The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-05-19
A Frontier T,vnehinr.

: OF its unreal mountains, impossible
trees, and unimaginable rocks, and done
: out in the bare browns and reds of a
sulign spring morning in the barren,
iesolate gorges of the Rockies? just
follow the crowd as it gathers ut the
postotfiee, and, at last. IN silence and
seriousness, moves slowly over the hill
q tie j4ii. Every body knows there is
ateath in the air
! The sssolid citizens stand at the
doors of their respective saloons and see
the mob go by mob in which are
! their sons and brothers. 4 drunken
Justice of the Peace, old Squire o. Mara,
who tried to kid himself last week, hfae-
es blearIly up in doorway, and calm
", even smilingly. regards the men who
are about to take the law into their own
| hands.
One corner of the Jail is honered by a
| double row of slabs along its sides, and
| around this corner cluster most OF the
men, according to their preconcerted
plan, while the ringleaders GO around
To the wicket to interview Jailer Fish
They know the answer they will get.
/ for Jim Fish is true as steel, and tells
them they II get his prisoners after
| they We gotten the best of him, and moi
before. It's dangerous game, but the
/ YlgIlantes play to win at all hazards
| Convinced of the firmness of Fish's pur
pose, they leave him, gather once more
| around Murderer Corner, and in
moment the cracking of tiny creeping
| flames is heard, heavy smoke STILES the
~retched prisoners, and their cries and
shouts form terrible accompaniment
for the short, sharp blows of deity
welded axes cutting into Jim Murphy s
cell.
Y, fan ~ in ,+aa ba ;- c,,,4 xxr,.;+l.;..1u -.
rer-strieken in the grasp of a half dozen
men. some of whom, possibly asked |
him only last week for a Job. - The |
jailer is forced to busy himself in re-
leasing his other prisoners, and has mol
time now to check the mob even ii he |
could. But can this wretched, dwarfed, |
carrot haired sandy-bearded and alto
gether Misunderstanding rulfian be the
dapper, black browed gambler, whose |
broadcloth was wont to be no blackel |
and smoother than his own locks? The
transformation has indeed come, and
the king OF Secret Gulch stands revealed
as the tramp who killed the Frenchman
on Cut Throat Flat
How curiouslv the boys stare at him
as they hurry him along to the old shaft
on the hill where once stood the wind.
lass and hoist of the Mory mine, out OF
which Jim Murphy swindled the widow
OF its discoFerer. The splendid new
works yonder cannot help their miser-
able owner now, for it is at the mouth
OF the deserted shaft that he meets his
fate. The t9ia1llass chain still holds the
bucket over The sullen water forty feet
below and & 200 pound weight is easily
and quickly slipped into the bucket
without Murphy's seeing it,
Have you got anything to say be-
fore yOa die2" says BIG Bill. and for a |
moment all is silent The murderer ; |
coat, hat aud boots have been stripped
from him for the first time since he j
small greenish eyes look eagerly about :
for a chance to escape, but two six /
shooters stare him in the face. He vents G
a volley of oaths and imprecations, but !
begS no mercy, makes no denial. Jim !
Murphy, alias California Reddy,'' says f
Big Bill, 1.-The vigilantes of Secret Gulch a
you to instant death. You'll '
know why, and it's no use to take ND =
lime telling you.,' Half a dozen hands y
bind the still struggling wretch to the a
bucket, in which he is forcibly seated a
Years ago he went down this shaft at | u
hight, secretly, when it belonged to n
'ohn Rowan's widow, to see syhat it a
had at the bottom; and the next day he 81
bought its riches from the widow for e
ong. Now he is to SO down it again, q,
n broad daylight, but never to come ii
ack. il
The chain is wound up, and now, oven :;
he yawning shaft and its black bottom in
water, hangs the wretch, betweenI Hi
arth and Heaven. an object to godsf &C
nd men. AT signal the handles OF
le windlass are released from the hands
lat hold them and. with the rapi,lity
| lightning the bucket, with its Shrek
lg human freight, shoots downward to II
he very bottom, striking the water with
loud splash, but never staying its
aadlong course until the very bedrock
Glow is reached NJ
After ten minutes the dripping, dis al.
Ited, Shiny body is hoisted to the sur rs
&c and the remainder of the vigil So
ltes sentence carried out The re- hls
aims of the gambler king Of Secret OF
uich, 1t this writing, hang from the bo
g telegraph pole III the Placer mines jee
obody j. likely to cut it down soon, ist
+ on It's breast Is pinned a notice, aes
hich reads as follows: ~ ~
To all the thues thieves, cut-throats, cor
and disrepuiable Ioafers
Secret Cullen 4 ou@are hereby given r.,
( hours to leave the camp. and warned ~,
the example OF Jim Murphy. We POI
can business. and shall execute the o oaa
oil 3-7-77 2 ore
Six hours have elapsed since the post and
: of this notice. which now adorn the foil
urch door and saloon screen alike.
e trails down the gulches and south (
Lrd to Idaho, are already lined with
,aa,,,t.. - i,..,.,,Is1r.e ~ - f' mis-
r. phEEa Press the