Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1889-07-10
MEDICINE LODGE. KANSAS, WE

udu seen ElIOLU. one SalQ ne ldQ lei
her at town about one hundred miles from
Deadwood, and she had come part of the
way on the cars, and after her money gave
out she had walked, carrying the old sachel
in her hands till she could carry it no lon ger
then she dragged 1t, as I've said. She was
footsore, dusty and hungry, but all this
seemed forgotten in her one desire to find
Elliott Gray
Il had known her when she was a little
girl and when she was living with her hus
band, Thorne, and had no feeling but pity
for her; and when she said: Il don't know
as he will be glad TO see me, but / want to
be with him-noc, could have cried for
her, and l could have choked the breath
out of the miserable hound that had de-
serted her and for whom she hadn't a single
word of blame.
"She found him. l saw them on the
street one evening week after. A month
later, as was passing tumble-down tene-
ment in wretched quarter of the town, !
heard a woman's voiee crying out: oh,
don'ti for Gods sake, don'tr l rushed up
the stairs; the officer on that beat was there
as soon as /, and there, in a poor, bare room,
was little jimmy and Elliott Gray. She was
hugging baby in her arms-a dead baby
black in the face, with purple finger-marks
around its tiny throat. 1t had been choked
to death. When the officer would have put
Gray under arrest little jimmy cried out
oh, mol killed the baby; did indeed.
Tell them, Elliott, that did itp
"Gray SAID: You see, gentlemen, the in
fant was quite worn out, and So
10y es, yes, that was it, cried the mother
1T fretted and fretted and couldn't stand
1t any longer, and my head felt so bad, and
-and-I choked the poor thing to death.
Didn't l, Elliottl'
81 looked in Gray's face and said: Did
the mother Of this baby kill itp He looked
me as straight in the eyes as an honest man
would have done, and said: Yes, poor
Jinnv.'
"a man who. had come in quietly and had
been bending over the baby--they had taken
1t out of Jinny's arms-looked up and said
The man lies, and I'm afraid the woman
lies also. She did not kill the baby. These
marks are the marks of mans fingers
not her little ones. Look here'-and we
looked and there they were; big marks of a
mans thick, fiat fingers. jimmy had the
tiniest hand with fingers like pipe-stems.
The doctor-for he was physician from
the ospital-said: These marks tell the
truth, and l say'-and he turned his search
Ing eyes straight on Gray-'that you killed
this child; your murderous hand choked the
life out Of it, and you dare not deny it,
"Gray was coward, a weak, miserable
coward, as all liars are The marks of his
own hands condemned him; there was nc
need for him to admit any thing; his ashy
face and trembling limbs were enough. He
made no resistance, and as they took him
away poor jimmy threw her arms around
him, crying: 'Oh, no, no, mol l did it.
Take me and let him go'
Vo1l !, sos1 4
into raving brain fever and died. There's
nothing else, you know, for such as she to
do. The world will let a man do all manner
Of wickedness and forgive him, but the
grave is the only place for the woman who
goes wrong.
" Houses of refuge and SUCH Yes, I
know, and the women come out labeled for
life. Men don't go round with a tag on
them to tell their sins. A precious sight
Of trouble 'twould be if they did. And
another curious thing is that the world
will be generous enough to woman after
she is dead, but let her presume to live
and there's small chance for her. A Sis
ter of Charity took care of little jimmy till
she died. The sister told me that she raved
about the baby and Elliott, and kept pray
ing the good Lord to forgive him, not lay
1t up against him. Once she looked up in
VIC oAobCA lhSSi say 'OOn'G IL Tell
somewhere something about the people that
love much being forgiven much? Seems to
me I've heard that The sister told her yes :
then she smiled, and said: It's all right,
then, for God Knows
$50 she died and went to the God who
sees things as they are. No woman came
near her; some sentimental idiot did send a
wreath of rosebuds to lay on her cheap
coffin. doubt if a good woman had ever
put flower in her hand during all her hard.
sad life. Perhaps she might have been diff
ferent if she had Known something of the
sweetness and beauty of love and tender
ness. Who kRowss Men are q bad lot
enough, but they surely 90 dead against
each other; and, in spite of soft words,
houses of refuge, and roses on coffin, when
it comes to real, honest, rock-bottom chari-
ty-the charity that asks no questions and
imposes no obligations; that does not fasten
mortgage on its recipient, but sees only
the suffering and the need, why, say that
on the subject of that charity, women have
much to learn.
81 don't know what finally became of
Gray. He was put in Jail but, when it was
known for fact that he actually tried to
make the woman suffer for the crime he
committed-well, those were wild, rough
days, my friends, and one night, when was
out Of town, he disappeared, and don't
know what became of him. There didn't q
man in town know where he went; not a
man, Only the good God knows. ."-Chicago
Times.