Wichita eagle., 1888-05-16
MY FIRST CASE.


10 ''go west" and grow up with the mustangs,
coyotes and other beasts, and build for my
buoyant SELF more money and legal reputa-
ton than was likely to accumulate in the
old country.
Accordingly, early in June, l packed my
gripsack with what few buds had, and my
Flaw Misunderstanding of one-eared vol
unne of Blackstone, patent office report and
a last years alInanac-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 Texasl,
which had been taught was several times
bigger than "all outdoors" and which tradi-
ton said could boast of but one lonely star,
but enough thieves and ticks to ferilize the
balance of creation
After looking around bit for a location, I
cast anchor and my old shoes in the little
town of W, the unpretentious county
seat of B county, where soon secured
boarding and little six by nine room for an
Office.
l was not long in discovering that tho
place was as unattractive as a turnip patch
in December, with population of perhaps
100 souls, including the dogs and barrooms.
Several meals of passable beef and corn
bread, buttermilk and collards had been
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.
was growing desperate.
So was my landlord.
But my board bill was growing faster than
the whole business.
Weeks passed, then into months; summer
came and went, and began to think that
frost would catch me in the woods with my
pants unpatched before 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 cclored an individual as there was in
Texas l was sitting liz my little cuddy of an
Office debating whether l should set the town
on fire and prosecute somebody for the Of
Tense, or shove my unoffending Blackstone
in the fire and then commit suicide by swal-
lowing the inkstand, when the door was un-
tremendously pushed open to admit rough
looking, six-feet-two specimen of Texas hui
manity, who, without a word, deliberately
planted himself on the only spare stool in the
office as if be was the head of the family
| felt somewhat relieved when | saw it
wasn't the sheriff or my washerwoman. but
l was not favorably impressed with the looks
of my visitor, for | imagined there was bad
case of assassination pictured in his counte-
nance, and | know there were the handle
ends Of two or three shooting arrangements
plainly visible in as many pockets of his
outer harness,
While I was looking at him and mentally
calculating where he would hit tne, he spit
on the stove as preface and commenced:
"What mout your name be. strangerp
''Goggins, if you please" answered, very
politely.
"Edzactly," said he "Brows Is my name
I've heerd of you down in our neck. Law
yer7n
Some 1 answered, proudly, beginning
TO see a fee in the dim distance, though
Judging from appearances, l was not betting
on a very big one.
''Edzactly," he went on; "that's what I
tho't Wall, Pve 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 "a bad scrape;
dinged eff he amt"
Flows that's"
Hes in Jail here for murder, that's hows
that" he explained.
You don't mean it," 1 returned, with
feigned astonishment
"Why don't lF'
sswhen end where was the crime COM
mittedr | asked
''Last February. down In my settlement
But, Squire, he's no more guilty of murder
than my steer is.
'How do you how7"
Because he wern't thar when the Teller
was killed.
Can you prove an alibii" queried
mo, can't prove lie by anybody, but I'm
clean satisfied that somebody's lied to cl'ar
theyselves"
'.Who was the man killed."
"a peddler named Reed; but what would
John or anybody else want to murder the
poor Teller forf He wern't robbed"
'Who says your son killed himf'
"a Teller named Smith sw'ars he saw him
do the shootin'."
whats your defenseF" I asked.
SCOT none" he answered But I'll tell
you what III do"
Let's hear il"
"Ef you'll git my boy out'n the scrape TIL
poke 81, 900 in yer pocket quicker'n you could
swaller a muskadine, and III deposit the
cash with the county treasurer tomorrow"
"rll do my best" readily assented and
thus it was settled and my visitor departed.
The next day, true to his word, my friend
Brown returned and deposited the fee as
promised, with a written agreement that If
succeeded the money was nine-otherwise
1t wasn't But two weeks interviewed before
court convened and it may be imagined that
! went TO work with hungry Will TO get the
matter in shape for trial | first visited the
scene of the murder, where l learned that
the peddler was found dead on the 29th of the
preceding February near the residence of
q man named Jones next called on Young
Smith, the principal witness in the case, who
informed me that he saw the defendant do
the shooting, and had so testified at the com
Initment trial and would repeat the dose be-
fore the grand jury soon to investigate the
matter
didn't like the looks of this fellow Smith.
though l learned that he was q man of good
character in the community. he seemed too
eager to get the defendant out OF the way as
though such result would benefit him il
some way. This may have been Imagination
in me- but learned on inquiries from other
parties that the two young men. Smith and
Brown, were both visiting Jones daughter,
which was something of a pointer, and gave
me something TO study about when l got
back to my office
I next visited the alleged murderer in Jail,
whom 1 found to be a young man with
manly. open oountenance. and | wss forced
TO the conclusion at once that he was an in
nocent man. After conversing with him at
some length in regard TO the case-the details
Of which it is unnecessary to repeat here-I