New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-05-21

forward against the door, while the muir
derer has CROPPED his way back to his seat,
aud has accidentally caught the bell rope
| in his drunken grasp and SO pulled it."
AS we passed the next station, | threw off
| a telegram to our headquarters, asking for
some police to be on hand on my arrival,
and as we came into the depot force of
| men surrounded the cars while we went in
| and made the arrest. The droyers were
still sleeping off their orgies when we en-
| tered, the dead Kentuckian living in the
corner just as we had left him. We arrested
! the Missourian on the charge of murder,
and also his friend who sat by him, as an
accomplish, as it did not seem probable that
the drunken fellow could have passed out
OF his seat and into it again without awak-
enmg his companion.
The rest of the prisoners were examined,
and testified strongly against the prisoner
as to the quarrel and the threats he had
used, and the doctor swOre that the neck of
the murdered man had been broken by
| sudden jerk, and the mark made on his
throat by just such strap or thong as was
found in the grasp of the Missourian.
The prisoner produced good testimony as
| to his character, and his counsel fought
| bravely for him. He showed that the thong
was in use by every drover, and that each
man in that car had one or more on his per
son. The words he had heard, IN kill
| him." from the murderer, he urged, meant
| what he would do, and not what he had
| done. He showed the Missourian to be
wealthy, of good character, and Of peace
| able disposition, except when in his cups.
but it was all of no avail, and the wretched
man was sentenced to be hung in six weeks
from the time of his trial
went to visit him several times in his
condemned cell, and somehow or another
the declarations of innocence the fellow
made TO me shook my belief in his guilt,
although had witnessed strongly against
his trial, and at last | found myself fully
confirmed in my new belief of his entire
innocence. | could see no way to save him.
however, and five weeks of his time on
earth had rolled by, and yet the mystery
was as great one as ever
One morning, about that time, l was run.
ming the same train, only, as it happened,
we had no particular drOvers' car. In the
last car was our superintendent, a TALL lean
Yankee, fully six feet two inches in height,
and of about the same height as the muir
dered kentuckian.
1t so happened that he occupied the same
seat as the Kentuckian had done, and was
also in my old place in the baggage car.
When exactly in the same place in the tun-
mel, just when the engineer had put OH
steam to carry us through, the bell rope
again ratified and the engineer whistled for
the brakes. SpriDging to my feet, ran to
the rear car firmly persuaded that now l
could solve this mystery. Reaching it, /
found the superintendent sitting back in his
seat and hosting his hand to his throat
while he gasped for breath. One or two
passengers were attempting to be of some
use to him, but he could only moan and
hold tightly his throat.
At last he recovered sufficiently to take
his hand away, and then | saw the slight
7
a most exact similar position on the neck of
the kentuckian. As the superintendent got
over the shock he proceeded to tell us how
he received the mark and its fearful effects |
He had been asleep and was awakened by |
the train entering the tunnel Half asleep |
and awake he stepped to the car door and
stood looking, or trying to look through
the door window
Suddenly, and without any warning. he
felt rope slipped under his throat, and at |
that moment the engine giving IA jerk, he |
was thrown violently into corner of the |
car.
The mystery was solved at last The |
train. as have said, entered the tunnel at |
a slow rate of speed and without the use of |
steam, the grade at the entrance forcing the |
cars together and giving them sufficient |
Roadway. At this time the bell rope, which |
of course has to be much longer than the |
together to allow of sufficient length when
they are drawn out to the full extent of the |
car couplings. hung loosely and in festoons
through the car, and both the Kentuckan
and our superintendent being tall men, and
standing just where the longest festoon
would be, near the forward door, the rope
slipped under their chins, and the engineer
suddenly putting on steam, the jerk threw
them from their feet, and as in the case of
the drunken kpntucklan W hO DuSt in his
drunkenness have gone to the door for some
purpose, was sufficient to break his neck
and cause death.
carried myself to the doomed Missourian |
the news of his pardon for crime, by the
way, he had never committed. But such
is the justice of our laws, and he ioytully
accepted that solution of the mystery.
Each Christmas | receive from him the
best and latest of his drove. and he writes
me frequently, cOngratulating himself on
his escape from the gallows.