Daily national Democrat., 1860-04-06
The End Of the Tragedy.

The man ODonnell, who assessiuated
Shields, at Pine Grove, Sierra county, on
Saturday night last, while the latter was
crossing bridge on his way home from the
more public part of the place, was taken up
10y the mob. Sunday night, and hung Shields
was man occupying very respectable po
sition, was President of the Minnesota Mining
Company, and quite popular. ODonnell sns
pected him Of having been too intimate with
his WIFE on a certain trip which the two took
to San Francisco, last winter, but swallowed
his wrath for some time and did nothing
Meeting Shields, frequently, as we are in
formed he made no attack on him whatever,
but let him pass. Finally after the lapse of
weeks, and when Shields was expecting no
attempt NJ on his life, ODonnell, with com
panion whose name has not transpired, way
laid him, and under shelter Of the night,
sprang unawares upon him and stabbed him
20 death
Had the killing been done in open day, and
in a bold and above-board manner, it is prob
dDIe tHdI hoI d hulE Vi " l'ouutll , Hedu
would have been injured As it was, he was
not at once meddled with, and had he used
discretion and fled, he would have saved his
life. But he remained, it would seem in the
midst of the excited populace, and his pres
ence increased the excitement against him.
Various representations We're Of course made
aggravating the nature of the case against
him, and, in fit of uncomfortable rage and
fury, the people rose and hung him.
1t seldom happens in these United States
that man is hung for killing the seducer Of
his wife. The law Of custom seems to be that
the husband is justified in shooting down, or
stabbing to death on sight, the destroyer of
his domestic peace, but then it must be done
in a manly way, and not by secret assassina-
tion. This is the law Of public opinion, and
yet tits difficult to see any great actual diff
ference between shooting down an uRarmed
man in the street, ns Sckes did Key, and
killing the same man in the night when he
has no opportunity to contend for his life
! If it be cowardly to take mans life under
cover Of night when he has no chance to de-
fend himself, is it any brayer to meet him on
the street when he is without weapons and
| deliberately murder him there? Yet this
kind Of killing is the kind that has been done
in the great majority of instances, in which
wronged husbands have avenged themselves
and been acquitted afterwards, for the
wounds inflicted upon their domestic honor
If there be any basis of Justification at all for
IL mans taking vengeance into his own hands
in such cases, it consists in this,-that he who
inyades the domestic circle, 20 dishonor it,
places himself beyond the pale of protection
by the laws of the land. lie is an outlaw, in
the estimation Of public opinion, so far as the
injured party is concerned, and it is not mur
der for the man he has injured to kill him
The wronged husband is under no obligation
to give him an equal chance, but may shoot
him down like dog upon the streets Ac-
cording to this doctrine, then, it makes but
little difference, where, or in what way, or at
what time, the act of vengeance is consum-
mated; whetherit be done in the day time or
night time whether it be done by steel or
bullet or 10y sweetening the gay Lothario'
tea with a little arsenic. We are speaking OF
the matter, now, as in the abstract, for we
confess that secret assassination wears a very
repuguant aspect and, another thing. it look:
like evading the responsibility of the killing
In this instance the evasion was an unhappy
one for the unfortunate ODonnell.
1t is stated that Mrs ODonnell, on hearing
of the death of Shields. started from the EN-
pire Ranch, on foot, through the snow and
mud screaming frantieally, and that she has
not since been heard from Some suppose
she was struck with insanity and that she has
perished in the wilderness. 1t is more likely
that she has stopped somewhere on the road
to take her cry out.
P. S.-See item headed Mrs. ODonnen.