The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1879-08-16
UEADvIIAlE.

of .Jae0b M. Grier by #. M. Ritchie.
sGrier was the barkeeper of the merchants
restaurant, "a man universally popular
He may still he remembered by some at
the east as the railway engineer vino
several years ago, while hauling an ex
press train over the Pennsylvania road
at the rategUf forty miles an hour, saw q
little girl on thetrack before him, rapidly
crawled upon the cowcatcher and caught
her in time to save her life. F. Nd.
Ritchie, a barkeeper from ArAansas, had
bought an interest in the Merchants
saloon, hut had tailed to come to final
understanding with Ellis, tine proprietor,
who ordered him to be excluded from
the place. On Friday evening Ritchle
came to the saloon and was prevented
from going behind the counter by Grier,
who was in charge. lit was about eight
O'Clock, and at that hour the broad
avenue on which the saloon stands lis full
OF men, partly miners returned from
their prospect holes and partly new
comers just emptied from the stages. A
crowd of these were standing around the
door when the two men, Grier and
Ritchie, speaking loudly and gesticulat-
ing, appeared on the threshold. In
Leadville difficulty" is pretty well
understood, and it is pretty well under
stood, too that it generally takes the
form of lead. So the crowd began to
scatter. In aninatant shots were heard
come witnesses say two, some three-and
,Grier's dead body was seen ON the side
walk. The physicians testify that he
was shot twice Il rough the chest and
died in ten seconds. A jury was sum
moned on the following day and found
verdict of willful and fslonious murder
against Richie, and he will (probablyf)
be duly tried. His defense is that Grier |
struck him with his fist and then fired |
at him in the street; that he only used
his pistol in self.defense. But Grier's
popularity leaves him few apologists in
this town. People are getting sick gof
all this brutality and violence and fraud
and tdebanchery of all kinds. Ut lis only
the other day that 9 man was shot dead
for claiminga town lot, and another, q
mining contractor, met the same fate
from q llaborer who claimed to be paid
off on Wednesday, instead of Saturday
As to robberies, they are of daily occur
renee. Every night come lonely way
farer is requested to "hold up his hands"
BY two or three bunkos with rev0lvers
in close proximity to his nose, and pun.
iahment hardly ever follows the ofiense.
In the rare instances in which arrests are
made thebunko's confederates are always
IN hand to prove an alibi. "A local news
paper desiring to glorify the town states
n q recent atticle tina Though it lie
careely two years since the first building
Was pnt up here, lit now contains -beer
nails, 49,; saloons, 120; gambling houses, d
18; houses OF prostitution, .3S. This lis
pretty showing, but the line of sargu- q
ncnt by which it is made t CRAFTY any
,itizsn's pride lis not easily followed 4,
We have imported our vices drom the
vest rs well as the east One institution
known as opium club halls-.has been 4
borrowed from San Francisco. The
main object of the club liz, lof course, tine 4
moking OF opium. But the deleterioas !
harms of the DING are heightened by
be presence of female society, and the /,
asstings of the club are held in rooms C
loosely shut up and heated TO such AN i
xtent that clothing isnnbearable. Here /
cores of creatures spend their days and
lights in semisstnpor, unconscious of /
but the dreamy, sensuons .
anguor which De'Quincy 80 graphically a
escribes. No policemantcan enter there, 4
Inless, indeed. he desires membarship in y
be club and has money enough to pay =
is share of the cost. But public rnmor 4
much at fanltit on the listof members =
gu could not find some of the leading a
aerchanta, lawyers and mine,owners u
lie lie very hard here. The climate is
xceedingly trying; it SHOWS every
ionth inthe pear. Few men have their
,iyes with them. Hence the inordinate
uaiber and vast variety of resorts 4
evoted to what is called pleasure lo
II
Some Rabbits i'm Madeira. !.
Temple Bar. a
The POrkn0tfese ark NIT A clean mao II !,