Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1885-02-09
TOO MANY BILL JONESES.
IDAHo sHERiFFS AND LrNCHERs CON.
rtSED Rr THEIR NrHBER.


From the New YORK sun.
At American Falls, Idaho, the presence OF
six Bill JOucScs in camp caused much trouble
| the other day. Old Bill Jones has been there
| ever since the country was open to settlement
| He is looked up to everywhere. Everybody
| knows him. and he knows everybody. lie
| keeps saloon, and sometimes deals a card
| or two as wcll Us buys dust from strapped
miners u, sman shave. Old Bill Jones
hasn't an enemy in the whole territory, aud
| If he had he would mover rest until hC or the
| enemy had quilted the world or the terri
| tory.
| one after another fvc othcr Bll ioncscs
| put in an appearance. For long time every
| thing went well. They were all fine fellows,
| evidently, and no great trouble was eN-
| perienccd by them or anybody else IN pre-
| serving their identity. But one day last week
| the sheriff and four men came in on horse
| back with a warrant for the arrest OF Bill
| Jones. The Bill Jones wanted had murdered
a family oi omigrants over in Paradise
| Canon, and the court had sent for him. As
| old Bill Jones was the Bill Jones. So far as
| American Falls and its people went he was
| at once pointed out aS the man, aud the
| sherift's officers rounded him up in good
| style Old Bill protested his innocence and
| would have offered resistance If he had seen
any encouragement in the faces of his
friends. 1t was plain that the majority Of
| them had a suspicion that the old man vas
| caught at last and consciousness ot this fact
broke his heart. lie went of ith his captors.
| protesting his Innocence and swearing that
| he would get even with somebody on his re-
| turn.
The Cavaigade had not much more than
vanished over the mountains when another
sherifl's posse came in from the west, also in
| quest Of Bill Jones. The first one that came
| to hand was the Bill Jones VINO tends bar in
| the star saloon, and ne was accordingly taken
| in charge. lie protested his Innocence. like
the old man, hut the people were pretty
| evenly divided on the question of his guilt.
| Old Bill had been taken east, aud this one
was carried eff To the west The next after
noon, while most of the settlers were discuss
ing the fate Of the two men, a rattle Of hoOfS
was heard and a partV of hOrSCmCn dashed
| madly through the town, stopping at one of
the saloons long enough to get drink.
The crowd rushed over to see what the
trouble was and found that the men had BIZ
| Jones, n murderer, in charge, and wero
going 10 lynch him up in the timber. Justice
! of the Peace Fallon here spoke up and said
there had been two Bill JuucSeS taken ont OF
| this Campln the preceding fOrty-cight hours
| and il might bc that some horrible mistake
was being made. All he wanted was to have
the right man caught, and he would pull as
hard on the rope rs auybody hut until that
point was settled he thought there should be
no lyuChiug. Other, made bold TO express
the same opinion, and the lyucher~, after
| comforting with one another. agreed. aS the
whisky was good, to wait there few dayS
with their prisoner and investigate.
| Last Monday old Bill rode in with brand
new rifle, two revolvcrS. nda bowie knife.
and dared the whole town to Jump on him.
, He was the mGddeSt man secu in Idaho since
Big Ed LarrabcC ran off with Tom BeidcU'~
bride, at Toms house warming. when Tom
| wlinnpl a and 1Ig t1t.. ,f lgtir
horses. Nobody wanted to fight old Bill,
aud the whole town kept in the houses while
Bill gallopcd mp and down the street, yelling
| and swearing. After a while he BEGAN tO
shoot in the windows and then the Justice
was sent ont uS piece Offering. Old Bill
clme very ucar riding him down, but at last
he SOborcd oil a little aud listened to what
| EailOn bad to say. The IRsticp explained
matters the hest way he could, and told how
Bill. the bartender, had been carried oil and
Bill, the cowboy, was held a captive upat the
other end of the town by party Oi lynCherS.
, This mOltICd the old man to some extent
and, attCr a moments reflection, he declared
l that il the boys would help him rescue the
, cowboy Bill and then round up all the Bill
Joneses in the vicinity he would find uC
. more FAULT.
All decided to do as old Bill desired. After
little preparation party of determined
3 men made q raid ON the lyuchcrs, cap,
? tured Cowboy Bin and drove the lynch
crs out of town. Then old Bill commanded
that all the other Joncses be brought before
him. This took some little time. hut the
next day the five other JoEescs were IN con
r ference with old Bill at the Ophir saloon,
when the sheriff who had arrested old Bill
came in with a stranger, who said his name
| was Bill Jones. No one had ever seen him
in those parts before. and he was the
offender whom all the officers and
lyncherS had been after for a week previous
1t was all that the old man could do to keep
the other IOuCses from laying violent hands
on him. When he and his keepers had
passed on, old Bill made a speech something
| like this:
| There's too many Bill Joneses in this camp
for comfort, and something's got to he did to
keep things agoin' right. Now I'm here
first, and I'm the oldest man in the camp for
money, aud my name is Bill Jones As an
honorable title, 10 be used by you BOYS or
not, jest as you please, you can call me Old
Bll Jones If yOu want 10, but Bill Jones'
| plain ana simple is my name. You, now Bill
Jones (reIerring to the bartender), I'm
going to christen You Bill Jones Alcohol.
You, BlII Jones tto the cowboy) your name
| ls to bc Bill Jones PunChCr. You, Bill
| Jones (to Il blacksmith who once had cx-
| pressed wish to travel in South America),
| your name is Bill Jones Patagonia You,
| Bill Jones 10 labOrcr in the mines who
| came from the COAST, your name is Bill
Jones Sacramento, and you, Bill Jones (to Il
| prospectOr and whisky drinker not over
! four feet tall, your name is Bill Jones Short
| The first one of you that goes back ON these
| names has got me 10 fight, and ! want the
| camp To understand it, too
All hands agreed that the christening was
proper that they understood it all perfectly
and that there would hc no further trouble.
| The old mau i now having painted for his
saloon sign bearing the inscription in red
letters three feet high
"bld Bill Jones'