Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-02-12
An Exciting Episode OF Rough Life in
Colorado.


the hero may be, was calculated to
arouse all the interest of sympathy. He
was sauare-built man, with an honest,
open face, and pleasant though deter.
mined-looking blue eyes, that told the tale,
and in not little did his appearance in
dicate that he had once shot a neighbOr
with whom he had had dispute by the
light of his burning barn, which an &C.
cessory had set fire to. For this crime
he was tried last fall here in Denver and
acquitted, but when he went down to his
ranches on creek emptying into the Ar
kansas he found the verdict of Denver
jury was not regarded as a passport to
the safety of murderers by the friends of
the murdered man. At any rate, al
though he affects to have had not an
inkling of their intention, he knew the
time had come when he must fight for
his life when he was aroused at the mid.
night that separated last Friday from
Saturday by the hoarse demand, Was
Gibbs at homes? Gibbs answered that
he was, on which he was told to get up
and come out, as somebody wanted to
see him. Gibbs asked if morning would
not do as well, and was told no; he was
wanted then and there. He was next in.
formed that his interlocutor would give
hin ten minutes to get out of the house
and fifteen to get out with his family, if
he did not take advantage of which he
and his family would be burned on one
funeral pile. He made no answer to all
this, and the next move of his enemies
was to the other side of the ranche-a
simple log cabin, lacking in the modern
conveniences of windows, except on the
side on which the parley took place, on
which also was the door. Taking advan-
ton .f 4 80, al IL.
sented no aperture through which Gibbs
might, get at them, they leisurely pro.
ceeded to do their best to fire the
building, but Jared i'll in their attempt
owing to the logs being old and full of
water. Tired with their fruitless efforts
Gibbs visitors came around to the side
they first approached and began to pile
hay and wood against the door for the
purpose of igniting it. One of the
would-be lynchers named Sam Boone
was in the act of STOPPING with lighted
match in his hand, revealing clearly his
entire form, to set fire to the pile thus
raised, when Gibbs fired with revolver
through a chink in the boards which
served in place of sash and glass for the
window, killing him instantly. His
comrades retreated some distance at this,
but soon returned, proposing to burst
open the door by main force. While
they were punched together preparatory
to making the charge that was to do this
Gibbs fired again, hitting two men this
time. lie builded wiser than he knew,
indeed, for the gun of one of them as he
was falling exploded, killing a brother to
the man first killed. Sdupe qui peut oc-
CURED at one and the same time to the
surviving assailants at seeing the un-
timely fate of their comrades, and they
scattered and made off. Gibbs fired at
them, retreating, with rifle, the bullet
CT which he heard "spat" on revolver
one carried, so that it did no harm
After seeing the backs of his enemies
disappear in the darkness Gibbs on his
part turned tail and fled, with his wife
and three children and neighbor and
her child, over to his fathers ranch,
situated some half mile distant in q
direction opposite to that taken by
his foiled assailants. His friends gath
cred around him the next day, and when
he was examined Monday the event
resulted in his triumphal acquittal, ten
of those who had tried to lynch him tes-
tifying to his having acted in self-de-
fense. But this spirit of fair play was
not rife in the community, and not only
Gibbs, but the Justice who presided at
his trial and his friends ana relatives
found their lives were in danger. Accord
ingly, the Justice, Gibbs, his brother and
a friend named Gillard were Obliged to
hurry off Immediately after the trial and
make tracks for this place, which they
seem to have considered their only CITY
of safety. They had not gone a score of
miles before the Philistines were upon
them; and now came q race for life.
Their pursuers numbered some two
score, and their multiplicity enabled them
to cover tract of country which left lit
tie loophole for their escape. Gibbs first
evaded them by calling on his party to
separate and hide in gulch till they
had passed by, but this ruse did not avail
for long. They were soon obliged to
break cover, and then the pursuing party
perate squirt they managed to get start
which gave them time to throw off all
their surplus load and enable their
horses to increase their speed materially.
Their object was to reach mountain
near by, where they had determined to
make stand and sell their lives as dear
ly as possible, but their horses were so
freshened up by their lightened loads
that they were enabled to give the party
in the rear the goby completely.
All this chase, forgot to say, was
done at night, the pursuers first appear
ing in sight little after midnight The
moon, however, was very nearly at the
full, and, as the country was well COW
cred with snow, the motions of the pur-
suers and pursued were equally visible
to each other. 1t was daylight, never
theless, when the chase ended, and the
pursued quartet rode into rancho at
the head of Curran Creek and demanded
food for themselves and horses at the
muzzles OF their revolvers. They rode
all that day. and by sun-down were at |
the foot of Pixies Peak on the west side, |
passing the night at a rancho. Although |
no signs all this time had been seen of |
their pursuers, the next day yesterday |
they were still SO fearful of being again |
oVerhauled that they did not dare take |
the regular roadway through the mount |
aims, but preferred to 60 over the hills |
cross-lots. There was no trail, and their |
wits and the sun were their only guides. |
The mountain, which, having no name, |
is best located by saying it is at the head |
of Dead Mans Gulch, rose some miles |
over the level of the plain, and over this |
tremendous elevation they scampered. |
till at nightfall they got down on to the |
plain again, and stopped to rest fifteen |
miles from Colorado City. From here |
to Monument, where they spent the |
night, taking the train for Denver this |
morning, was an easy journey, The dis |
tance traversed by the entire Journey was |
over 100 miles.-D6nUsr, Co.., Gan. 29) |
Cor Chicago IRter-Ocedn,
"
I'm Oregon serenading is punished |