And the teller, as he gi auoed her, says: "You
bet 1 ha n't forgot
Int, wipin' o' her eyes, saya he: "You cof
fee 8 mighty hot!"
i -T-Jifimc WUcomb Riley.
A DEADLY ' AMBUSCADE.
How "Boss" Wright Was Killed in
Early California Days.
A Typical Pioneer Sheriff An Outlaw's Ka-
cape, and the Fatal Attempt to lie.
capture Illm Ills Ultimate
Tragic End.
One dark, rainy morning in Febru
ary, a few years ago, I was aroused
from a deep slumber by the gradually
dawning consciousness that what had
been, in my dreams, a mixture of a
thunder-storm and a boiler-shop, was,
in reality, but the bony knuckles and
thick-soled shoes of tlieporter playing
a discordant duet on my chamber door.
When the clerk retired to bed, some
time in the small hours of the night, he
left at my request, certain hieroglyph
ics on the.oflice slate, which the porter
interpreted to mean that there was a
lady -or gentleman in -No, 27 who - de
sired to be called for1 the Marysville
st-age; and the- porter was now simply
endeavor. ng, genth . as henodoubt im
agined, to arouse the occupant of No.
27 to such a condition that he could
impart to h'm the intelligence that the
stajre would be at the door in half an
hour. Having succeeded in awakening
not only the drowsy occupant of the
bombarded room, but etery one sleep-
lag on the second floor ot the hotel, be
explained the object of his clatter in a
voice indicating an .insurable pair ol
lungs, and then stumped his way
through the passage and down the un
carpeted halls, followed by muttered
imprecations which floated through the
open transoms on both sides of the
hall. Had I been a lady which,
fortunately for myself, and perhaps
Others, I am not- I woold undoubt
edly have , fainted from fright As it
was, l arose hastily anu uressea my
self as quickly as possible, desirinsr to
get down by the oflice tire to subdue
my chattering teeth; and to devote as
much of the limited half hour as there
remained to preparing myself for the
coming journey with a not breakfast.
Both of these objects were accom
plished, and I was at peace with all
the world and hnancially square with
the host of the Union, the jolly and
portly NatVziger, when the slage'drovo
up to the door.
the stage.
It had been raining in an intermit
tent manner for nearly a week, and
the night before a steady shower had
set in one of the quiet, persistent, un-
changable kind, which is only encoun
tered along the base and sides of the
Sierra and Cascade Mountains. It was
still raining, and the driver, whose oil
skin hat was shedding lit til streamlets
of water upon his oilskin coat, told me
I would find room on the inside, a piece
of news which was, under the circum
stances, exceedingly welcome. This
was not one of those Concord coaches,
mounted on husrt? pyramids of springs,
which cause it to toll like a vessel in a
gentle swell, but a small, dead-axe mud
wagon, containing two 'seats and no
perceptible springs, a vehicle whose
perpend cuiar ami lateral movements
are made in such an abrupt and impul
sive manner that they can neither be
anticipated nor concurred in; they can
simply be endured, provided one keeps
his teeth carefully closed and at a safe
distance in front of his tongue. That
is the kind of conveyance which is used
during the rainy season, and is called
a "stage" with as much courtesy as is
bestowed upon the reddest or yellowest
four-seated, double-decked Concord.
I pushed aside the wet canvas fiaps
and gazed into "the interior, finding
three men occupying three seats, just
leaving room, for me beside one of
them. Before I had fairly wedged my
valise under the seat and myself on the
top of it, the driver started "his team of
fou'r down the street and aeross the
bridge leading over Deer Creek at a
rattling pace, the mud and water flying
from the wheels in a perfect shower.
