The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1884-02-14
gslseteh STORY.
FHE VIGILlNTES.

anu NeVdud WAS llIlcl Will IidSlS
deeds. From the spring Of 1850
until long after the Washoe excite.
ment, the entire Pacific coast north
of Lower California was filed with
wild and adventurous spirits, all
searching after Gold. Every min
ing camp of any note had its roughs,
all we'll armed, well drilled in the
use Of weapons, and as reckless of
life as any bandit who ever cut a
throat. These dare-devils we're fre-
quently employed by mining com
panies to drive off miners and hold
mining property, in order to save
the trouble Of appealing to the
courts to adjust their difficulties.
The writer arrived in the wild
mining town of Aurora, Nevada, in
the spring of 1862, when the "Wide
Vest and ''Real del Monte" mines
were at war over supposed valuable
mining ground. Each company,
acting upon the claim that might
makes right, imported from Washoe
a lot of the most vif!ainous and
reckless roughs to be found in Ne
vada. After i number Of fights
between the two factions employed
by the wide West owners ON one
side, and the Real del Monte on
the other, the adjustment of the dis
puted ground was finally LETT to the
courts, and the roughs, being thrown
out of employment IN their legiti-
mate business Of throat-cutting,
went to work at a trade which, one
of them said, would pay better
highway robbery. After robbing a
number Of persons, four Of the
worst villains murdered and robbed,
in the public streets Of Aurora, q
kind hearted old man by the name
of Johnson, who had fed them in
his hotel without receiving any pay.
The names Of the murderers were
Masterson, Daily, Buckley, and
Three-fngered Jack. The four as
sassins, after doing their bloody
work, left town at once, and started
for Mono Lake all well mounted,
and each heavily armed. The
sheriff, Mr.. Francis, with about ten
picked men we'll armed, started in
hot pursuit. The cut-throats were
overtaken the second day out, about
twenty miles south of Mono Lake,
Inyo country, in the lava beds of
that volcanic country. They were
surrounded and captured without
a shot being fired. Sheriff Francis,
one of the brayest and coolest men
in Nevada, was asked the next day,
when he brought his prisoners in
town. heavily ironed:
"How did you do it?''
He answered in his quiet way:
':We had the drop on them.
They knew we were thar; and, when
we covered 'em with ten Sharp's
rifles, I said: Boys, throw mp
your hands, and they did it quick
as lightning. When l was putting
the handouts on three-fngered
Jack, he laughed and said: Francis,
old man, you did it mighty quick %
The following day a vigilance
committee of about seven hundred
men was organized, well armed and
ready for work. A large, solid
scaffold was hastily erected on the
sidehill above the jail where the
murderers were confined. Promptly
at twelve o'clock, On the fourth day
after the murder, a little band Of
about thirty picked men, headed by
Captain Palmer, commander Of the
vigilante forces, with twelve.poun
der loaded with grape and SCRAP
iron, marched down in front Of ths
Jail.
Sheriff Francis, cool and deliber,
ate, with about half a dozen picked
deputies, each armed with a Sharp''
rifle, stood in front of the Jail door
Captain Palmer, as he drew NJ
his little force in front, said, as be
raised his hat:
| Sheriff Francis, I demand from
you four murderers, whom you holc
As prisoners"
"By what authority do you CLAIM
these men?" asked Sheriff Francis
| Captain Palmer in a clear voic
which rang out loudly, sSsEered {:
SIN the name Of theWvigifants.
"Then, by the authority in N
..haAna ,a ShhHtsY rrf kha nntfnhx,