Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-07-28
Sanetity Of An Oath.

Jury" SAID |, dOgmatlcaily, at the close
of a desultory argument with some OF
the other clerks in the San Francisco
mint, 'and not one witness in dozen
would speak the truth. AS for their
oaths-bah! They don't care htat for
them swapping my fingers like the
cluck Of hen.
II don't know, boys SAID John Elem
ing, who had taken no part in the dis
cussion. laying down his pen, and squar-
ING about upon his stool; 6 don't know.
that can say anything on this question
worth listening to. bnt if you Will stop
your confounded figuring moment III
relate little experience of mine that
may be of service to this young gentle
man who knows so much about the ma
ture of an oath and most other things
There was general swapping togeth-
CT Of ledeers and ali manner Of books:
Government clerks do not require much
of pretext to stop work. We all gath
cred about John, like bees about a Hy
mettus, and he began:
! was a witness, once, IN murder case
at Pinkerton's Bluff, on the North Sandy,
just above the falls. Bob D, a friend
of mine-knew him in the States was
charged with having killed Dave That
cher, known in all that region as Bet-you
Dave. He had neen born a debater, had
Dave He was never known to agree with
the opinions Of any man at The Bluff. upon
any question under heaven; and he made
use the one argument-"I bet you five
dollars"
The moment he heard any one make
an assertion, express belief, or hint a
rumor- frequently before possessing his.
mind Of the speakers full meaning ned
bet him five dollars it wasn't so! When
nobody was talking he would try in all
indirect ways to entrap some one into
indicating an opinion upon some subject,
and then he was down upon him with
that everlasting wager. He would put
up the money, too, and what's more he
would commonly win; unless there was
dead sure thing against him; ana this
was so frequently the cise that 1t kept
him poor. If, in Dawes presence, man
dared affirm that his dog was yellow,
quick as lightning came an offer to bet
him five dollars he wasn't; and it camn
with such positive energy that if the mae
hadn't seen his dog since morning it was
ten chances to one that he would back
down, or haggle for time to go and take
another look. never saw Dave myself;
it was after his time that I came to the
Bluff; but the fame of his extraordinary
wagers, and the no less extraordinary way
in which he sometimes won them was in
everyoody's mouth.
On the fifteenth day Of July, in '5S,
n y Dbl, n
the whole evening together in the bar
room of the Spread Eagle Hotel, and
during the time Bob lost three straight
bets with him. About nine o'clock they
departed together, quarreling about the
manner in which Bob had been silenced
but not convinced.
Dave was never afterward seen alive ;
but the next spring dead body, almost
past recognition, was discovered hidden
away in chapparal, near the side of the
road over which they must have passed
to reach their houses, about two miles
from town. Nearly everybody said the
bulletin it, not some old bullet, such as
one might have somewhere in his system,
but a compa atively fresh one, which had
passed through the heart, Bob was taken
into custody, charged with the deed. In
the meantime l had moved up from be-
low the falls, and as the whole town had
taken the other side | determined to
stand by the friend whom I had known
in the States.
Al the trial the court room was packed
with people, and the tide Of public opin-
lon set so strongly against the prisoner.
that the Judge had to draw his six-shoot-
er dozen times to keep order. After a
score of witnesses had been examined for
the prosecution every one of whom made
things look very black for Robert, the
State rested its case. Then the attorney
CT the defence arose and simply said:
Your Honor, | shall make no prelimi-
nary statement, and shall call but one
witness. By him l shall prove an abb,
or give up the case"
"Eh. What's that?" shouted the Dis
trict Attorney, hopping upon his feet-as
fussy little rascal as ever snorted law
before deaf Justice of the Peace.
"Will you prove that the prisoner was
not on Spanish Town road the night OF
the alleged murder?"
No! III prove that the deceased was
not
There was marked sensation IN court
as my name was called, and I was SOL
emily sworn to tell the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth.
"4Nt ten o'c'ock on the night Of July Is
1875, [ began. Enthusiastically, 81 was
walking along the river bank, on the side
of town opposite the Spanish Town road
and just above the falls. I WOULDN'T
trouble myself, if were you"--turnine
to the District Attorney--''to ask what
was walking there for, because it ISM
anybodys business
IL appeal to the Court" screechec
the little rascal, springing to his feet, ri
I'm to be insulted in this way
"Keep still, will you?" said his Honor
land let the witness proceed" 1 hae
made favorable impression at the start
and itgave me confidence. / resumed
It was warm moonlight evening, anc
the mist rising above the cataract wa
less dense than usual,s could see toler
ably we'll. Just at the brink, on over
hanging rock, I saw tall bent figure il
gray clothes, wearing a SLOUGH hat,
very bad hat; l don't see more thar
a hundred worse in this room.n There
was a smile all round, and then the DIS
trict AttOrnau acEo6 ~, n ifT b,<I