The three men who were my traveling
companions were encased in : three
heavy canvas coats, and were industri
ously pulling at three pipes of assorted
sizes and materials. That they were
miners was evident, and I soon learned
that one of them was , the superintend
ent of a hydraulic mine at Blue Tent,
and the others were pipemen at -some
other claim whose name I have for
gotten. I opened the conversation bj
remarking that my pipe was in m)
valise, and if they would excuse mj
lack of style I would smoke a cigar, a
the same time biting the end of! one
of a half dozen some r friend had given
me the night before to smoke during
tne trip. .. ;
"Smoke away," said- one of them;
Vit looks as st.rrno - na a -nine. T diil
smoke, and soon found it in every re
spect equal to its looKsv we were thus
Tuacftd at nnn rn o cnriaKIn tnrtrr
" uvu"""" vxvv.0,
and conversation flowed easily on the
Variniis' txTVfa ii crtiroataA v fVio nmniir.
" uugwwu J . wiinivi
ous slight incidents of the journey, and
uujects ooservea as we passea along.
; OVER A ROUGH ROAD.
There are a number of stage roads
leading j out of Kevada City, and the
best one is that which connects that
thriving mining town with its prosper
ous rival, the quartz-mining, city, , of
Grass Valley, L though it would have
been hard to have convinced us of that
fact that rainy morning, as the stage
splashed : through mud-holes . .. and
b ounced -over corduroys, holders,
stumps ' and - other- appurtenances of a
mountain highway.; The conversation,
which filtered in short, jerky utterances
through the jolts, or, technically speak
ing, the "dips, spurs and angles, rami
fications and sinuosities" of the mud
wagon, was extremely diversified,
touching upon many subjects; but one
topic I will never forget, a tragic tale
related by one of my companions, the
details of which, a I afterward learned
by careful inquiry, were true in every
particular.
Just on the edge of Nevada City we
passed opposite tne mouth of a gulch,
iown which flowed a tributary to Deer
3reek, and across which, some dis
nce up the stream, was stretched a
long, high trestle bridge, a portion of
the narrow-gauge railway which con
nects that region with the Central Pa
cific at Colfax. "That is Gold Run, I
suppose?" I ventured, as I held the
side curtain back so as to get a better
view. ' ' .
- "Yes, that is the famous Gold Run,
one of the richest diggings ever worked
in California," .answered the oldest of
my companions, whose appearance in
dicated that he had knocked about the
mines since the argonautic days of '49.
"Iiirly in- 1850 they were known
through the mines as the 'Deer Creek
Pound Diggings. " '
"Pound diggings?" I said, interroga-
on r o
tively.
"Yes; when claims averaged a pound
of grold dust per day to the hand, the
locality was generally spoken of as
"pound diggings."
"It was all worked out long ago, I
suppose?
"lTe3, with the exception of certain
hydraulic operations, which might be
carried on there yet. Rich as it was,
it is more famous for being the scene
of the tragic death of Boss Wright
than for its great yield of gold,"
"Who was Boss Wright oneof these
highwaymen who, I am told, infested
the mountain highways and trails in
the early days?"
, "Not by any means. He was .the
Sherin- of Nevada County. There was
a highwayman mixed up in the affair,
however; the noted Jim Webster, of
whom you have no doubt heard." -
"I can't say that 1 ever heard of the
gentleman, but go ahead and tell us the
story, if you can manage to squeeze it
in between bumps. We have plenty of
time, and I would like to hear it"
"BOSS" WRIGHT.
And between bumps I was told the
following story:
The Sheriff of Nevada County in 1856
was W. W. Wright, familiarly called
"Boss Wright" by every one. He was
a man of great integrity of character,
firmness and courage, and discharged
the duties of his ofiice so thoroughly
and yet so kindly, that every one, in
cluding the numerous prisoners from
time to time under his official charge,
loved and respected him. Every one
was eager to do a favor for Boss Wright
An incident w.n . illustrate tms teeiing
exactly. In July, 1856, the city of - Ne
vada was devastated by fire, and the
Court-house, which had lust been erect
ed at a cost of $50,000, was burned, to
gether with other property , to the
amount of $ 1,500,000. When it became
evident the Court-house would burn,
Wright rushed to the jail to liberate
the prisoners. He had been working
desperately in his endeavor to subduo
the flames, and was completely ex
hausted, so that after opening the jail
door he fell fainting near the entrance,
overcome with : the smoke and heat.
