St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-02-02

hill, where the slain were laid ot rest
A majority of the placer miners
were brOken-down adventnrers from
other States. and fugitives from
justice. No inquiry was made a.
to a mans antccedents. He could
settle down at the mines red-handcd
from a murder. and rs long as he be-
haved himself would be shielded and
protected. 1t is related that on one
occasion u p0mpOus sheriff from South
Carolina visited the mines in search
Of a man wanted for murder. He had
o requisition for the fugitive, and
armed with this and his truncheon he
came upon the murderer at work in
the bed of Cribbage creek. Tapping
the man on the shoulder with his
truncheon and fourishing the warrant
the sheriff cried in u loud and bom-
bastic tone: II have come, in the
name of the sovereign commonwealth
of South Carolina, to arrest you for
murder" The man Strengthened up
and eyed the sheriff cOolly. His hand
dropped to the handle Of his pistol.
"Well. arrest me-" he said, and there
was such a peculiar intonatiOn in his
voice that the sheriff glanced hastily
around. A hundred of the fugitive's
fellow labOrers had stopped work and
now stood eyeing the sheriff. each
mans right hand resting upon the
butt of his pistol. ARREST me" re
peated the murderer. but the sheriff.
alarmed at his open show of hostility.
turned pale and, stammering with
fear. assured the fugitive that under
no circumstances would he attempt
such a thing If the gentleman object
ed. "Well. just do object" was the
rctort, and the fellows eyes blazed;
land the sooner you make yourself
scarce the better" 1t is needless to
say that the sheriff took his advice.
The miners were governed among
themselves by a rude judicial code.
and the punishment for all crimes
worthy of notice was death. The
killing of one man by another in tho
heat Of passion was not an infrcquent
affair and was seldom taken cognizance
of by Judge Lynch's tribunal The
friends of the slain man-if he
had any-avengcd his untimely taking
of. A thief. on the other hand. had
only one chance If overtaken. He
might-if his captors were positively
good-natured-sclect the tree upon
which to be hung. Lumpkin County
had sheriff and a county judge. The
former officer was generally selected
because of his proficiency in the use Of
firearms, and the tribunal over which
the latter official presided was some
what unique in its manner of dispens-
ing justice. Twice = year learned
Judge from the lower country jour
neyed across the mountains and for a
week presided over the Superior Court
at Dahloneca On one occasion the
sovereign voters of the mountains
elected a judge from among their own
number. His name was Findlay, and
although possessed Of scanty legal
huOW ACOSCs uC was u uItau "a $EC0S
common sense and sterling honesty,
and his judicial career was generally
satisfactory. At the time Of his elec-
tion one of Judge Findlay's cousins
was sheriff of Lumpkin. and the Find
lay family-which was large and par
ticularly renowned for the fighting
character of its male members-was at
over the ownership Of
mine with another equally belligerent
family named Fields.
When Judge Findlay paid his first
judicial visit to Dahlonega, the whole
turned out to give him
welcome. He opened court, q jury
was impaneled. and . case was in pro-
cess of trial. when . Findlay and
Field in the brick-paved corridor be-
meath the court room got into . wordy
dispute over the mine. which natural
ly ended in q fight A friend of one of
the fighters interfered and was
set upon by an adherent Of
the other fellows. In q few min
utes' time a dozen men were fighting
for their lives. The noise made
by the cOmbatants penetrated to
the court room and majority Of the
spectators rushed out. The judge
and addressing the sheriff,
said: '.Mr. Sheriff. 60 down below
and arrest those fighters and I'll put
em in Jail for contempt of court"
The sheriff bowed and withdrew. He
did not return, however. and the
tumult below waxcd louder. The
Judges face grew clouded and he dis
patched a deputy sheriff to assist his
superior. The jury were idgeting
about in their seats, the bar was
nearly deserted. and even the lawyers
in the case glanced over their
shoulders uneasily.
Curses and angry shouts inter
mingled with the sharp crack Of pis-
tolls, came up from below. and the
court room was filled with the smoke
,f burning powder. Gentlemen of
he jury" said the judge at last. '.you
ire excused for the day. The court
will take a recess and see whether it
shall be held in contempt or not"
He descended from the bench and
made his way to the door. The cor
'idor below was filled with fighting
men. and one quick glance was SUM-
,ient to tell him what the row was
about. His eyes blazed, and throwing
'ff his coat he pulled out a big pistol
md sprang into the midst of the fray.
The fight lasted = long time and ended
n victory for the Findlayites. who
fell under the leadership of