River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-08-27

ing to keep him here, made up a pool
and agreed to pay him certain sum
for watching their stores at night, and
/ the bankers also entered into some sort
of an arrangement with him. He had
the run of the town, and no one here
was more admired and trusted. In the
coure of time rumor gained currency to
/ the effect that COPYRIGHT and AleIyntre
/ had been guilty of several murders in
/ the West, and that the authorities of
New Mexico were bent on their extra
dition COPYRIGHT affected 10 laugh at
these reports, stating that they would
amount to nothing, and that they all
/ grew out of the fact that while he was
guarding a valuable pile of silver ore
one night at Silver City he was attacked
4 by a lot of Mexicans bent on robbery,
and that he had killed them in a line of
duty. As this performance correspond
ed perfectly with his achievements and
reputation when in office here, every
/ body set the rumors down as base stan
/ ders, and it was generally agreed that
no power on earth could take him away
/ from here to be tried for shootings that
were so plainly justiffable.
! Although there were frequent hints
| that something was in the wind, Court
/ right continued his career as private
Waterman and the lion of the town
until last October, when party Of five
/ State Rangers arrived here, evidently
/ BY chance, and proceeded to make
themselves to home. COPYRIGHT had
! been a Ranger before his career here
/ opened, and he naturally sought out his
old companions, and for day or two
he and they were busy in recalling old
scenes and experiences. just at dusk
on the 10th of October the Rangers got
/ COPYRIGHT into private room at
| hotel and at a given signal covered
1 him with their reyolvers and made him
/ a prisoner, showing as their authority
warrant from the Governor of New
/ Mexico. As soon as the fact became
| known on the street the most prodigous
excitement prevailed, and ii increased
with every hour. Nearly every man in
| the city got arms, and by 8 o o'clock the
! hotel was surrounded by 800 bowling
citizens. all demanding Courtright's re-
| lease. and threatening the Rangers with
death if they undertook to leave the
! building All night long the uproar
continued, hardly an eye being closed
in the whole city. Toward midnight
COPYRIGHT appeared at a window, and,
holding up his manceled hands, was
| greeted with a roar of sympathetic
cries
! just as the mob was on the point of
making a rush at the hotel, the sheriff
appeared on the balcony and announced
! that a writ of habeas corpus had been
/ taken out, and that the Rangers had
agreed to respect it. This Gained the
multitude in some degree, but fearing
/ that the prisoner might be spirited
away. nearly everybody remained up all
night watching the hotel. A platform
was improvised in the street, and from
! this stand various amateur orators held
forth until daylight, denouncing the
/ Governor, the Rangers and New Mex
| leans. The burden of all the speeches
was that COPYRIGHT had simply done
I his duty in New Mexico, that his only
/ offence was the killing of band of
/ Greaser robbers, and that the Texas
State officers had been bribed by the
| Mexican banditti, who wanted to get
! possession of COPYRIGHT for the pur-
pose of lynching him. As the crowd
| grew more and more excited, under the
appeals of the speakers, the city officers
of Fort Worth appeared on the hotel
/ balcony, and urged the police to dis
| perse, saving that as soon as they did
1 so COPYRIGHT would be taken to the
| Jail for safe keeping, and that they
/ would promise that he would not be
spirited away COPYRIGHT himself was
called for, and as he came out with his
/ clanking chains there was a gigantic
! shrek from 800 throats that was deaf
eninr. and so long continued that it
was some minutes before he could make
himself heard. When silence was re-
stored he urged them to disperse, and
promised to meet them all in the morn
| ING in court. Then the City Attorney
/ spoke to the same effect, assuring the
people that, though the Rangers We're
there, COPYRIGHT was i'll the hands of
his friends
How many Rangers are tlare?"
yelled one.
"Onlv three, " said the City Attorney
while there are five Fort Worth officers
here. We pledge ourselves to keep him
| here"
"Well, then, take the irons off him, .
called man in the crowd. Give him
a gun and he'll take care of himself,
Gained in another.
While this speech was in progress
COPYRIGHT was slipped out of q ide
door into an omnibus and was driven
rapidly to the jail, the mob following
good naturally and promising to see
him on the morrow. The next day the
crowds in the street continued undimln-
ished, and on the demand of the pop
ulace COPYRIGHT was escorted from the
Jail to a restaurant to get his meals.
Breakfast and dinner were obtained
without particular incident, except that
perhaps a thousand men followed the
prisoner to and from the restaurant and
watched around while he ate At sup
per time the crowd had increased, and
among the leaders there were hints that
something unlocked for was to happen.
COPYRIGHT entered the restaurant with
out irons accompanied by two
Rangers and the officer from New
Mexico. The four sat at one Ia
bic. About fifty men crowded into
the room, and the street outside was
blocked. When the meal was about
half finished COPYRIGHT dropped his
napkin, apparently by accident, ten or
twenty men crowded still closer to the
table, and when the prisoner raised his
head he jumped to his feet, not with
the napkin, but with two enormous re-
volvers in his hands. They had been
hung on nails under the table by his
friends and he knew exactly where to
find them. In much less time than it
takes to tell it he had jumped back a
few PAGES, with the weapons aimed at
his captors; the crowd had pressed in
between him and them, and making
his way to the street, he had mounted
fleet horse and made off, the crowd
opening a passage for him and cheer
ing Justify. The officers were com
pletely out-witted, and before, they
got their scattered senses together
their man was far av Jy. After Court
rights disappearance Fort Worth in
dulged in a grand hurrah, and the
celebration might have continued a
good deal longer than it did if party
Of Rangers had not arrived just then
with Mcintyre, who had been trapped
in the same way at Wichita Falls.
Mcintyre had been followed down by
about twenty of his friends, and at
! Fort Worth arrangements were at once
made for a writ of habeas corpus; but,
/ falling to secure his freedom by this
means, he was conveyed by the officers
to the Jail at Decatur. from which he
soon made his escape. Before the
Don1llar excitement here died out a