Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-12-16
SPANISH jim.

81 -
Whatever sensations are called up in
he minds of the bar by the spectacle of
of Justice Leonard's voluminous
opinions, we cannot say. The ordinary
mind, as well As his practice, is
TOO deep and intricate . thing for the
mere layman to speculate upon with any
of happiness. The latter is as
much appalled, in the courthouse by
listening to what he sadly thinks he
ought to understand, as the primer child
is dazed by hearing q big boy hammer.
ing away on the hard nuts in the back
part Of his arithmetic book. In either
case the over-awed listener gropes in
vain for something to take hold of. In
The latter he gives it up without great
effort, however, and is willing to wait
patiently until he grows into that COM
prehension which comes only with years.
In his budding intellect there is q glim-
mer Of light which enables him to see
on the outskirts Of logic to pre-
that the mathematical conclusions
reached may be correct. In the former
case, that of the lawyers, the grown up
man, with sense enough to be at home
almost anywhere else, either admits him.
self . fool in the courthouse or, as a
lvo of his own reason, jumps to the
that there are many lawyers
who do not exemplify the truth Of the
proverb that Flaw is the perfection of
While occasionally the poor
outsider may feast his soul upon the wis
dom that falls from the lips of . great
in q hundred other cases he will
find it an actual relief to close his ears
and 60 to sleep and dream ~perchance OF
q horse. fiddle and the other attendant
of q charivari. What is crystal
lized by the well informed and logical
mind in . few home words that the lay
may or a child may understand upon the
first utterance, gives to . "scatterer' the
subject for q volume of supernuous in
volutions stilted up on words a foot and
half long, terms which repel the major
ity and form . labyrinth out of which
but few can escape without groans and a
nervous headache. Some OF the inter
minable discussions of u Supreme
Court, though doubtless as full Of law
an egg is Of meat, have been a sore
affection to those who would like to
read them but cannot. Apropos Of
which the Enterprise Of Friday morn
ing produces this stinging criticism:
In the town Of Belmont, in Nye
county, an Indian girl was killed last
March. Her slayer was q Shoshone red
skin who was known as Spanish Jim.
This tragedy. in due course of law, has
furnished q theme for q six.column opus
cule from the pen of Judge Leonard OF
the Nevada Supreme Court. 1t certainly
imparts . fresh and readable complexion
to our first page this morning. 1t will,
perhaps, remain forever a mystery why
tine dliigsni author should have iimited
himself TO six columns when he could
have filled . full page Of the Enterprise
by writing only two columns more. We
feel certain that Judge Leonard will re-
gret the opportunity he has lost when he
sees the result of his labor in
newspaper print. Those two columns
or less, of advertising. which he
neglected to displace. will haunt him like
. specter. We have, at least, no hesita-
tion in saying that such is our hope.
Judges Hawley and Belknap, who seem
to have had some hand in the prepare
tion Of this literary feast, might GER
tainly have helped their associate to
more fully elaborate the subject. Their
addition too much resembles the shortest
verse in the New Testament. Instead OF
writing, 1--WE concur" they might, be-
tween them. have contributed the
amount necessary to fill out the page.
Condensation is well enough in . Presi-
dents message, or an Agricultural Com
missioner's report or the hog cholera, but
it is entirely out of place in a Nevads
Supreme Court report. If DIR. Bergsteir
can talk ten hours, with only . ten
minutes intermission in which to take
breath, there is no reason why three
Supreme Court Judges should not BE-
able, by united effort, to fill one page o.
the Enterprise at one sitting. When q
great topic presents itself for treatment,
there should be no stinting Of language
in which to convey the sentiments Of the
writer. Il 10 not every day that .
Shoshone goes on the warpath in .
Nevada town, and by his exploit present,
90 inviting = theme for the ready writer.
Spanish jim did 90, and his victim wa,
An unfortunate Indian maiden. We
hope his tribe punished him for his
crime, since he Is declared without the
jurisdiction Of the pale faces. Their
code probably does not forbid the infic,
tion Of cruel and unusual punishments.
In that case. if Spanish Joe be yet al
large, We suggest to the Shoshones
that they engage somebody to read No,
]. l68 to him. That, we think, would
fniah him