Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1889-06-19
ARIZONA STORIES.
An Army Officers "reminiscences
Of Life at Tucson.
A Judge Who Didn't Know Law, But
Was Terror to Evil-DOers and Shyster
Lawyers-A Murderer's Tale and
Subsequent Escape.

Captain Bourke, of the army, is an inter-
esttng story-teller, and possesses rich
fund of "reminiscences and anecdotes.
Twenty years ago." said the Captain to
the Washington correspondent of the New
York Tribune, 81 was in Tucson. No place
was ever worse governed. Outlaws abound
ed and they did about as they pleased.
Finally the good citizens of the place-the
merchants and men of property-deter-
mined to bring about reform, and the way
they decided to do it was to elect a Judge
who would deal honestly with the scala
wags who were running the town and cor
rupting the courts. So they chose q man
named Charlie Meyers to be Judge. Char
he' was druggist, who knew nothing
about law, but he was perfectly honest,
and that was the only qualification the cit
liens desired Accordingly, Charlie set
upa law dispensary in the same building
with his drug-shop, and dealt out JUS
tice and patent medicines with equal
grace In his court he established libra
ry OF calf-bound books, consisting chief
ly of the Materia Medica and Somebody
on Fractured Bones. He engaged as an
ofhcer OF the court q man who was
afraid OF nothing or nobody-old Jimmy
Douglas, who carried in his leg bullet that
he had picked up at Gettysburg, and who
walked with some difficulty and with pc
cuhar though nota graceful limp. The first
thing that Charlie did was to establish q
chain-gang and sentence to various terms
In its service every offender that was
brought before him. The shyster lawyers
who had rum the town before sCharlie's'
1ncumbency protested against this as a vio-
lation OF the constitution of the United
States, but they protested in silence. In
N
the judge was rather summary, but the re-
suit was very gratifying to the good citizens
OF Tucson. The wild, rough characters who
had ruled the town were now engaged in
cleaning the streets, and Tucson was seeing
an era OF prosperity that it had not known
since its foundation. But if the business
men were pleased, the lawyers were proper
tionately disguised. The court refused to
recognize them, and their business was
gone. One day, however, one of them
pluckedup spirit enough to go before the
court in behalf of his client and demand a
trial by jury. The court was about to SEN
tence the prisoner to term in the chain
gang, when the lawyer interposed de-
murrer. My CLIENT he said, 'objects to be-
ing tried by this court, on the ground of
prejudice, and demands to be tried by jury.'
"'By shury,' said Charlie. What is dot
shuryl'
"'He demands said the lawyer, to be
tried by his peers
"'Oh, he does, do es heP said Charlie.
Well, sendence him to two weeks in the
shain-gang and sendence you to one week.
Now how you like dot trial by shuryf and
there he stayed until his term was up.
zone day man named Wolf was brought
before the court for cheating some Indians
out of three dollars. He was an unscrupu-
lous man buta shrewd one and he knew all
the tricks of the law. Charlie felt that in
his case the Materia Medica was not suf-
hcint authority and he adjourned the
court to get an opportunity to consult some
books on the law or to obtain advice from
somebody with a knowledge of it. AS he
declared the case postponed and the court
adjourned, he turned to the prisoner and
said: Wolf, it is de unanimous opinion of
dis community dot you are a tief and dis
court comedies fully in dot opinion
"Wolf lost color and raising his fist he
said: Judge, don't let any one speak to me
that way
DIS court fines you ten dollars for
raising your fist against it, said Charlie,
sand you stands committed to de chain-gang
until it is paid
"WOlf knew that there was no recourse
and he reluctantly paid the ten dollars. The
judge gravely took it and after dividing five
dollars between himself and Jimmy Doug
las, he gave five dollars to the Indians.
And to this day, in the annals of that Indian
tribe, Charlie Meyers is the most righteous
judge that ever held court, for did they not
sue for three dollars before him and recover
five dollars!
''The Quartz Rock saloon was the most
unsavory place in Tucson. 1t was gam
bling he'll and the resort of all the worst
toughs and criminals in the place. One
night 'Oharley' beard a knocking at the
door OF his house. He had been warned
that he would be assaSsinated if he re-
manned in town and continued to preside
over the court, so he was a little cautious
whom he admitted to his residence He
went down stairs and opened only the little
lookout with which all the doors of Tucson
houses were provided.
-" Who's dereP he said.
"A FRIEND was the reply.
"'Vat you vanta' said the judge, eau
tiously.
q Il want to give myself up said the
stranger. 4 just killed man down at ths
Quartz Rock saloon
"'You killed manP Queried the Judge
"'Yes, killed him. He called me a liar
and you know, judge, there are some
things q gentleman can't stand; so Iout
with my gun and killed him. And now /
want to give myself up
You say you killed him down al de
Quartz Rock salooni said the Judge Den,
my friend, you go back there and kin
stairs to bed. In the morning the body of
the dead man was found in the streets and
the murderer had escaped.