San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-01-26


strolled into the Chronicle Office last
evening, and seating himself by re.
porter began to entertain him with
some personal "reminiscences.
"rhat account OF finding stiff over
on Frying Pam" he said, balancing
himself on the two hind legs of his
chair, shat fellow with bullet hole in
his head, you know, that reminds me
of little incident when | was a'report-
ing that can't ever think of without it
makes me feel sad"
"What is it, anyhow" asked the
plumbago demolisher, pushing back his
silk hat and lighting fifty-cent cigar
-(this is somewhat figurative.)
Didn't you ever hear bout me find
ing that stiff up in the hillsp" asked the
ex-reporter, incredulous that any one
shouldn't have heard of the affair.
"No, tell me about it, will youp" re-
piled the victim.
81 will if you desire it," said the Wis
itor, his eyes assuming a dreamy up
pearance as he rolled them, so te speak,
into the dim past. at was between
four and five years ago, and was run
ming paper up on the Hills. 1t was
an evening sheet, and there were two
snide blankets they called journals
used to come out in the morning. There
was big rivalry between us to get the
news, and we used to do most anything
to get q scoop on each other. Well,
one of these morning papers got it on
me in sort of underhand way one day.
It seems there was big fellow named
Jameson had lot jumped, and was
busting around town with gun to
massacre the men that jumped it as
soon as he could catch them one at a
time. The morning papers found out
about it and offered him $50 to post
pone the festivities until after we went
to press. He was mercenary cuss and
took them up, and that night he gave
a couple of them lot that nobody
cared to Jump; it was lot in the GEM
etery.
"Well, what do you think those mean
scoundrels did then?"
The reporter said he had no idea.
"Why, they just switched right
around and advocated hanging him, and
the editors headed mob of vigilantes,
and before morning they caught him
and strung him up. Then they came
out with full particulars of both the
murder and the lynching. What do
you think of business like that, any
how?"
The pencil pusher remarked that he
considered it violation of journalistic
ethics that no gentleman would be
guilty of.
"That's just the way I looked at it,"
continued the narrator, in some excite
ment, "but it made us all hopping mad
and we just lay to get even. About a
week after that fellow came into town
one evening, terribly excited. 1t was
Just after we went to press, and was
the first man that met him. He said
he was coming over the range that day
and saw human foot sticking out of II
snowbank. 1t scared him SO he never
stopped to take second look, but just
made Decline for town, hollering
most all the way. This was meat, and I
made up my mind I'd keep the morn
ing papers from getting onto it, so I
took him out and got him drunk
beastly drunk-and bunked him in my
bed. Early next morning 1 made him
get up, and we started on couple of
horses to find the stiff. He was sort of
reluctant, but I made him go, and after
awhile we got to the spot. There, sure
enough, was foot sticking out of the
snow, and ! felt SO good I just gave a
shrek of joy and started to dig him
out. We hadn't got down very far
before we saw that the man was nothing
but stack of bones-all skeleton,
and must have been lying there nearly
year. That was all the better, and
we worked away getting him out. 1t
was terrible job, and after while we
got to the head-that is, the skull, for
there wasn't any flesh on it, and there,
right in the forehead, was bullet hole.
When 1 saw it 1 thought I would weep
I was so oveijoyed. The pocket
had rotted away long ago and there
was nothing to search, so we just col
Jared the skull and rode into town. 1t
would have done you good to see how
l dished that up. Headlines! Well, /
guess not Only ten of them, and set
up in the biggest type we could get in
he columns. rung in sort of deli
cate allusion in two or three of them
about that being a. stand-off on
the hanging bee, and wound up
with remark or two about legitimate
news gathering and dishonest un-
derhand scooping. 1 calculated that
would paralyze the other fellows, and
you bet it did. was the biggest man
in camp until evening, and when was
going over to the Office happened to
meet the Coroner. He was kind OF
laughing, and hollered out: Look
here, where did you find that corpse
anyhow 1 told him, and he began &c