The morning call., 1894-12-30
PRICE FIVE CENTS.

now stands. Here there was little sta
ZION or store, kept by an old man FAMED
Myers, with whom Beale frequently re-
manned over night when journeying to and
from TETON. When he rode up on the
present occasion his arrival was hailed
with pleasure by Myers, who expected, of
course, that he would stay for the night.
as 1t was yet thirty miles or more to his
destination.
But to his surprise. the traveller said that
he would halt only just long enough TO eat
some supper and give his mule feed. and
then he must push on homeward.
So Myers FASTENED his supper prepara-
lions, while Beale loosened his mules sad
die. removed the bride, and allowed
Manuel to Craze on the luxuriant grasses
that grew thickly all along the river bot
tom.
As soon as he mad eaten his supper and
smoked a cigarette the general cinched
and bridied the mule, babe Myers good
night. and then struck out home ward. lie
only went two or three miles, however,
when he drew aside into convenient
clump of tim Der, went some little distance
from the trail, unsaddled and staked out
Manuel, wrapped himself in his blankets.
and was soon fast asleep.
Early in the morning he was in the
saddle again, and the now refreshed
animal carried him in few hours to his
destination. Late in the afternoon, greatly
to his establishment, party of his friends
from Visalia, mounted on horses that
were completely tagged out and looked as
if ridden almost to death, rode up to the
fort. and when he appeared on the scene
to welcome them loud were their express
sions of astonishment and hearty their
greetings. In fact they appeared to regard
him as one almost returned from the dead
and whom they had never expected to
greet in the flesh again. In Jew words
they explained the reason for their unex-
pected visit and for their establishment
| Several hours after his departure from
Visalia the evening previous the landlord
in some way found out that the conspira-
tors had ascertained the fact of his secret
fitting and had hastily saddled up and set
out on his trail. He at once aroused a
number of Beale's warm friends and told
them what he feared. A posse was hastily
organized and took the road after the
robbers.
| They followed hot on the trail, expect
| ing at every canyon and ravine to find
some trace that would tell them that the
general had been oVertaken and muir
dered. But they found nothing until they
reached the crossing of the Kern River.
No sooner had they ridden up to Myers
store than they saw at a glance that the
bandits had been there before them. The
little establishment was a scene of thu
direst confusion. 1t had been ransacked
from top to bottom and all the most val
liable goods carried off, In one corner lay
the body of the poor old, in offensive man,
almost hacked to pieces with knife
wounds. He had evidently been awakened
from sound sleep by his murderers, for he
was clad only in his night clothes. just as
he must have jumped from bed 10 answer
to what he doubtless thought was the
peaceable summons of some belated and
hungry traveller. but which proved to be
| his death warrant.
| The murderers were of course gone, and
had left not trace of their identity fur
Their than their wanton and brutal murder
of the old man testified to their character.
| Naturally supposing that Beale had
passed the night at Myers the party made
a thorough search for his body or for some
trace that might discover his fate. but
| were unsuccessful. They finally concluded
| that the bandits must have taken him off
| into the swampy forest and there done
him to death, where they could readily
| secrete his body.
So. with heavy hearts and mourning sim
cerely over the supposed death of their
friend. they decided to push on to TETON,
to give warning of what they believed had
been the bloody fate of the general and to
obtain needed rest and refreshment for
their beasts and themselves, prior to con-
tnuing the search for the murderers.
Overpowering, then, was their astonish-
ment when they rode into TETON to have
the supposed dead man welcome them
before they even alighted, and great was
their rejoicing over the safety OF their
friend.
No trace of the murderers of poor Myers
was ever found, and tie inhuman crime
was never directly atoned for. though it is
more than likely that the perpetrators of
the brutal and uncalled-for butchery net
their deserved fate in some way or other.
G. F. w.