Among the prisoners was a powerful
man namoH fl&nrcrt. T.owia wVirv wo a
confined.under indictment for murder
and had been denied the privilege of
bail, instead 01 making his escape
when thus liberated, Lewis returned.
lifted the unconsc'ous Sheriff upon his
broad shoulders,, and carried him down
to Deer Creek, where he bathed his
temples with water till he revived
When he saw that Wri&ht had fully re
covered, he said: "Now you are all
right, boss, where shall I go?"
"Go where you please," was the re
ply, "only appear before the court on
AJond ay morning.
He actually showed up the next Mon
day, accordinor to his instructions. Tha
court convened in a ouuding which had
been spared by the flames, and you may
imagine that thefe were neither gowns
nor wigs to lend dignity , to the occa
sion. The JudgeV nHcs Searls, so well
known in political and judicial life, who
had lost his all- in the fire, presided
without a coat, and was arrayed in a
blue flannel shirt, borrowed for the oc
casion. Coats were rare among the
officers of die court, and what few there
were looked as though they had held a
discussion with: a barbed wire fence.
When Lewis put in his appearance, the
grateful Sheriff related the story of hia
heroism; and Judge bearls at once ad
mitted him to bail, the bystanders
eagorly offering themselves as bonds
men. Lewis had been a saloon-keeper
in Nevada City, and had killed a man
under peculiar circumstances. One
night a piize-fighter, having filled himself-with
an assortment of bug, taran
tula and other ju;oes kept in the town,
entered the saloon and declared his in
tention to whip the proprietor. Lewii
d d not itop to argue the question with
the belligerent sportsman, but immedi
ately drew a revolver from beneath the
counter and shot him dead. " These
facts appeared in the trial, and, in view
of his conduct at the fire, it only took
the jury five minutes to bring m a ver-
uict oi noc gumy.
- THE OUTLAW.
Every story has to have its villain.
and this is no exceptk
The individual in thi
Webster, a. celebrate
every one residing in I
Counties in 1855-6,
, isHthe nlv
ise was Jim
jutlaw, whom
ada and Yuba
remembers..
Early in 1855 Jim wj uietly mining
in Timbuctoo, apparc' ' !as harmless
and free from guile ai miner, when
he lost his claim in i vkispute. This
seemed to embitter hisV pirit and make
him reckless. The woilhy citizens of
Timbuctoo had just laicfcout a new cem-
etery, surrounaea oy ; a vpretry ience,
and overlooking the town from the
slope of a sunny hill. There it lay
with its gate invitingly?open,-while no
one seemed to accept its hospitalities
and locate a claim among the manza
nita bushes which covered it This was
an evil which Webster felt called -upon
to correct Tie took his revolver and
and went out prospecting for candi
dates. In a neighboring ravine he en
countered three of j..thAJM- who had
wronged hnw 'l hf ys v :: oq much
eagerness to jump bis claitn', he thought
they also might like to locate ono
among the manzanitas on . the hilL
Three shots from the revolver laid
three corpses in the ravine, and pro
vided material for inaugurating the
graveyard with all due solemnity. This
was the beginning, and now the "silent
majority," from their narrow homes
on the brow of the hill, gaze down
upon the deserted streets and crumbling
ruins of Timbuctoo, as one by one tho
minority desert the old haunts and are
carried up the hill to be laid away in
their midst
After this exploit Webster took to
the road, and lived upon the contribu
tions of the traveling public, lie de
voted his attention chiefly to the moun
tain roads of reveda County, the one
we are now traveling being a favorite
with him. In this wilderness of forest
and brush, over mountains and through
deep canyons and rocky gorges, it was
almost impossible to pursue a fleeing
robber with any hope, of success! It
was a veritable robbers' paradise. A
price was put upon his head, and many
efforts were made to earn it; but no one
dared to hunt him openly as his repu
tation as a marksman and his reckless
courage held them at bay. He fre
quently entered the various towns and
mining camps, and walked boldly
through the streets, no one feeling per
sonally Called upon to molest him. As
sociated with him were a number of
hard characters, such as invariably
gather about an outlaw who has the
ability and courage to lead and control
them. But there is an end to every
thing, and one day Jim was pounced
upon and turned over to the care of
Boss Wright This was a few weeks
after the big fire which destroyed the
Court-house, and Webster was confined
in a temporary calaboose. He and a
fellow-prisoner took French leave one
night, but were traced to Smartsville
by Hank Plumer and Bruce Garvey,
and captured while quietly sleeping,
anh wif.h a hie sir-slinfttfir nnrlAr hia
pillow. This Flank Plrpier was quite a
noted case. At this time he was Mar
shal of Nevada City; but a few years
later he was suspected of hold
ing too intimate relations with, a
gang of thieves, ; and was finally
caught in the act of robbing the very
people who had elected him to protect
them. He evacuated at once, and went
to Idaho,- where he became Sheriff of a
county, and flourished as a member of
a gang of road agents and horse thieves,
whom he protected by means of his
official position. . Finally the people
learned the true inwardness of the sit
uation, and organized a Vigilance Com
mittee, which strung up Sheriff Plumer
and about a dozen of his gang, which
put an end to the whole business.
