The record-union., 1892-07-09

ground, looked at it moment in amaze
} ment then exclaimed: 1.-The fool told me
1t was his Leg and hurried to the rear,
mao as a hornet at the poor dead soldier
; for having deceived him.
J In 1874 times were good in the camp,
ana every man had plenty of work; early
hours We're, therefore, necessary, so about
III O'Clock our little party would break
| up. Rising from his large chair by the
fireplace, the Judge would gravely pull
; on his old blue overcoat, balance his hat
on the top of his round, bald head, and
with hearty goodnight, go to bed, you
worthless vagabonds," pass through the
narrow door, and be swallowed up IN the
darkness.
One accustomed to camp life, its rush
) and excitement, its terrible strain on
mind and body, can hardly appreciate
the charm character like Judge Woods
had in the eyes of men plunged in mad
race for wealth. His kind words were
always welcome because disinterested;
he had no tavors to ask, no motive
prompting his actions other than love
for his telloW-men-a love so strong he
often tried to hide it under mask of
brusqueness, manner rough and for
eign TO him. He wanted nothing from
US but our friendship, place in our
hearts, and the chance to be our compan-
ion in the sunshine and the shadow. And
more than one poor fellow, as he found
gold, cast longing glance after the quiet,
easy-golng little man, who seemed to
stand aside and above the crowd as it
swept on to the twin goals-gold and the
grave.
1t was an awful thing TO look on, this
wild struggle for gold; men seemed to
forget all else; one thought, one passion,
possessed body and soul. The glory of
the mountains, the sweet music of the
pines, all the many-sided and wonderful
panorama OF Nature, passed before them
unnOticed.
Not so with the Judge; into his quiet
| life came other and gentler influences; a
! thousand beauties unseen by the feverish
/ crowd, thousand sweet whisperings I'M
/ heard by them, gladdened his eye and
echoed in his heart. Is it 10 be wondered
That he kept young and seemed always
happy?
No one would ever think of calling the
Judge good man; there was little IN his
lie TO suggest the presence OF the religi-
GUS element. While he kept on good
terms with the clergy in camp, and they,
. IKE all the rest. were fond of him, they
could not bring themselves to openly APP
prove the broad-gauge plan on which
he conducted his life. They were even, l
fear, a little jealous of the place he held in
, everybody's heart, and were disappointed
that he did not figure prominently in the
regular Saturday night shooting affairs
that had made Caribou Camp famous far
and wide. he wouldn't even oblige them
, by going on a mild spree, SO they might
use him Ito point moral and adorn a
J tale" lie would persist III keeping out
OF trouble. Even when the police made
an unexpected descent on that quarter of
the camp peopled by the scarlet sisters
women living, 1t Is true above the clouds,
but far from angels in characrer-Judge
| Woods escaped without even the smell of
fire on his garments. Why would this
, | N haiJlp oil Crbt fIrllx ir,.a
IlglouS and yet so irritatingly respecta-
bic? If the Judge did ever suspend dis
cipline, and candor forces me to admit
he sometimes did take drop too much,
he always had the good sense to lock
himself up i'll his cabin and have it out
all alone.
On several occasions, Just after he came
to Caribou, he had been confined to his
bed for a few days with an attack OF
asthma, he called it-but we didn't ask
any questions. The tremor of his hand
the dark lines under his eyes, and a
nameless, almost indetinable sadness in
face and manner, went to our hearts and
kept US silent. Indeed, think we loved
him more than ever after we discovered
he was human and weak at one point as
Heaven knows we all are. There was a
positive charm in the fellows good, nat
ural uselessness. The camp changed,
improved, progressed; work, hustle and
development seemed to touch all men
and things, all but the Judge and his
mine, "The Sovereign People,; Men
might come and men might go, they
stood still together. AS Justice of the
Peace he was a unique specimen. He
would preside in his miniature court
with surprising dignity, and woe to the
stranger who, presumIng on a bar-room
acquaintance, failed to show due respect
to the court. Some Of the Judges opin-
ions are still preserved in the Colorado
archives-models Of originality if not
law.
One day, discharging from custody a
Chinaman who had escaped conviction
for stealing chickens, owing to the lack
of proper identification, he said: Take
my advice and get out Of this place as quick
you can, you yellow heather. AS Justice
Of the Peace, sworn to administer the
the law, l can't hold you on this evil
dence, but as an humble citizen of this
great and prosperous mining camp, ii L
lay my hands on you tonight it will be
unpleasant for one OF u.s." Addressing
the crowd of miners who filled the room,
he went on: Its pity the missionaries
can't civiliZe these brutes; ChristianiZe
them up to a level where free and en-
lightened American citizen can kill the
yellow devils without striking blow at
his self-respect and lowering his dignity
Sheriff, don't bring any more Cinnamon
here unless you have enough evidence to
convict them. If there is any doubt, we
can settle with them better out of court
Here, Pm apt to execute the law in a corr
rect but unpopular manner, but when
lay aside my judicial ermine Pm with
you-Wlth you every time"
The silver mine that originally brought
the Judge to Caribou occupied very little
of his time; indeed, he seldom visited it,
Every now and then he would find some
poor fellow in camp out of work and out
i of money. He would at once decide to do
some new work on the mine, and send
ing the poor miner down into one of the
drifts, keep him busy until he could find
steady work in some other mine. No
one in camp ever heard Of any ore being
taken out of the mine. mo, he was only
opening up the mine, not working it,"
the Judge would say when questioned.
The mine is a splendid one; the hole in
the side of the mountain represents the
Sovereign People-my stockholders, the
suffering people-neither bother me
much. The Governor owns all the stock.
He never thought it worth anything
why should l startle HIM with a divi-
dend? AS for me, 1 don't want to get
rich; what good would the money do me?
Pm happy now-I couldn't say more if l
owned the earth. If did strike it rich,
what would be the result? would grow
stuck up, turn my back on you worthless
vagabonds, and go off and live with peo-
pie who didn't care for me-only wanted
my gold dust. Why, it would just break
my poor old heart; that is all the good
money would do me. But come, boys, this
particular miner is very thirsty. struck
good pocket this morning" (the old mans
monthly remittance. There is silver
enough in sight for one last drink. Gen
tlemen of the jury, are you ready? Yes
bottoms up down with crime.'" In this
ill., \ II