Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-12-27

Iu0 July AOSkAuS ever saw, ana i
wish l had never seen It, for even
now it makes me shudder to recall It.
A hundred lashes was the sentence.
and a hundred lashes means a million
tortures tothe flesh and agony to the
soul OF any man. But Joseph Murton
took his logging without murmur or
a groan, although his face grew dead
~ white and his lips were bitten till
they bled. He laughed yes. he
actually laughed out loud when he was
united and put on his coat himself, al
though hardly able to move, so bruised
and lacerated was his back; but as he
passed the keeper who had reported
him and caused his stripes there came
an angry CLEAN into his eyes and a
culver into his nostrils that spoke no
good; and it was we'll on all sides that
he was hurried away before further
mischief was done, for the devil in the
man was reused and knew no cring-
ing. He was sent to the hospital to
have his wounds healed. and it was
there first made his acquaintance.
/ made point of visiting all the
Protestant prisoners regularly in their
cells. Once, when he had evidently
heard my voice in his neighborhood
and expected q visit, l found neat
paper notice hanging on his bars with
the following inscriptions: "Cell No.
263-4th September. 49, -Book-ped-
lars, insurance agents, clergymen and
other nuisances not needed to-day"
There was something about this
man, however. that instinctively drew
one to him, for felt sure that in
spite of all appearances there was
good in him. The day after he had been
logged saw him in the hospital. 1t was
Sunday; and l had held brief serv-
ice with the sufferers, and at the close
presented each with tract, accordingto
my usual custom. It took many a
long day to soften that hard heart; but
at last won his confidence. Little by
little came to know more of the man,
and found, beneath the rough and
rude exterior. deep feeling and a
broken heart. That accounted for the
recklessness otherwise hard to under
stand. In fact, despair was gnawing
at his heart. and the daylight of his
life had been quenched forever. He
got to trust me sufficiently by and by
to tell me his story, and here it is:
Il don't see much use, parson, in
troubling you with my story; it isn't
long one, and there's nothing inter-
esting in it for any one to hear, God
knows. know I'm young man. and
l don't doubt but you fancy l should be
doing better than wasting my time in
a prison; but the fact is, parson,
don't care what becomes of me now,
for have lost all heart for every thing
l ever cared for. What am I here for?
Attempted murder, they say. I've put
in four years for it now. and owe the
Queen six yet. What was it all about?
l can't tell you that myself l couldn't
explain it to the judge, and the jury
wouldn't have understood it either. l
was always wildish chap, parson,
though l had never harmed q living
soul that l know of. Occupation?
Well. l used to be printer. Drink?
Yes, l used to drink, and
pretty hard. too, but I gave
that up I gave up every bad
habit l knew had for the sake of
girl l loved. No matter who she was
or where she came from. If she were
here before us now you would see how
blue her eyes were and how sweet her
smile, and she would bring back hope
and sunshine to me. That girl was a
beacon light to me, and for her sake
l turned my back on all ny old COM
paniOns and foolish ways. She was
never weary of encouraging me, and
the hours flew by when we were to-
gether as if they had wings, I loved
her better than loved my own life
better than I loved God. We were to
be married soon. and worked mer-
rily all day, and whistled as set up
the types; soon we would have cot
tage of our own; soon she would be my
own forever; soon life would be a
long and happy dream. How dis
tinctly l remember all these things
now, and how often / hear her voice
still!
1.-The time wore on. and at last
came our wedding morning, and when
the words were spoken that made us
one, there was no man on earth who
was happier than I. We lived to-
gether for a month, and every day |
seemed far too short They speak of
things being too good to last, don't |
they? l suppose it was that way with
us. She ran down the river one day |
in a steamer for breath of fresh air,
and l promised to meet her on her
return. She kissed me goodbye so
gAyly when left her, and told me that |
the hours would seem long till we
were together again. There isn't
much more to tell now, parson. Twas
working that afternoon. when the
foreman gave me q headline to set up
for the evening edition of the paper.