THE AMBUSCADE.
' Well, to return to Webster. He only
remained in jail a few days. One
uight he again madehis escape," ac
companied by two others who belonged
to Tom Bell's gang. You've heard of
Tom Bell, I suppose?"
"Yes, I've heard of him, but nothing
very definite."
Well, I'll tell you about him some
other time. I mustn't mix him up with
tho present story. You can well im
agine the excitement when it wa
learned that Webster had escaped
again. Armed parties went in search
of him in all directions. Just before;
dusk the following day two horses,
fully caparisoned,' were found concealed
in a secluded spot in Gold Run, just a
short distance beyond . the railroad
bridge you observed spanning it aa we
came along. It was at once assumed
that these animals had been placed
there for the use of the escaped prison
ers, who were supposed to be lying in
concealment : somewhere until dark
ness should give them a favorable
opportunity to reach the horses
and ride away. A number of
residents of Gold Flat, which
at that time contained quite a mining
population, organized into a posse un
der tho leadership of L. W. Williams.
There .were ten or a dozen of them,
whoso names I remember being J. B.
Byrne, Wallace Williams, Thomas
Baldwin, G. H. Armstrong, R. S, Wig
ham and Thomas Lockh art. These
men went quietly to the place where
the horses were concealed, and hid
themselves in the bushes to await the
expected arrival of the desperadoes.
While those preparations were being
made by the people of Gold Flat, whe
would no doubt have been successful if
they had not been interrupted, provided,
of course, that they were correct in the
supposition that the animals belonged
to Webster the news was carried pri
vately to the authorities in Nevada City,
Boss Wright at once organized a party
for the same purpbse the Gold Flat men
had in view. This consisted of him
self. Hank PJumer, David Johnson,
William Butterfield and Lewis Teal,
Receiving the news later, and having
farther to. go, they did not reach the
spot till long after the other party had
concealed themselves. Darkness had
settled down among the trees that skirt
the side of the ravine, and fearing that
the robbers might have already ar
rived, Wright and his men advanced
with great caution, utterly ignorant of
the Gold Flat party lving in ambush.
These latter saw the officers stealing up
the ravine, and congratulated each
other upon the success of their plan,
thinking, of course, that the men ap
proaching were Webster and his
friends."
"boss" Wright's death.
Hank Plumer was in advance, and
when a few paces from the ambuscade
slopped and gave a low whistlewhich
brought all the others to his side. Just
at this moment one of them observed
Armstrong behind a tree, and hastily
whispered the fact to the others.' Both
'parties were now aware of the presende
of the other, and each supposed the
other to be the outlaws. Wright at
once shouted: "Rush up, boys!7' and
started toward Armstrong with his re
volver in his hand. About ten feet dis
tant ho stopped and inquired, peremp
torily: "Who are you?" "A friend,"
said Armstrong, who still believed
Wright to be oneof the robbers Not
satisfied with the answer, Boss again
started forward, and Armstrong fired.
