Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1889-02-07
RATHER A COSTLY JOKE.
A SCARE THAT WAS CAUSED BY
AN UNSIGNED BOGUS DISPATCH.


tical Joke.
There are probably not half a dozen people
living who are aware that the terrible Indian
raid in southwestern Texas, along the Rio
Grande, in the spring of 1883, was bogus
affair. Fewer yet know the origin of the
farce, which arose simply from a drunken
| spree, cost the national government and the
Southern Pacific Railroad company thou
sands Of dollars and caused the people along
that road such fright as they viii not soon
forget.
The facts in the case are given as follows
by writer in The St. Louis Post Dispatch;
On Jan. II, 1883, connection was made be-
tween the "Sunset, or G. II. and S. A. rail-
road running west from San Antonio, Tex,
and the Southern Pacific, running east from
San Francisco, Cal Both roads had been in
course Of construction for several years, lead
ing through wild. desolate and uninhabited
region of country The counties through
which the roads were built, In the Pecos and
DEVILS River countries were unorganized,
and since the labor employed along the line
consisted Of probably as rough an element of
civilization as tho world ever saw, there was
very little semblance of law or order among
the thousands and thousands Of men ia the
| grading camps strung along the line. The
principle Of existence was every man for him
self, etc.
REPRESENTATIVE or LAW AND ORDER
Finally murders, highway robheries and
other crimes became so frequent that the con-
tractors and the railroad company united in
a petition to tho governor Of the state TO ap-
| point justiceo Of the peace, clothed with the
additional functions and authority Of coro-
ner, with jurisdiction over this entire terri
tory. The petition was granted, and the man
| appointed at the request Of the petitioners TO
ill this important position was Roy Bean.
Judge" Bean, as he was called, was a
short stocky man of about Eve feet eight
inches in height, about o. years Of age, Hit
crate, stern, pompous and courageous.
His honor, as he frequently asserted, was
the law, the judge, the jury, attorneys AMI,
IL need be, witness ON both sides. Heswore in
the Renaissance STYLE and his decisions were
brilliantly bespangled with salient and pro-
nounced forms Of ancient and modern impFe-
/ cation.
But after exercising such arbitrary author
ity over territory larger than several east
cru states thrown together as soon as the
connection was made, the camps deserted
and the men scattered, Othelo's occupation
was gone, and theiudge had to HE him to
pastures new He went westward on the line
and opened out tho Eagles Nest" a saloon
at Langtry, which station was inhabited by
the operator and the tanISman until Judge
Beans arrival
But toour episode. During the warm sum
mer months Of 1883 the writer happened to
be in the little border town Of Del Rio one
day shout noon Tho.village was wild with
| excitement over a dispatch coming from tho
west worded; "The Indians arc upon usl"
THIS operator did not sign his station, and
what its locality might be or where the In
dams might be was Ioft to conjecture. The
superstition was that tho poor fellow had
either ded for his lilo or had been scalped.
Tho kilograms kept flying, and anxious nqui-
RIGS wa1e made of each passing train but moth
ing could be learned. Finally the excite
ment grew 50 intense that Superintendent
Van Week, in San Antonio, was literally
snowod in with kilograms beseeching: For
Gods sake, send ms trains to take us to a place
Of safetyr Trains were made up taking tho
employees and their families 10 either Dial RiC
or SSnderon.
In the meantime there was a company OF
United States cavalry at the post of Del Rio
commanded by Capt. Randlett AS soon a.
there seemed to begood grounds for action
the captain wired Gen. Stanley at san An
tonic, commandant Of the southwestern mill
tary system, asking what he should do in tn,
premises The general autographed at ono,
to the secretary Of war at Washington nsll
ing Instructions and was ordered TO havl
Capt Randlett's company to so to the seem
Of action at once. AT 4 o'clock the mornin,
after the alarm the cavalry were aboard TN
cars and whnling along to tho fray They
were gone a week or ten days, callarrupml
around over the prairies in search Of III
bloody hostiles, and returned with the repor
that no one had been killed and not a living
soul could be found who had seen or deiinitel
heard of an Indian The fears Of the peopl
gradually subsidized and the incident becam
5 a thing Of the past
THE MYSTERY CLEARED UP.
9 During that summer the writer had occi
! sion 70 60 TO Lang1y, where Judge Bean WI
conducting his establishment for the dispeI
sation Of liquids incidentally the judge d
tailed the facts, with much glee, about h
4 cause Of the recent 50 called Indian outbreal
. They were as follows. One forenoon there a
a rived at Langtry ranger and cowbo,
). who announced to his honor that they wei
d going over into Mexico, about half a mi
d away, to hunt deer and turkeys. They dram
considerable before starting, and shortly aft
= arriving on the Mexican side OF the riy'
\ they discovered a wild Apache buck abol
% 10 years old. They Immediately drew dow
q upon him. disarmed him, and, contrary
" every principle Of international law hetwe'
or the two republics. forced him to come viii
y them 10 the American side.
r Tho Indian could speak neither English NJ
Is Spanish, 50 they took him up to Judge Beai
who spoke Apache and several other India
~ dialects quite fluently. After imbibing free
in of the ardent fluid and loosening up the L
"a dams tongue the quartet became quite
be miliar They waited on the operator in
e, body and invited him to join the festiviti
n, Of the hilarious coterie, and when he had pr
al cipitated himself with sufficient fcrvor in
ga the cup that cheers and likewise inebriat
they persuaded him 70 fash the ANNOUNCING
over the wire: ''The Indians are upon us
He was sensible enough not to sign his ST
tion and to this good day it has been a my