The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1883-11-24

A DIME NOVEL HERO.

The cheap. trashy literature of the
day has much to answer for. Hun
dreds if not thousands of younR boy
and girls in the country owe their
commencement of q life of crime and
shame to reading dime novels and
kindred sensational and loud" pub.
licstions. Sometimes the results OF
such reading show themselves in tx
sggerations which would appear lu
dicrous and amusing if they did no,
| possess.a serious side which soon en-
crosses the attention. These remarks
are called forth by the sudden disap-
pearance recently Of a fourteen year
old lad by the name Of Gaylord, from
Cleveland, Ohio. The boy had kind.
indulgent.-too indulgent-parents
and q comfortable home. He also
had access to shelves of dime novels
which he devoured with Unsuitable
avidity. Constant reading of this
trash 0vercame whatever influence
his parents had over him and he re-
solved to leave home and win his
way to fame and fortune as q bandit
Providing himself with a couple of
revolvers with which to fight Indians
on the plains, he babe adieu to the
scenes of his childhood and with a
proud heart, a firm step and two dol
lars he launched upon the great un.
known future.
An examination of the papers left
behind him revealed q condition of
affairs which, but for its seri us side,
would lie laughable. Inspired by
the vile reading contained in his ia
vorite literature, The promising
young desperate organized, shortly
before his disappearance. u band
called the ''Society of the Silver
Skulls" having a membership of a
dozen or more lads ranging from ten
to fourteen years of age. Among the
documents left by young Gaylord was
one containing in his own hand
writing the oath which each candi-
date was obliged to take before he be-
came a member Of the "Skulls,r
couched in the following mild Ian
guage:
"Cursed be friendship. Cursed be
fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers
May the offspring of ourselves can
ker, blister and decay upon its dying
mothers breast; may the blood of
each breed pestiferous plaques: NAV
the hair of each fail from his head,
the teeth crumble in his jaws, the
brain rot in his skull, the eyes canke,
and fall from their sockets and the
fingers'grow raisied if we ever betray
the secrets of the Skulls. So do. you |
swear. Death to our enemies. Life
to the Skulls"
. The immediate cause Of young
Gaylord so abruptly leaving home
was traced to the fact that one of the |
band for some reason left his CON-
rades. This could not he tolerated
by the young savages, aud 80 they !
sent him the following letter written !
IN blood and surmounted with a skull !
and cross-bones:
JASON CASKEY: One month from |
tonight, November 2, If you do not
|oin us you will receive your death |
warrant, and two days from thet. |
your death. BY order of |
THE SKULLS.
Young Caskey took fright at this
blood-thlrsty missile, and exposed
the whole business. Gaylord, hear
of it, skipped out and has not
aimee been found or heard of by his
anxious parents. This case ia only
one of many in which the youth o:
he country are led into foolish, if
not criminal, adventures by reading
lime novels. It Is a social pest which
be destroyed without mercy,
and the home is where the work
begin. No parents should al
ow the vile reading to find a place
their library, nor permit their
children to bring it at the family
ireside. There Is poison 20 the
Icuug in the average dime novel.