Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1891-10-02


temporary reconcil iation.
There was a great uproar in camp
the next morning Sanford had been
found dead with knife in his heart,
and. though the man was little liked,
still, on the frontier murder does not
20 unpunished. The fundamental law,
"a life for q life" is always enforced.
So the first question the excited men
asked each other was: ''Who did it?'
4 coroners jury was hurriedly organ
lied. with old Jim Reeves at the head.
That morning when the bartender had
opened the shutters of the room he
had found Sanford's body lying out on
the floor in pool of blood. He testi-
fed that he had left the barroom late
the night before, but didn't know the
exact time. Everyone had gone to bed
but Sanford, himself and the two actors,
as he termed the man and woman who
had amused the crowd the previous
evening. He had thought that Sanford
was trying to ''make up with them
after the quarrel that had occurred, and
he said that all three were intoxicated.
This testimony cast suspicion on one of
the two, and forthwith posse of men
went in search of the husband to learn
what he had to say for himself
The knife on the body was one no
one in the camp had seen before. 1t
was of curious workmanship, and evil
IDENTIFY of foreign manufacture, having
the mark of Vienna cutlery firm en-
craven on the blade. Our comic man
was brought in between his two captors
in Il very pitiable plight. Not yet sob
cred from the nights debauch, he
looked about the crowd of men in a
dazed sort of way. Questions were put
to him several times before he could
answer them, and even then his replies
were sententious and inuendoic. After
much questioning and beating about it
was learned that the knife belonged to
''the Dutchman," which turned the
search in the direction of the Yioli1Sst.
Two minutes later the self-appointed
officers rushed in with the news that
the German had skipped with all his
belongings" No proof of q mans
guilt could be more convincing.
Jim detailed three or four men to
keep an eye on the other suspect, and
five minutes afterward he with dozen
others were searching the whole coun-
try round for the missing man. The
few men left in camp gathered in
groups and discussed the exciting
event AS the afternoon advanced, one
by one of the searching party returned
bearing no news, and it was not until
the beams of the western sun lay like
a ribbon of yellow gold on the ridge of
hills slxirting the town, that Jim
Reeves and his followers at last bore
their prisoner in triumph into the
camp. Jim said they had found their
man at o unconcernedly talking to
n hotel man there with whom he had
made arrangements to pass the night.
"He was a cool one" they said, not
a nerve quivered when they showed
him the knife, although he promptly
acknowledged its ownership. Upon
learning that he was wanted for the
murder of Sanford he had paled a
little, but had strongly protested his
innocence. To be surrounded as he
was tl.en by crowd Of excited, rough
men accusing him of murder was
certainly not calculated to make any
man cheerful, however innocent he
might feel himself to be. Taking
their prisoner to the dance hall, which
on this evening was made to do service
as justice court, they gave him an
opportunity to tell his story. He had,
he said, packed his valise the night be-
fore and Immediately after the per-
formance left a place in which he had
been compelled to work at the risk of
his life. He had missed his knife,
which he had treasured as memento
of his native land, but as he couldn't
account for it being out of his posses
sion had given it up as lost or stolen.
He could make no further defense
except. to again reiterate that he had
known nothing Of the murder until ar
rested that day. There was a consulta-
ton for few moments among the
men, followed by a speech by Jim
Reeves: Here's "A man slips out the
same night his boss is murdered. The
knife found on the body he doesn't deny
being his; there had been n quarrel be-
thinking this was the man who did the
deed. lIo can't say anything for him
self, only tell a very nimsy story about
leaving cause he wasn't treated square.
But no h0ncSt man leaves his place in
the middle Of the night, so they had
decided to hang him. We will give
you ten minutes to leave any message
and say yer prayers" he said. For Il
moment there was perfect quiet then
the condemned man spoke:
II haf not done this murder. Some
day you win know who did it. l haf
no message to leave only that some one
send my violin to Carl Holmes in
Vienna. My name is Otto Hiemer. |
haf no friends"
That was all except that he asked for
his violin. The man who handed it to
him wondered that condemned man
could fiddle. He took the instrument
from its case with loving hands, and
one of the "boys" nearest him saw n tear
glisten on the varnish. Then he played
strains the like Of which had never
been heard in those parts before were
drawn forth by his magic bow. Strange,
Win Hiuhlc' WciTu-dlllOSG uilCdhHy dI
times, and again soft, tender, pleading
"a chain Of 1nelody-voices of Spain
and Russia, Italy and Hungary united
into one by free improvisation in which
the popular melody and the personal
i I