This was the signal for a general fu
silade, and for several minutes the
woods echoed with pistol and gun shots,
the flashes of the weapons being the
only guide the combatants had as to
the proper place to direct their aim.
Fully half hundred'' shots were - fired,
and Jiow. long Umk battle would have
lasted hjA. not the mistake been dis
covered, do one can tell. Plumer rec
ognized oe voice of Williams as he
gaveonurs to his men in a loud tone,
and caught a glimpse of his face lit up
by the flash of his own pistol. He at
once shouted: "Williams! Williams!
stop firing for God's, sake; there is a
mistake!' Instantly the combatceased,
and some of the men collected a little
brush and made a fire, by the light of
which they were able to see the sad re
sult of their fatal error. Lying dead
upon the ground : was the brave and
generous Wright a pistol ball in his
chin and'his breast torn by a dozen bul
lets from a gun. David Johnson was
mortally wounded in the breast, but was
able to walk to Armstrong's house,
where he soon expired.
Wright's body was tenderly borne to
town by his friends of both parties. It
happened that this was the night be
fore the Presidential election, and an
enthusiastic .. procession had just pa
raded the streets and drawn up before
the speaker's stand to listen to a stir
ring address on the duties of the mor
row, expecting to hear the usual rhet
oric, spread-eagleism and scathing
comparison of the relative virtues of
the "ins" and the" "outs." The orator
arose and advanced slowly to the front
of the platform, stretching Out his hand
to check the demonstration of welcome
which was started among the audience.
With a voice choked with emotion he
announced the sorrowful intelligence
that the man whom every one looked
upon as a friend was dead. He briefly
related the circumstances of the
tragedy, and then dismissed the people
to their homes, saying that he could
not speak to them that night This
was a fitting tribute to the memory of
a brave man, and such as few but Boss
Wright would have received. The elec
tion occurred the next day, and the day
following was the funeral; and in spite
of the animosities of the political con
test, every man, woman and child, ir
respective of politics or religion, as
sembled to pay their last respects to
tho man whom all delighted to honor.
"That is all true as Gospel." said one
of the other men, who had maintained
silence during the narrative, "for I at
tended both the political meeting "and
the funeral." f
wen, l tell you wnat you do,', said
tho man who had spun the yarn. "You
said you were a" newspaper man, and
no doubt want to write this up for your
paper. I can see it in your eye. Be
fore you do' that you call on Judge
Searls, J. N. llolfe, and a few old tim
ers at Nevada City, and ask them about
it. You might see Judge Thomas H.
Caswell also; you'll find him at the
Masonic Temple in San Fraucnco.
And, by the way, you can find J. B.
Bynne, one of the participants in the
fight still living at Gold "Flat"- I
will remark here, parenthetically, that
I did call upon the gentlemen named,
and they all vouched for the substan
tial accuracy of all that is herein re
lated. webstek's fate..
"Yes, you are correct about my de
sire to write this up, and to make it
more complete I would liko to " know
what became of the cause of this sad
tragedy. How about Webster?"
'Oh, yes. Well, Jim was soon after
laid by the heels m Yuba County, and
taken to Marysville, where the lau
proved strong enough to hold h m
until he could be sentenced to San
Que n tin for twenty-five years. The
next August, when he had been an in
mate but a few weeks, he made his es
cape with eight others, and was never
recaptured. Just what became of him
is uncertain. One thing is. sure he
never returned to his old naunts in this
rion. His subsequent career is some
what traditionary, but I will give it to
you as it is generally believed. He
began his old life in a new field,
and soon gathered about him an
other band of followers, whom
he ruled in an , arbitrary man
ner. His career was brief. One dav
while in the Coast rango he quarreled
with a member of his gang, and gave
tho fellow notice to leave before morn
ing or take the consequences. The
man knew that Webster meant what he
said, and that he was a dead shot In
fact if vou mi?ht believe the stories
told of him, he could handlo the re
volver as neatly as Dr. Carver does his
rifle. The man determined not to
leave the camp, but he did not dare to
risk a shot from his unscrupulous chief.
