Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-03-02
HIS NAME WAS MUD.
/, Ma gazine.- FiddlerS was


ordinary in that, for the Flat was IN q
normal condition of excitement over
one thing or another every hour in the
day, and vented it in much drinking,
loud talking ana fighting; but on this
particular occasion the excitement was
OF a unique oder, that in its still in
tensity chilled and silenced the mob of
men that crowded III and close abou1
the doors Of the ''Mary's Eyes saloon
and gambling house, the proprietor of
which, Velvet Jack. was at that mo-
men being tried for his life before that
most terrible Of earthly courts, Judge
Lynch.
1t was not the first killing at the Fiat.
This shooting scrape was onlt- one of
dozens of others during the five months
OF FIddlerS' existence, but the victim
was a peculiarly inoffensiVe creature
known as MUD to the camp
He had no other name that they knew
Of. and had earned his sobriquet by his
.nfailIng ill-luck at the ganin.1 Table
and his equally unfailing remark as he
rose pennless from his bout with the
tiger, Wal, my names Mud agin;"
but Oh this particular occasion Mud's
luck had run his way, and he had sat
hour after hour at the little obl0ng faro
table since the night before, and won
with unfailing regularity through every
deal.
Velvet himself had tho shift at deal
when Mud had won the last ounce i'll
the bank roll and rs tho lucky player
ros2 from his seat opposite him the gam
bier had without word, shot him
through the heart.
The cold fiendishnessO f the act was
too much for the nerves even Of the
FiddlerS, and the camp rose to q man
and cried aloud for vengeance. They
Were waiting now for the sentence.
Long Smith was the judge. He Occu-
pied a chair placed on the faro table at
one end of the long. narrow cabin-the
Identical chair that Velvet sat in when
he shot Mud
Velvet sat Il little to his left, a guard
at either side; on his right the hastily
chosen jury Of twelve sat Or stood, and
beyond rOpa stretched across the room
was the silent, eXpectant crowd
The evidence was all in and Long
Smith was setting himself down into a
comfortable position to isten to counsel
herself remarked to her:
to his feet and said:
See here, boys, wht,ts the nse of
going en- Wit. this monkey business
any longer? i shot Mud, and you've de-
terminei that | must hang. Can't you
drop this, and take me out and hang me
and be done with it, instead Of tortur-
ing me with all this nonsense. You
know you're only doing it to amuse
yourselveS"'
The eyes Of every man in the crowd
were fixed on the prisoner during this
speech and then turned eXpectantIy to
the judge.
"Pl1Sncf ct the bar yer bein' tried for
murder by the only kim o er cot this
yer kenny hCz. EFF there's anthin'
hev ter say yer'll hey a chance to say It
fnrd"r on.
Their wills Il murnur Of approval
from the audience, and the counsel for
the defense went on with his argument
followed by the counsel OF the prose-
cutiOn. The court summed I'D and
charged the jury, which, without mo-
ments hesitation, returned verdict of
guilty.
The judge arose from his chair and
said: Velvet, yer gone in" There was
no further assumption of judicial dig
nifty; it dropped from him us one drops
a cloak from his shoulders; "ther boys
hev give yer a square deal, which'S
more'n ye give Mud n yer'u hev to go
under What hev yer got ter say agin
it,
Velvet smiled and shook his head.
you've got the drop on me, l reck.
on" said he, land l can't kick
just at this moment there was a
struggle us of some one trying to force
an entrance through the crowd at the
door and the shrill tones Of woman's
voice could be heard demanding access
TO the court that was trying the man
had had killed hers.
Pm Mud's Wife," she insisted in a
snliIl, Shaky voice.
"On, | know what yer nicknamed
him. His'n my names Dobbs. n he
were er good enough most ways, n |
want ter see the man what killed him
and left me a lone widow right in the
prime er Iife''
The relict Of the late Mud was at the
bar Of the court by this time. She was
a tall, angular woman of forty or SO,
dressed in Il rusty black, with an inn
mense calico sunbonnet that projected
yer her face like a section Of StOvepipe,
and etfectualy concealed her features.
The court ordered a chair for her in
side the bar, and when she had seated
herself remarked f. her:
I'VE never knC d eff Mud We're
mar'd man, marm; we had we'd shor-
y hev waited this trial for We
Dyer mean to ~ay yer've CORN and
tried this yer man for KILN mine, and
me not here ter see? Yer nice kind o
judge l mus say. Wal. yer can jist go
ter trying m rite over again now | am
yere.' and the widow settled comforta-
BIZ back in her chair and took dip of
snuff
The court, counsel, jury and spccta-
OrS were melted in a moment. They
we're MiSsOurians, almost to a man, and
the "one touch of nature" that snuff dip
aw0!<e in them made them the widows
slaves for the moment.