Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-04-19
LYNCHED BY COWBOYS.
The Story Of a Man Who Was
Hanged as a Horse-Thief

1al1St; and hndlng In me a certain mild
form of opposition that only serves to
stimulate his argumentative powers.
he considers me an excellent listener,
and never loses an opportunity of in
ficting his theories on me. The other
night, in full tilt astride his favorite
hobby, while reaching round for an
example with which to clinch his ar
gument, he was betrayed into the rela-
ton of an episode from his past life
thatI found more than usually
dramatic. In fact, so entertaining was
the story that l consider myself amply
remunerated for the many long even
ings of boredom have endured at his
hands.
depend upon it." he was saying. "a
man who is about to die, and has time
to look his situation in the facet re-
fer. of course, to one in full possession
of his faculties-such a man does not
fritter away the last priceless moments
of consciousness in futile speculations
as to what may become of him after
death. No, indeed; every heart-throb
of the few precious ones remaining to
him is devoted to rapid contemplation
of the past and present, both of which
he is about to lose forever. His men,
DRY and observation become abnormally
active; his eye taking note of the most
insignificant happenings of the mo-
ment, and his mind recalling the most
trivial incidents of his past, every re-
membrance of which, now that he is
to be deprived of it, has become fraught
with new interest Why should he
consume time, now so valuable, in
specializing upon Hypothetical future,
which, granting that there Is one, is SO
utterly beyond his control?
''You will admit am in a position to
speak with authority on the subject
when inform you that l myself have
been as near to death as any man has
ever approached who lived to relate his
sensations at the last moment What
will you say when 1 tell you that have
been the victim of a mob-have been
actually lynched? Yet such is the
case. The fatal moose has been
knotted round my neck, and have
taken the awful leap. 1 never relate
the disagreeable incident-I shrink
from living over again, even in imag-
ination, the acute agony of that terri
BILE half hour of my life. True, 1
emerged from the ordeal unharmed;
but it was as though. in the full vigor
of my youth and strength, i, bound
and helpless, had awaited the visible
approach of the grim destroyer till he
met and overwhelmed me. And l SOL
.emnly assure you that in all the whirl-
ing tempest of thoughts that swept
through my mind after the moment
when l gave up hope, there was not
one that had the slightest reference 10
a possible hereafter.
sixteen years ago, after an unsuc-
cessful mining experiment at Silver
CITY, n. NJ, / determined to leave bad
luck behind me and assail fortune in
the neighboring territory of Arizona
1T was shortly after the discovery of
rich deposits of silver and copper In the
3Pinal mountains. and every body who
was foot-loose' was pushing for Globe,
the central point of the new district
gImpeded with little baggage and less
money, decided to make the trip on
horseback, and purchased good horse,
also a secondhand saddle, in one OF
hthe feed yards of Silver City. 1 booked
INV valise to go by stage to Globe, and
the next morning, bright and early, L
set OFT alone over the treeless and unpic-
turesque mountain trail that led to the
little settlement of ranchers and cat
tie men known as Upper ella, my in
-tention being to visit the Clifton cop
per mines, and from there cross the San
Carlos Indian reservation to Globe.
.sThe distance to the ella was,
think. twenty-five miles, and my horse,
proving himself u good traveller, covered
some twenty miles of it by noon, when L
missed my canteen that had been hang
ing on the horn of the saddle. AS the
day was a warm one, and l had been
making frequent use of the canteen, 1
was satisfied it had not been missing
very long, and turned back to look for
it. That turning back came near
bringing me to my death. for it added
the last link to a chain of circumstan-
tiaI evidence that threatened later on
to drag me to eternity. had proceed
ed but few hundred yards on the back
track when 1 heard the sound of gallop-
ing horses rapidly approaching from
behind, and drew aside to let them
pass, turning at the same time to OBJ
serve them. 1t proved to be party of
Recommendations ,apparently-and.
as they rode up, the foremost of them
brought his Winchester to bear on me,
and ordered my hands up. OF course
made no delay in complying, as his fea-
,hures were determined and uncompro-