So that night while tho camp was
wrapped in slumber, ho stole softly to
the side of tho sleeping man, and drew
the bullet from his rifle. He could
have killed him, but that he dared not
do, since his companions would avenge
the death of their chief unless he was
killed in a fight. -When Webster arose
from his blanket beside the smoulder
ing remnants of the camp fire the next
morning, he was astonished to see the
banished robber serenely sitting on a
stump, a few paces away. . tiis wrath
boiled over at the man's presumption.
'So you didn't leave?! he exclaimed.
as he raised his gun and fired at tho
cause of his anger, who made no effort
to shield himself. Before Webster
could recover from his topishtnout at
seeing the . man. still sitting on tho
stump apparently unarmed, his intend
ed victim coolly raised his gun and shot
him dead.
Just as the narrative was concluded
.he stage jolted np to the open door of
bmpire Kanch and old 1 orn Mooney
came out and' in his usual breezy man
ner counted noses for dinner. Harry
Li. neiis. in oan j rancsco Vail. .
TAKEN FOR A TRAMP.
- Clerk. Who Expected to Paralylze a
Strange Guest, Unt Was Pulverized.
There is no denying the fact that he
ooked seedy His hat was of the
shocking bad" order, the cut of his
coat of antique style, his general make
up of the modern tramp school. Try
ing to dodge a cart in crossing upper
Broadway yesterday, : a gentlemen of
the above-descriptjon blundered against
a vehicle coming from the opposite di
rection, and smeared his hand, with tar
grease oozing from one of the hubs. It
is a good thing ; to have clean hands,
although manual uncleanliness is no
uncommon thing in this great, bad city.
walking into an adjacent hotel, the
man of smeared hand proceeded to
wash himself in one of the marble
basins for lavatory use. : ' j;
"CAn tyouXad?-6i asked ,vl stylish
young man with a cutaway coat, richly
particolored scarf and a glittering dia
mond scarf pin.
"lean," answered the stranger, as
he vigorously rubbed the ball of soap
over his smeared hand. " W hy do you
ask?"
"Because there is .a printed notice
over your head that you should read
and heed."
"Ah! I see," was the stranger's cool
rejoinder, raising his eyes and reading
the notice, "for exclusive use of the
guests," and then he continued in the
same cool tone: "I had not observed
the'notice before. It is not an original
idea, by any means. I have seen it
requently in hotels, but it s intensely
stupid has no meaning in it One
of the rules of the house, is it? What
nonsense! What constitutes a hotel
guest?" . .
"I don't want any of your conun
drums, old fellow," indignantly inter
rupted the voung man, his flashing dia
mond paled by the fiery flashing of his
eyes.; "ion are not a guest oi the. ho
tel; so get out of here. '
"W ho are you, that-you should talk
to me in that way?" asked the stranger,
in the same tone oi imperturbable
calmness, and scanning his interlocutor
with a keenly-scrutinizing gaze as he
began to wipe his hands on the immac
ulate towel suspended from a roller. "
"I belong to the hotel. 1 am the
clerk," quickly answered the young
man, with that professional ; air of
colossal importance and -supreme con
tempt for ordinary mortals which it is
expected will be followed by an imme
diate paralyzing effect
"Then 1 don t niinu, said the stran
ger. "1 am not as frightened as l
might have been. 1 thought surely the
hotel belonged to you, instead of your
belonging to the hotel,"
"I don t want any more words; you
get out of here, quick."
"Young man, and the words were
uttered in a slow and deliberate tone,
"I want to give you some advice; it's
very old and trite, but it is very good
for a fast young man like you. Think
before you speak; JNever judge .from
appearances.' Impress these aphorisms
on your f eebio mind. ; l he fact is-
"But I tell you again, get out of
here," fairly screamed the young man
in his increasing rage, "or I'll call a
policeman."
"1 won t get out of here, and no
policeman will put me out, either. You
insultingly called my attention to that
printed notice, 'For exclusive use of tho
guests. JSow, understanding clearly,
the moment a stranger steps foot over
the threshold of a hotel ; he" is the
guest of that hotel and entitled to its
privileges and comforts; for all the
privileges and comforts he chooses to
avail himself of he can be charged.
