Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1883-02-09
JOHN @. BAKERS GREAT SPEECH.

Had you looked through camp you
would have discovered that ever,
miner had his weakness. In some il
was whisky; in others. old sledge: in
Others. lying and Boosting. and SO Oh
clear around. \ few were lazy. few
more were too fond of argument. and
the weakness of Elder Watkins. III
particular, was reading the Testament
too much.
Which is t. remark that one may
be too good in this world.
Among the other Weaknesses Nhich
cropped ont i'll our camp on Grizzly
| Creek that winter was the weakness
of John q Baker.
Mir. Baker had spent years in in
venting a great speech. He had
brought the pieces together at differ
ent times, as if they had been parts
OF moving machine. and the work
OF setting up. tightening the bolts,
greasing tho bearings and hitching
on the horses was all done that win
ter.
1t was great speech.
1t began with the landing of the
Pilgrims, and didn't end at any par
ticular epoch.
1t was religious. political, social,
statistical. philosophical, valuable and
interesting, and every respectable
family ought to have had copy.
When the speech was finished and
polished and ready for delivery its
inventor suggested that We take a
holiday and hear it. The suggestion
was not seconded. We were working
hard to make an average of ninety
cents per day. and no one felt like
losing tlme to hear speech.
Then John q. took his speech un-
der his arm and walked over to
Turkey Bend to find an audience,
but the Mayor of the camp gave him
five minutes in which to get out of
shooting range. He then tried the
camp up tho Little Trail, and there
he was actually shot at. He returned
to camp somewhat discouraged.
A man who has a speech to deliver
and is choked off must feel rather
uncomfortable. Indeed, it is not
serving him just right, and no one
can blame him for asserting that the
spirit of the country is dcgenerating.
Whom John Z. discovered that the
fruits of his toll were not appreciated
he went about like a man who had
taken a solemn VOW to bide his time
and get even in the end. That was
where his head was level. Had he
raised any row over our want of ap-
probation he would have been tossed
into the creek.
Followed by his great American
speech and other personal traps.
One day the boys over in the Bend
had a hanging bee and invited lis to
come down and Sec chap swing for
his crimes. The invitation was ac-
ceptcd by all but two of our crowd.
Elder Watkins was sick and couldn't t
go, and John q. Baker WIS mad and
didn't want to. 1t was therefore ar
ranged that he should rcmain to care
for tho Elder, proceeding to which
ho agreed with wonderful cheerful
ness.
Little did we suspect the fendish
purposes of his heart.
We left camp at noon, reached the
Bend an hour later, and as the man
who was to hang had long confes-
sion to make, and did not have good
command Of language, We did not re-
turn until about 5.
Had anything happcned7 You can
bet your last dollar there had!
Nearly mile away we heard the
voice of John q. Baker pitched at its
highest key. and occasionally caught
up such words as "Washington," In
dependence" Magma Charta" and
glorious country"
As we drew near we discovered him
on rock beside Elder Watkins
shanty. that great speech in his left
hand and his right slashing through
the air. He had then been speaking
for four hours, and he had only come
down to tho war of 1872.
We made rush for him. and at
the same moment made the discovery
that Elder Watkins was stone dead
in his bed. Beside him lay a piece
OF paper and a pencil. and in trem-
bling hand he had written:
John O. Baker has killed Inc with
his great speech. Hc has been going
for throo hours now, and [ feel that
another ten minutes will finish me.
Please hang or drown him in revenge
for this cold-blooded murder
Tho great American speaker was
still delivering his great American
speech when we rushed for him. 1t
was miracle how he escaped all those
bullets, and it was still stranger how
he outran the tleetest of the crowd,
but he actually got away and carried
his speech with him. 1t ought to
have been a great moral warning to
John Q. Baker, but it wasn't. He
brought up in camp sixteen miles
away and resumed his speech just
where We had interrupted it, and they
suspected him of being u Mormon
missionary and hung him.