The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-11

Charged with Going Through Red Jiin'a
shcbapg-lnnooent but Couldn't
Prove I~t--strung Up.

$NU IN my pock0t, SO WAS CoItAlu nos 70
starvs, for q while, at least. After wander
ing about q little and not picking up n
Of those loose fortunes, / dsifted into Dead
wood City. There was not a soul In the
town that ! knew or that knew me.
In tho free-and-easy style Of ths placo
that evening I spent my money pretty
fresly, treating the men ] met In tho
saloons. AZ I was returning to my hotel
that night q stranger accosted me and asked
me TO help him to a bit TO cat and nights
lodging. The man was a giant. He was
about ak feet six inches tall. His request
was not strange In that country, 90 I took
him to the hotel with me and gave him a
rood supper. Rooms we're scarce and high
there, so the stranger, whose name ! never
learned, BY the way. slept with me. Ire
member joking with him about his great
length, for his feet stuck out over the foot
Of tho bed and tho clothing would not cover
them. But his great length, which made
sequentlv proved my salvation. He told me
he was going to look for work in the morn
ing at . mine q few miles distant. slept
soundly that night, for was tired, even
though IL was my first night in q strange
bed in = strange town and among men who,
as history shows. were almost lawless, and
who we're certainly rough and crude.
That night q saloon was robbed, n the
burglars got away without leaving any
clew to their identity. The next morning
before anybody was astir the tall miner left
town, and I never saw him again. All that
day ! looked about Tor something to do,
but was q stranger. and nobody wanted
ots were common enough in Deadwood in
those days--but for another reason. I no.
ticed that many men locke at me rather
curiously, but I thought it was because !
was a "tenderfoot." That night in the
hotel barroom I fooliahly allowed my
seen. I won't to my room about 10 O'Clock.
but had not got TO bed before l / heard the
sound Of half q dozen pairs of heavy boots
%tramping along the hall toward my room.
I did not think much Of 1t until nix NOR
opened my door and walked in. without
red-shirted fellow. who seemed to be the
leader, pointed two revolvers ut me and
said, I'VE want you, young fellow"
hadn't the faintest idea what they
wanted me for, but was not going to argue
with . dozen revolvers in Deadwood City,
80 l throw on my coat, which was the only
article Of clothing I had taken of, and
walked out of my room in front of them.
None Of my oaptors said a word, and I,
frightened almost to death, did not dare to
SO8H6s VO Iu6xCu0O tAu6 IA UAl6uC8 10 WIG
barroom and I was told to throw up my
hands. I had no pistol on me and they
took nothing from me except my roll of
bills.
''There they are, boys" one Of them said.
displaying tho twenties. ! didn't know yet
You're mighty innocent. d you, but
you'll know soon enough" one of them an
swered, with a threatening look.
They marched mo out of the room and
along the road to a place about a quarter of
a mile away from the main street. We
threw q rope, which had been made into a
moose at one end. over . limb. Then they
tied my hands and placed the moose around
my neck. I knee then that I was going to
be hanged. I make no p%retensions to
bravery of a sort that would let me die
Boys" l said, you're going to hang an
innocent man. ! have O nothing wrong
that know Of. and if I have insulted one
Of you I'm willing to have my fight with
him: A. any rate, i I'm going to be
Cd you. you know we'll enough what
it's for" one Of them said. You robbed
Red Jim's shebanR last night. There's no
use saying you didn't, for we found the
money on you. If you've got any prayers
to sns say ys or fr,e ~! se eass t Sssts yG su wsn mt TO , ssna
uAy AO060No W. ySu SoVSS 49, ~ oOSAs
1t, for we're going to string you up in just
two minutes"
I'm not going to tell You how I pleaded
for my life. for it might not sound we'll; but
I was a badly scared man, and I think l was
exousable for being scared. Almost any
under a tree on q dark night with q moose
around his neck and a dozen angry men
with six-shooters standing round waiting
to hoist him into eternity and fill his body
full of lead a%fterward. When I fully un-
derstood that a robbery had been commit
ted and that four 800 bills had been taken
from Red Jim's money drawer, and that
they had found four $40 bills in my pos
session whom they searched me, | WAS nom
Jlussed. This to them was conclusive evil
dence that l was the burglar. and they we're
going to lose no lime in administering
hasty border Justice. I told them that I
had gone to bed early and knew nothing
about the burglary, but they only jeeled at
me aud prepared to pull the rope. And
pull it they did with a vengeance. l left
the ground with a jerk that almost took my
head of, and in a second was hanging be-
tween heaven and earth.
How did / feel2 Stars! l guess I saw a
few million OF them. besides comets, and
moons. and suns. and red lights. and blue
lights, and green lights. and lights of more
scolors than ever knew existed before. My
head seemed to go round like q top, and /
could hear q buzzinR. and ronring and
rumbling a. though a locomotive and train
of freight cars were running u race with a
cannon-ball passenger train Oh the inside
of my scalp. The time seemed an eternity
to me. although it could not have been
more than a few seconds that l wa sus-
pended thus.
Then they let me down. That seems the
worst part of it. / felt myself falling. fall
ing, falling; it seemed about a Thousand
miles. And then / struck the earth with a
crash, ~ though the two trains ! felt in my
head had come together in collision. And
then came the pain in my neck. was
choking and gssping for breath, and felt
as though an iron band not more than six
inches in circumference had been iiveted
around my throat. could feel the throb,
throb of the blood 40 my heart strove TO
force II up into my head. Then / suppose
they loosened the moose. think l now
know something about what a man must
feel in q stroke Of appoplexy. The blood
rushed and surged into my brain with a
noise as though my head was a rocky coast
and the mountain pillows Of the stormy sea
were beating upon 1t. Then l heard voices.
give him another chance, boys, and
maybe he'll toll MS who helped him." ]
heard someone say.
They gave me a drink of whisky. II
burned my throat like fire and brought me
back 10 consciousness, Accomplish, !