Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-07-28
A SINGULAR SCREED.
Cullum Farnham Makes an Apollo
getic Entry.

GhOne Stalking ThrOuR I
White Pine County.
We have in our possession q trans
cript verbatim ct literatim from tn
docket Of Justice Of the Peace Cullun
Farnham Of Osceola, White Pine County
which, if reproduced in print as written
would present . rare phenomenon Of liter
AZURE. or rather Of illiteracy; but to pub
lish it exactly As it appears on his HONOR
book is next to impossible on account Of
its peculiarities Of phraseology. extraor.
binary spelling and extreme length. But
the screed is not Of paramount interest as
q literary curiosity. We condense it and
change it somewhat so as to make 1t read
We publish 1t not to expose the illiteracy
OF q Justice Of the Peace. There is no
crime in that. There are plenty Of bright,
excellent men who are not familiar with
letters.
Our sole desire in giving it to the pub
lie is because Of its bearing upon the dis
graceful murder Of old man O'Neil at
Osceola on the night Of the 7th Of June.
Not that we are disposed to assist in bring
ing the assassins TO justice because it WAS
O'Neil whom they did away with in 80
dastardly q manner. The person butch
cred on that occasion cuts no figure in the
case whatever. 1t is the %butchering solely
that excites the interest Of the public and
makes everybody anxious 70 know who
the butchers are.
Justice Farnham's entry in his docket is
peculiar in this, that 1t is probably the first
that was ever so written. All that is ordi-
narily necessary is to enter the case and
give its naked form so that the result may
be ineligible with reference to the legal
proceedings involved. 1t will be noticed
Mr.. Farnham spins quite . yarn. He
goes into details OF q personal sort that
have no proper place in the formal docket
Of the case. There is . pro-
nounced apologetic tone running all
through the narrative. How is this phe-
to be accounted for? Had he
any charge to defend himself against for
in Judgment over the O'Neils?
He seemed to be weighed down with the
apprehension that unless he vindicated
himself on the "docket" he might be pre-
sumed TO have something to do with the
assassins. that possibly he might be sus-
Of knowing that his prisoners we're
to be mobbed, and that 30 knowing he
would be 30 recreant to his duty and his
sacred trust as an officer of the law as not
to interfere, but rather TO wink at the ac-
complishment Of the fell purpose Of the
assassins. We would not charge Justice
Fsrnham with so black . disposition; we
only intimate that he writes up the case
on his docket from Q personal standpoint
as though he suspected that he might be
so charged by somebody. Even in this we
may be wide Of the mark.
The first ugly phase Of the case he finds
it necessary to explain and apologize for
(seemingly, at any rate) is the disappear
ance Of Deputy Sheriff AL. Knuckles, who
was seen vanishing on horseback in the
direction Of Snake Valley. Knuckles was
q sworn officer set to guard the prisoners.
The Justice wsnts to be understood as
ignorant Of the motive the Deputy
Sheriff had in thus disappearing and leav-
ing the prisoner without q guard; and,
also, to have it distinctly enunciated from
his docket" that he did not know until
Knnckles had gone that he had any inten-
ton OF going away. Now, the question
naturally suggests itself to the reader Of
the docket, "Why does Mr.. Farnham thus
to vindicate himself"
huuChlcb ulhdDRChI duCC tOOh RluCo ~ y
in the afternoon. About dark he
became SOLICITORS about his prisoners and
went to see who was guarding them. He
could not find out, and had to appeal to
the prisoners themselves for the coveted
information
He had previously stated that he had
taken their gun Henry rife) from them
because "he wanted it as evidence in the
These quoted words he uses two or
three times, az though he was trembling
for fear somebody might think he wanted
it for another and q sinister purpose |
That "the gun was wanted in evidence he
seems to think sets him right in taking
the weapon from his prisoners. Why, he
could not have done less than to disarm
the O'Neils; and to mention the fact that
he dissrmed the prisoners and then to
apologize for doing so is q phase Of judi
cial d~elicacy aud sentimeutalism probably
never before developed in the bosom Of .
Justice Of the Peace.
He goes on to tell how he was moved by
the entreaty OF M. E. Bassett to provide
for the safety OF his brother, R. L. Bassett,
who, If he should come to Osceola, might
be hurt by the O'Neils (prisoners) who
we're running at large on the hills. A fig
ure Of speech, doubtless.
This leads him gracefully to the appoint
ment Of particular friends" OF the
to guard them-men who are
known to be $50 We are assured) the sworn
Of those whom they were to
and for the arrest Of both OF whom
warrants were issued on the charge Of COM
in the murder. But His Honor
again, and tells us that Dunton
and Williams were ''sworn officers Of the
Why say thatp The presump-
ton that they were had nothing to cloud it.
The end is nearly reached. The catas-
in the dramatic narrative draws
near. At l O'Clock ct night, 30
be says, the guard came and raped on his
cabin door. He does not say In his story
he asked who was there; but he does
say he arose at once and let them In, and
he knew what had happened.
The guard had been ~overpowered by . mob
lot, who killed one Of the prisoners and
wounded the other Two. The curtain
drops sharply.
ne begins the next sentence Of his entry
% follows. II then set the examination
Of the prisoners Zone dead and two wound
ed for June IT,"
We have hastily analysed the entry Of
Justice Cullum Farnham On his Court
II reads quesrly. We have given
our reasons for thinking that II does. But
here 10 the entry which will now be allowed
to speak for itself:
DOCKET ENTRY.
Tho State Of Nevada W. R. O. O'Neil,
Richard O'Nsil aad william O'Neil.-
Assault with intent to commit murder.
On the 20th day Of May. 1888, Jake
Cameron came into court and stated to me
that r. L. Bassett had been shot and was
lying very low in Spring Valley. and asked
me 10 60 to his bedside and take his com.
plant. started and arrived 81 his house
the 21st day Of May, 1883, and pro-
at onoe to take his complaint, IN
which he accused r. @. o'Nsil, Richard
O'Nsil and william O'Neil Of assault. and
prayed that they might be dealt with
according to law. ! took his testimony q
short - possible, he being very weak. ]
asked complainant II he wished warrant
to issue. He said to hold on . few days.
Al he might be better, ~ he had more tes-
to give In regard to William
O'Neil. / did not take further testimony,