There is no law restricting him in the
freedom of his choice, and 'neither is
there any law compelling him to stay
longer than he wishes. . I desire to
avail myself of no further privileges at
this hotel, and I propose to leave at
once, .wow,-1 want to see tne proprie
tor and pay my bill."
"There's nothing to pay, and if there
was you probably haven't a dime about
your clothes. There's the door.".
"My young friend, I see that avenue
of egress, and I propose to utilize it in
my own good time; but I see you will
not take advice, l ye only one word
more with you," taking the young man
by the collar, who paled and quivered
under his wrathful grasp and menacing
eye. "I have only just arrived in this
city, but if I meet any more like you I
shall do two things enlarge the
boundaries of mv nrivate burvin?
ground and found an asylum so long
needed in this country lor that large
class of imbecile cursed fools hotel
clerks."
"I have used your wash bain, soap
and towel," the. stranger said to the
proprietor, whom he found in the of
fice, "and I want to pay my bill."
"There is nothing to pay," politely
answered the proprietor. -"But
I insist on it," taking out a
large roll of bills and extracting a ten
dollar note and laying it on the coun
ter. "If it s more than the bill would
be, use the balance in trying to germ
inate brains and develop good man
ners in your hotel clerk."
"But, sir"
The stranger disappeared. Later in.
the evening the geu'leman a promi
nent lawyer of this city and ex-Judge
of one of the higher courts recited the
above storv to a party of gentlemen
dining with him at Delmon co's. Ho
had just come from the mines of Cali
fornia, having gone there in a spirit of
adventure and to improve his health,
and he retained his mining garb until
his arrival to astonish his friends and
amuse himself over their puzzling : fail
ures to recognize him. : It, is hardly
necessary to add that the idea of an
asylum for hotel clerks was received as
one of the brightest indications of the
progressively philanthropic spirit of
the age. A. Y. Herald.
Rev. Dr. Howard Henderson, of the
Simpson Methodist f Episcopal , Church,
of Jersev Citv. commits himself to cre
mation. In a paper read before a New
York Cremation Society, he said he had
made a studv of the best means of dis
posing of the dead, and had come to
the conclusion that the day was noi iar
distant when the' retort will take the
tilacft of the grave. He spoke of the
large amount" of money expended in
monuments, liowers ana runerais, anu
r-haTas'teTW.pA it as & mockerv. iV. X.
Tribune.
WHALES OF ALL SORTS.
ThAli lfuKlfa c r. .1 Hi i r nr.
'. - . fare. - ...
;: The London Telegraph, tilluding to
an exhibition of different kinds of
whales shortly to be given in the"
Natural History Museum of London,
says:
How such a spectacle as this 'changes
the ordinary ideas about the life that U
lived under the sea. It is seen almost
at a glance that, that grievous division
of- terrestrial existence into the eater j .
and the eaten holds good in mitritie
communities also. ; On the one s'ui j
are the toothless whales, prodigious in
bulk, but virtual v defenseless aga"'!t
attack; soft-bodied, and comparative v
unwieldy. - On the other are the fie, . f
"toothed" whales, smaller in dimen
sion, but in proportion swifter, fierce a
tigers,-iad--wieli 0'AJap is tin? .
enormous fin-whale, some seventy feet
in length, with its great helpless paws,
for-they are little else, which it uses a.
paddles, hanging idly down, and its
immense jaws which, fringed with
whalebone, served it well enough as a
trap for diminutive crustaceans and
cuttle-fish, but are no weapon against
the crocodile-snout of its smaller
enemies. Next to it is "tha
killer," Orca Gladiator, the wolf
of the sea, which looks .upon the
Leviathan as ordinary beasts of prey
regard flocks and herds, and which
does not hesitate, with its hundred
weight of bulk to its victim's ton, to
attack it Sometimes they will hunt in
packs, and, surrounding one monj.t r,
will ferociouslv tear the living thing to .
pieces, mouthful by mouthful. At oth
ers they chase the dolphin add the por
poise, or kill the seal and the narwhal.
