Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-08-10

WUrluS fair, gives an exceedingly in
tereSting account Of the execution OF
Frank Good, Il thoroughbred ChoctaW
Indian, which occurred June 30, in the
Choctaw reservation, Indian territory.
I never thought when ! went over
to see Hank Good shot, Captain
Williams said, that l was going to
witness one of the brayest acts l evel
saw in my life. | was in the ChOctaW
reservation when Hank committed the
crime for which he forfeited his life.
l had known him since he was young
buck, and | became possessed of a
great desire to see how he would act at
! the final moment. 1t is over nine
months ago since Hank was arrested
by the Light Horse. About that time
two whisky peddlers named Simon
Silver and Levi Stienberg, managed to
steal into the reservation and secrete
| themselves one dark night for the
purpose Of selling whisky to the In
dams the following day. 1t is against
the law to sell 'fire-Water' to Indians
you know, and the peddlers had to be
mighty careful, can tell you!
!
dlers when they stole into the Nation
and he made up his mind right then to
get his fill of whisky or die in the
attempt. To the Indian whisky is
like a holiday for the white man. Well,
as l was about to, say, Hank left his
tent about midnight and stole quietly
! to where the peddlers were sleeping.
/ In hoT fox n fol
Hank had cut the peddlerS' threats,
and as they lay there in Il pool OF
blood, the bright rays of the moon
lightning uQ the CHASTITY scene, he pro-
ceeded to reap the reward of his crime.
The sight of the two big casks Of
whisky seemed to make Hank, who
was noted for his ShreWdnesS and
stealthy ways, forget all caution. It
was not long before he was dancing
around the dead bodies of his victims,
so full Of whisky he did not know if
he was a GhOctaW OF a Sioux. How
long he drank and danced | don't
know, but the next mOnring he was
found lying, across the bodies of the
peddlers. The two casks Of whisky
were almost half empty
/ The Light Horse Guards We're
patrolling the roads, Oh the outskirts
Of the reservation when they came upon
the horrible. spectacle. They carried
Hank to headquarters and aUoWed
/ him to remain. there until he was sober
! enough to be aTraigned before Il Judge
and jury. 1t took him over three days
to regain his senses. 1t was about
O'Clock in the afternoon when Hank
was brought befoHe, the court, which
was held IN. the open air beneath AN
4 oak tree. You should have seen the
Indians Who We're standing about
looking at him. Why, they actually
seemed eIzNiOus OF him I will venture
to say that any one OF them would
have changed places with him if the
/ whisky was included in the bargain.
! Hank was too drunk to make any
kind of g defense, but he seemed per
fectly happy and contented, for all
( that. The evidence was dead against
him and the JUICY soon decided that
Hank should be shot to death on the
Both Of June, a5 2 o'clock in the after
noon.
brought before Judge Holland. He
took an oath to appear at the big tree
where. he was, tried and convicted, ex-
actly at 2 o'clock Gu the afternoon of
Jne Both and pay the penalty of his
crime. He was then given his liberty
Nine. months longer to live were grant
ed him, because he was one of the
most popular young men in the nation
and one of the bravest-"
Were they not afraid he would run
away and never return!'
Not in the least. A full-blOOded
ChOctaW was never known to break
his oath. He will murder and steal
but he always keeps AN oath. Why
two days after Hank was set at liber-
i ty, he married one of the prettieSt
SquaWs in the reservation, and in less
than three months he had a prosper
Gus farm and many head of cattle.
! You don't see how he could live
happily for those few days? Well, ]
don't know whether he did or not, but
at any rate he worked as hard to amass
a fortune as "a man who expected to
live fifty years. He did not seem to
think each day was bringing him near
er death, and the people about the Ma
ton treated him just the same as they
= did before he committed the horrible
crime. As the time drew near for his
execution, the Indians watched him
with much curiosity, and the uncoh
cerned way in which he conducted
! himself completely won their admira-
t ton. While an Indian may commit
many cowardly crimes himself, he al
ways admires bravery in others, and
nothing else will win his good will so
easily.
''At last the day Of execution arrived.
An execution in the ChOctaW reServa-
ton of man who has been tried and
convicted by jury of Indians, is such
an unusual thing that the day upon
which the execution is to take place is
made a general holiday, and all work
is laid aside As early as 8 o'clock in
the morning hundreds of Indians with
| their squaws and bucks, surrounded
the big tree and gaZed curiOusly at the
rough pine coffin in which would soon
be placed the dead body of Hank Good,
| the strongest and most daring young
Indian in the Choctaw nation.
about noon Hank appeared, accom-
panied by his father and mother, four
brothers, and his pretty young wife
He was dressed in all the fiDery he
could possibly command, and looked as
if he had prepared himself for we'd
| ding instead of the grave. Dancing
| was in6uluod in for oya. an hoI1r and