Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1893-10-27
LYING IN THE DOORWAY.

lynn out therein the prison yard brings
the hull thing back to me, and how
happy Jase and me was, workin' and
tallfin' about what we was goin' to do.
l can most see the cabin now, with the
door open and the snow all around, as
it looked that winter mornin' Jase
and me was goin' out huntin' that
mornin'. l took my gun and started
out, leavin' Jase to follow. l walked
out little ways, and then looked
around to see if Jase was comm. He
warn't, and waited and hollered un-
til got all out of sorts with him. A
crazy idee struck me, and JUS thought
I'd shoot toward the cabin for fun, and
mebbe that would fetch him. God
knows / didn't mean to do any harm
l was JUS a gre at big foolish boy, and
| got tired of waitin' and thought I'd
shoot for fun, and mebbe that would
fetch him."
l looked at the man, and he was as
one in agony. His face was drawn, and
pallor was there which added to the
prison tan and made it CHASTITY, His
voice, peurile from the disuse of TWEEN
ty years, had sunk into hoarse whis-
per He was staring at the great stone
wall in front of him with dull, vacant
eyes. He seemed oblivious of every
thing and kept repeating: II didn't
mean any harm. | only thought I'd
shoot for fun, and mebbe that would
fetch him."
/ have looked into murderers' faces
on the verge of eternity while the
death warrant was being read, in order
that | might tell the public next morn
ing whether the lip quivered or the eye
grew dim, but as gazed at this picture
of weakness and misery on the wheel
barrow in front of me, it made me sick.
The victim of an act done in the name
of ''fun"-and this was fun
The man presently came to himself
and went on:
''As shot, Jase come into the door,
and when the smoke cleared away
saw him lynn just outside in the snow
face downward. I'member pickin' him
up and carryin' him inside, and then
startin' out to Pauldin' for help. After
that don't rene mber nothin' until
found was lynn down on the ground
and a crowd of men standin' around
me. l heerd one of 'em say: He mus,
have tripped up on that dry grapevine
and hit his head on the root of the tree.
1t pears as if Washbmrn and Scott must
have had a racket-over that gal, most
likely Washburn killed Scott
found out afterward that a huntin'
party had stepped at the cabin and
found Jase yin on the floor, dead
with my bullet through his heart
They looked for me, and finally saw my
tracks in the snow and followed them
They found me couple of miles away
in the woods, lynn at the foot of tree
where fell,
Some believed my story and some
didn't. Them as didn't b'lieve it said
'twarn't likely if what said was true
that would "a tried to run away. AL
| know is | meant to set out for Pauld-
in, but it pears as if I'd gone wrong
some way.
THE jedge, as he said, wanted tc
low me a fghtin' chance and give mt
the privilege of enterin' plea of man
slaughter. said it was all along OF
my bullheadedness that am here now
and so it was. My lawyer wan'ed me
to plead guilty to the charge the jedgC
offered me. asked him what il
meant He said that it meant that
killed Jase in a racket, and then give
me long lingo about malice afore
thought, or something like that, but
didn't understand it. l only knew
they wanted me to say l murdered
Jase in racket. warn't going to say
l done thing when didn't. faret
up, and wouldn't listen to nobody.
couldn't see things right. Well, tn,
trial didn't take long Everythin
went crossways for me. l told my
story, and pleaded guilty to nothin
except that didn't mean anything
just shot to scare him. l didn't car,
much what they done with me for that
The other side showed how Jase haC
been found dead in the cabin, how.
was found lynn in the snow miles from
Pauldin', as If hadn't been goin' fol
help. Then they got witnesses whC
swore as how Jase and me were jealous
bout Mandy, how I'd asked her to &c
to a gatherin with me and she'd gone
with Jase. 1t warn't so, knowed it
but it wouldn't do no good for me t
say it warn't Mandy and me under.
stood one another, though there warn't
much betwixt us then l s'pose she
might have told what she knowed
about it on the stand but / wasn't go
ing to have her mixed up in the thing
lowed they couldn't convict me be
cause what | said was true.
"The jury fetched in a verdict o
murder in the second degree, and ac
| cordin' to law that meant for life
They carried Mandy out OF the court
room. Seems as though she thought il
was her fault some way or mother
Mandy's been tryin' to get me out ever
| siIce. She said if it hadn't been fol
her they couldn't "A shown no motive
and couldn't'a' sent me for life. don't
see what good that would a done wher
they was all agin me"
made a note of Mandy. She wa,
good material from n reportorial stand
point When l went out | asked tn,
warden who Mandy was.