The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-11-02
DIED GAME.


How Tom Shoals, n Very Had Man. Me
His Fate In the Iuack Hills.
ICamp Ohio (Blaok Hnls) Cor. Cincinnati Enquirer.
We had to hang man here the othel
day. We'd been putting it off on account
of lack of time and bit of sentiment, til
the morals of our small town had at last
become as those Of Chicago.
Thomas Y. Sholes, who has friends al
Green Bay, Wis, and who has been IN
Nevada himself for some years past,
entered our town about ten days ago.
He was q whisky drinking, trouble-mak-
ing rough. He brought several gambling
devices with him to "wax" our hard
working people out of their dust. and he
hadn't been in camp more than two days
when most of his bad points came out.
At the end of five days he was ordered to
leave, but he boldly refused to obey the
warning. Thereupon, on the morning
of the sixth day, he was waited upon by
ten reyolvers. backed by ten men, and
was notified that fifteen minutes, City
Hall time, would be given him to get
beyond shooting distance He got. No
one cared what became OF him or whittier
he went, and as he passed from sight no
one expected to see him again. Accord
ing to rule, we coniscated all his
personal property except a mule, and
mule and man went away to-
gether. Somewhere outside of camp,
Shoals fell in with some Texans
who were son the make" and as ugly
as himself, and the gang entered our
camp, armed to the teeth, two days after
Shoals left it.
The four lambs came in on gallop,
whooping and yelling, and as they halted
on the public square, Shoals sang out
"Trot out my goods, you white-livered
dust-diggers, or we'll cut every id
throat in camp"
That meant us, you see. Some were
digging, some washing, and some under
ground, and while we were waking up to
the situation, one of the Texans put in
Hurry up, now, for it's all we kin
do to hold on to the triggers of these
shooters p
And another yelled
Somebody hold me, for I'm the worst
catamount this side of Mexico !"
Our old boss didn't like their style for
one. He was fitting new handle to a
pick, and was at the door of shanty No. 3,
when they rode up. Reaching into the
house for his two revolvers, he rose up
and walked out upon the gang just as the
rest of us were making rush for our
shooters.
"There's the old devil-kill him, "
yelled Shoals, and the four at once be-
gan firing. 1t was a case of the Lord
being on the side of the upright and in
nocent. They all had shot in before
the old man got readyfor business. He
put his first bullet between one of the
Texans two eyes, his second into an
others shoulder, and by that time we
were all pegging away. How on earth
fifty or sixty bullets could be fred at
close range and only one man killed and
another wounded is a conundrum for
mathematicians. The dead man fell in
a heap, Shoals was dismounted, and the
other two got out of camp under cover
of the smoke, one of them certainly hit
in the shoulder. We pursued them on
foot for half mile, and the wounded
one had hard work to keep his saddle
Not miner had been hurt, but nearly a
dozen of them had bulletholes through
hats and clothing, and a camp-kettle
was struck no less than four times.
After dinner the men gathered and
Shoals was put on trial. 1t mad been
necessary to bind him hand and foot, and
when he was brought out and laid on
the grass his fury rose to the highest
pitch. He cursed everybody and every
thing, and uttered threats that made
some of the men grow pale. When
asked if he did not know the penalty at
tached to such conduct as his, he cried
out:
"I'll dare you to harm one hair of my
head You are set of cowards-a
pack of Coyotes gang of white-faced
babies
1t was our busy day, and we couldn't
fool away any time. A noosed rope was
thrown over limb, the free end
manned, and when the moose had been
passed over the fellows head he was
asked if he wanted to leave any message
for his friends
CT want to tell you this" he Missed,
as his snakish eyes looked from face to
face eff you hang me my friends will
dig the heart out of every one of the
crowd ?"
He might have gone off decently,
and perhaps added something original
to the literature of "last words" but he
refused the chance. His feet were un-
tied and he was lifted up. There wasn't
a minute between him and eternity, but
yet he kicked right and left like twin
mule, and was cursing God and man
when pulled off his feet. It's tough
business this choking human being to
death, but it takes care of them forever
after. This Shoals thought no more of
killing man than some folks would of
taking a chew of fne-cut, and it was a
bad day fer him when he came among
the Buckeyes.
A Modern Arcadia.
- Do.eo~3.soaot sc Gtota hoe rooa,uaJ