Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1885-10-29
The Great American ]. p.

The justice of the peace is some
times popularity, and IL some one
does not watch him he will exceed his
| jurisdiction. 1t took constable,
sheriff, prosecuting attorney and q
club to convince q Wyoming justice
of the peace that he had no right to
send man to the penitentiary for life.
Another justice in Utah sentenced
criminal to be hung on the following
Friday between twelve and one
o'clock of said day, but he couldn't en-
force the sentence. A Wisconsin JUS
tice of the peace granted divorce
and in two weeks married the couple
over again--ten dollars for the d.
vorce and two dollars for the relapse.
Another Badger justice bound q young
man over to appear and answer at the
next term of the circuit court for the
crime of chastity, and the evidence
was entirely circumstantial, too.
Another one, when his nrst case
came up, jerked q candle-box around
behind the dining room table, put his
hat on the back of his head, borrowed
chew of tobacco from the prisoner
and said: "Now, boys, the courts
open. The first feller. that says
word unless / speak to him will get
paralyzed. Now, tell your story"
Then each witness and the defendant
reeled off his yarn without being
sworn. The justice fined the defend
ant ten dollars and made the COM
planning witness pay half the costs.
The justice then took the fine and put
it in his pocket, adjourned court and
in an hour was so full that it took six
men to hold his housest long enough
for him to get into the door.
A North Park justice of the peace
and undersheriff formed partnership
years ago for the purpose of supply
ing the people with justice at New
York prices, and by doing a strictly
cash BUSINESS they dispensed with
good deal of justice, such as it was.
1t was misdemeanor to kill game
and ship it out of the state, and. as
there was a good deal there. consist
ing of elk. antelope and bhck-tail
deer especially, and as it could not
be hauled out of the park at that
season without going across the Wy
oming line and back again into the
state of Colorado, the undersheriff
would load himself down with war
rants, signed in blank. and station
himself on horseback at the foot Of
the pass to the north. He would then
arrest every body unfortunately who
had any fraction of deer, antelope
or elk on his wagon, try tho case
then and there, put on n fine of $25
to $75, which if paid never reached
the treasury, and then he would wait
for another victim. The average man
would rather pay the fine than 60
back hundred miles through the
mountains to stand trial, so the I'M
dersheriff and justice thrived for
some time. But one day the under
sheriff served his patent automatic
warrant on young man who refused
to come down. The officer then drew
one of those large baritone instru-
ments that generally has coward at
one end and corpse at the other.
He pointed this at the young man and
assessed q fine of $50 and costs. In
stead of paying this fine, the youth,
who was quite nimble, and unarmed,
knocked the bogus officer down with
the butt-end OF his sx-mule whip, took
his self-cocking credentials away and
lit out. In less than week the JUS
tice and his capper were in the re-
frigerator.
Twas ohce justice of the peace. and
good many funny little incidents &C.
Cured while held that office. do not
allude to my official life here in order
to call attention to my glowing career,
for, thousands of others no doubt could
have administered the affairs of the Of
flee as we'll as did, but rather to speak
of one incident which took place while
/ was j. p.
One night after i had retired and
gone to sleep milkman called Bill
Cunning rang the bell and got me out
of bed. Then he told me that man
who owed him milk bill of S35 was
all loaded up and prepared. to slip
across the line overland into Colorado,
there to grow up with the country and
acquire other Indebtedness no doubt.
Bill desired an attachment for the en-
tire wagon-load- of goods and said
he lad an officer at hand to servo the
writ.
But" said l, as wrapped "wel-
come" husk door-mat around my
glorious proportions, show do you
know while we converse together he is
not winging his way down the valley
of the PardeeP"
Never mind that, jedge," Gays
William. you fix the dockyments
and III tend to the defendant.
In an hour Bill returned with S35 in
cash for himself and the entire cost of
the court, and, as we settled up and
fixed the docket, / asked Bill Dunning
how he detained the defendant while
we made out the affidavit pond and
writ of attachment.
"You reckollect, jedge," says Will
liam, ''that the Vaughn wheel is held
onto the exile with big nut. No
wiggin kin go any length of time
without that there nut onto the
exile. Well when diskivered
that what's his name was pack.
ed up and the wiggin loaded, | took
the liberty to borry one o. them there
nuts for kind of momento as it were,
aud kept that in my pockets till we
, served the writ and he paid my bill
and came to his milk, If you'll allow
me that expression, and then says to
him, 'Pardner,' says I, you are going
|, far, far away where / may never see
you again. Take this here nut says
/, and put it onto the exile of the Of,
hind wheel of your waggin, and when
ever you look ut it hereafter. think o.
, Door old Bill Dunning, the mllkman.'