Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-06-05
MY FIRST CASE.

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 In the spring of 1859, soon after was ad- mitted to the bar-there being two lawyers to one client in my native town-I decided to 'go west" and grow up with the mustangs, coyotes and other beasts, and build for my buoyant self moro money and legal reputa- tion than was likely to accumulate in the old country.
 Accordingly. early in June. packed my gripsack with what few duds had, and my Flaw library of oneeared vol ume of Blackstone, . patent office report and a last years aimanac-and started for my new home, with considerably bigger pile of bright anticipations than cash. In due time arrived in that, then com paratively new commonwealth Texas), which had been taught was several times bigger than ''ai outdoors" and which tradi- tion said could boast of but one lonely star, but enough thieves and ticks to fertilize the balance of creation. @H After looking around bit for location, cast anchor and my old shoes in the little town of W. the unpretentious county seat of D. county where soon secured boarding and little six by nine room for an office. was not long in discovering that the place was as unattractive as a turuip patch in December, with a population of perhaps 100 souls, including the dogs and barrooms Several meals of passable beef and corn l bread. buttermilk and collards had teen snugly tucked away in the deep recesses of my anatomy where they would do the most good, and still no indications that anybody in that section had the slightest disposition to monkey with law in any shape whatever Twas growing desperate. ..-. Hn wac rnv landlord
 But my board bill was growing faster than the whole business
 Weeks passed, then into months; summer came and went, and l began to think that frost would catch me in the woods with my pants unpatcEed before a client could be in- duced to come to the rescue. In this interesting dilemma found myself one night. early in September. just about as sky colored an individual as there was in Texas 1 was sitting in my little cuddy of an office debating whether 1 should set the town on fire and prosecute somebody for the of fense, or shove my unoffending Blackstone in the fire and then commit suicide by swal- lowing the in,sstand, when the door was un- ceremoniously pushed open to admit a rough looking, six-feet-two specimen of Texas hu- manity, who, without a word, deliberately planted himself on the only spare stool in the office as if he was the head of the family
 l felt somewhat relieved when 1 saw it wasn't the sheriff or my washerwoman, but was not favorably impressed with the looks of my visitor, for imagined there was bad case of assassination pictured in his counte- nance, and 1 know there were the handle ends of two or three shooting arrangements plainly visible in as many pockets of his outer harness. M
 While was looking at him and mentally ~o1o 1ofi yx1no ho uuNa,11 h,, >:k on the stove a preface and commenced: "What nout your name be- stranger9"
 'Goggins, if you please" answered, very politely
 "Edzactly," said he "Brown is my name. I've heerd of you down in our neck Law yera" ,
 to see fee in the dim distance, though, judging from appearances, 1 was not betting on a very big one.
 "Edzactly," he went on; that's what tho't. Wall, I've got little bizness fer ye" Precisely" said L "Name it." And it began to occur to me that my visitor was quite benevolent looking gentleman
 '.You see, my son Johns in bad scrape; dinged eff he ain't."
 "How's that7"
 "He's in jail here for murder, that's how's that" he explained. Y Ou QOnI Luedu It, ! reCurneQ, With feigned astonishment s-
 'sWhy don't Ip'
 "When and where was the crime com-
 "Last February. down in my settlement. But. squire, he's no more guilty of murder than my steer is.
 "How do you know7'
 Because he wern't thar when the feller was killed"
 "Can you prove an alibif' queried. "No, can't prove lie by anybody, but I'm clean satisfied that somebody's lied to cl'ar | theyselves." ',..... "Who was the man killedf "A peddler named Reed; but what would John or anybody else want to murder the poor feller fort He wernt robbed" "Who says your son killed him7" "A feller named Smith sw'ars he saw him | do the shootin'."
 "What's your defensei" asked 1 "Got none," he answered "But I'll tell you what I'll do."
 "Let's hear it."
 "Ef you'll git my boy out'n the scrape I'll poke $1, poo in yer pocket quicker'n you could 1 swaller . muskadine. and I'll deposit the cash with the county treasurer tomorrow. "
 "ru do my best." readily assented; and thus it was settled and my visitor departed.
 Tho next day, true to his word, my friend Brown returned and deposited the fee as promised, with written agreement that if l 1 succeeded the money was mine-otherwise l it wasn't. But two weeks intervened before court convened, and it may be imagined that l went to work with hungry will to get the matter in shape for trial first visited the scene of the murder. where learned that the peddler was found dead on the 29th of the preceding February near the residence ot a man named Jones. next called on young Smith, the principal witness in the case, who l informed me that he saw the defendant dc the shooting, and had so testified at the com
 mitment trial and would repeat the dose be
 fore tho grand jury soon to investigate the
 matter.
 1 didn't like the looks of this fellow Smith
 though learned that he was a man of good
 character in the community. He seemed toe
 eager to get the defendant out of the way, a:
 though such result would benefit him ir
 some way. This may have been imagination
 in me. but learned on inquiries from othe,
 parties that the two young men. Smith anc
 Brown. were both visiting Jones daughter
 which was something of a pointer, and gay,
 me something to study about when 1 go
 back to my office
 next visited the alleged murderer in Jail | xuho,,, fo,,nd to ha a v.a,n1 man vvitl