Except that they do not haunt the- ha --
otherwise seek - human prey, ti e
"killers," whales though they are, are
far more terrible creatures than I h i
sharks. " There have been writers wh
have spoken of life under the ocean -wave
as placidly, monotonously dull,
without any decided interests or excite
ments. Yet looking round this whale
vault, with its fierce armature of fang
and tusk and horn, it is difficult, in
deed impossible, to believe that sub
aqueous existence is really uninterest
ing. On the contrary, when we survey
forms so active and powerful in out
line, so pugnacious in expression,
so dreadfully armed for battle
with natural weapons, and a fero
cious , rapidity of speed, we
see at once how awful rau-t
be the tragedies enacted in the impen
etrable depths of the sea, and what
conflicts of race and for empire must
be continually waged. For mere ex
istence alone the carnage passes beyond
human calculation,. Look at that tin
ner whale there, with a mouth in which
a tea party could be given. : Imagine it
wide open and going ahead fidl speed
through a dense shoal of shrimps, a
?orridge of small fry of all kinds,
hen think of those jaws suddenly
closing upon a good substantial mouth
ful substantial, that is to say, in pro-
portion to""thu mutiraml- afier-UK
water has filtered : out through the
whalebone fringes into the sea again,
fancy .the whale swallowing all its cap
tives at a snap, and then opening its
mouth for more. Compared to this the
hecatomb was a mere trifling with
sacrifice, a holocaust pure child s nlav.
Lives by the million, swirled gulp by
gulp down the monster's maw; and
next day the same monster, torn into
shreds by the gladiator "orca," lay
I
scattered over acres of the sea as food
for as many mlllicus more; and what
combats the fish must see! How the
lobster must twiddle his long an
tennae with excitement or the
octopus on the rock look up with con
sternation at the prodigious duels
of the rorquals, the leviathan encann- ;
ters of the cachalots! What a scat
tering of smaller folk there mu t be "
when the fighting whales come up.
and in close battalion charge with the.r
ponderous heads! Over what spacious
battle-helds the battle must range, and
how indescribably terrific the shock of ,
giants meeting in the green, silence!
The conflict might -be a nightmare, a
Eh an torn struggle,; but that the sea is
eing dyed a deeper and deeper red
round the enormous combatant, -and
that the furious impact of the great
bodies sends responsive vibrations
through the sensitive depths, telling .
the "dwellers on the sea-bed and in
the crannied rocks that the. giants
are at war. Or change the scene to
tine weather with a summer horizon
unclouded, and peace everywhere
what a liberal education it must be to
a sprat or a dish of whitebait to sec
these Lords of the sea ranging tran
quilly among their peers, and rolling
through unmeasured fathoms in care
less ease! To live under the '... wafer
and watch the whales " at home"
would be almost enough to reconcile
one to being a fish.
GENERAL
The symptoms of malari al poison
ing have been produced in animals by .
the subcutaueous injection of watery
extracts from marshy soil. Chicajo
Herald.-
Among the frauds that afflict the
people is the" form of indictment pre-'
pared in many States. The thief es
capes through the silly mass of ver- '
biage. Current.
The little hand-bags so generally
carried by American women must go.
The only Parisians : who use them are
the pedicures and manicures, who carry
their tools about with them in these re
ceptacles. N. Y. Graphic
Judge Fane, of Salt Lake, has
ruled that a plural wife has no rights
of inheritance, and can not. attain such
riht by long continuance in the illegal
relations; that she is no wife in law,
and can not, therefore, be a widow.
Denver Tribune.
Tuesday was an eventful day in
the life of a Leavenworth (Kan.) man,
who had previously borne a good repu
tation. At nine in the morning he was
recognized as an ex-convict Just after
dinner he slipped and fell into a tank
of boiling water. At three o'clock,
when he was hovering between life and
death from his terrible scdldi, a Sheriff
arrived with a warrant for his'arrest as
a highway robber. He died at Sim
down. Chicago Tribune.