The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-03-12
HE HAD "A STEADY NERVE
A MINNIE BALL AND A CAVALRY
FORTY-FOUR.
A Moment of Peril in New Mexico and
How IL "Nervy' Mexican Youth
Saved Six Human Lives
Shot of a Blind Man.

The nerve which shines forth in a
deadly crisis of cracking revolvero or
flashing knives is neither tho only nor
the highest kind, but it is noble and
an admirable quality, even when mis-
applied; and when we shall cease to
admire and respect it the human race
will have very little left whereof to be
proud. We shall have come to a sorry
pass when our blood shall fail to Jingle
to such deed as that of Mrs. Custer's
brave sergeant. He had arrested de-
serter of desperate character and
brought him to little town in Nebras-
ka. While they were eating dinner,
the desperate picked up a can OF pep
per, dashed the contents in the SER
geant's face and started for the door.
The blinded officer, even in the incon-
celvable anguish of the moment,
thought only of his orders to bring in
the prisoner alive or dead, and, listen
ing for the footsteps of the fugitive,
fired to the sound and dropped his
man!
AS striking an example of pure
nerve came under my own observa-
ton two years ago, writes Charles F.
Lummis. Valencia county, New Mexi-
co, had been disgraced by a long series
of cowardly and awful assassinations,
done by one young Mexican despera-
do and his poems, series which Gull
minated. on the 18th of February, in
my own receipt of leaden valentine,
in the shape of two loads of midnight
buckshot The question whether these
influential murderers should be pun
ished had entered into local politics,
and the campaign was very exciting
one. At some of the precincts the
judges of election and the voters were
alike armed with Winchester and six
shooters. Among those that we're act
i've in the movement to overthrow
the evil men who had for years exer-
cised a reign of terror over BLOODY
Valencia" was gentle, generous Dumas
Provencher, one of the pioneers Of
the Territory, and he was one of the
dozen of US whom the assassins had
marked for death.
Shortly after midnight of election
day, the ballots of that precinct we're
still being counted by a ficke ring
lamp in q long, low room in the plaza
of San Rafael, and poor Provencher
was there. He had just received news
of plot to kill the judges and seize
the ballots at three precincts, and
leaned over to the United States depu-
ty marshal, Martin Gallegos, to whis-
per a warning. Gallegos is hardly
more than boy-a com mon, illiterate
Mexican youth, at whose awkward
ness and ignorance most of US would
turn up our noses. But that he had
i'm him the stuff of men he showed by
the most gallant act ever saw.
At that very instant there were six
hired murderers crouching at the open
window; and while Provencher was
yet speaking one of them thrust in his
old Springfield and fired. The great
half-inch ball struck Provencher in
the aorta and from that chief life foun-
tain the blood leapt out in a tall, broad
arch. The stricken man gave one low
ory and fell dead against Gallegos,
whose face and body were drowned in
the squirting deluge. The click of an
other rifle came from the window
There were still six living targets in
| Ifhof 1rrh fn1
secure in the darkness without To
shoot at the assassins were vain-they
were invisible and could kill every
man in the room before one could lift
"a finger against them. There was but
'one thing to be done-to put out the
betraying lamp. But that was thirty
feet away; and before the nearest man
could reach three steps toward it, all
would be corpses. How long it seems,
now that [ come to tell about it, how
long it seemed then! But from the
sound of the shot that slew Provencher
to the ring of another that left the
noon in darkness and the occupants in
safety was really less than two Sc conds.
One could scarce discharge two cham
'bers Of a double-action revolver more
CLOSELY together than those two re ports
eame-the crash of the assassin's rifle
and the lighter crack of heroic GAL
legos' six-shooter. The young Mexi-
can, absolutely taken by surprise as
die was, had not even turned to look
toward the window, had not even
shrunk drom the poor clay that was
squirting its ghastly flood in his face,
and binding and choking him; but
snatching the heavy revolver from his
belt had Shot the lamp out all in one
swift indisting Unstable motion, and
without apparent aim! Pure nerve
that in one second saved six Lives.
The baffled asssas sins fled; and the
storm of public wrath aroused by their
deed put Al temporary check upon their
murderous employers.
| "A Three-Handed Man.