The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-09-11
YEARS AGO IN LEADVILLE.
A REFORM MOVEMENT THAT PROV
ED EFFECTIVE.
CroOlSedness i'm the Mining Camp
Made Mighty Unpopular by the
Cnnmiffee


among its mass Of heterogeneous citizens
a good-natured German barber named
Bockhaus. a young man, rather under
the medium hight but of doughty frame.
with a clear blue eye. light hair and
peach complexion. who still spoke English
with an accent. He kept a shop on Chest
nut street, one Of the busy thoroughfares
of the camp. and lived with his family al
the corner Of Maple and Main streets.
Society about this time was very much
unsettled One of the principal industries
was gambling. and on State street dance
houses, variety theaters and places with
faro layouts alternated with resorts of a
still more questionable character. Law
and order We're on q shady basis. ana
and the festive foot-pad resorted TO mid
night hOld-ups to recoup his losses over
the poker board Matters in this line
had reached a critical juncture with all
respectable citizens. who were clamoring
loudly for a reckoning with the lawless
element. and calling in vain, when. one
Saturday night it was Nov IS, 1s79-the
aforesaid Bockhaus, tonsorial artist, lock-
10 nestle in the bosom of his waiting fam
lily.
1t was a wintry night. The snow was
coming down in large white flakes. cover
ing the streets and obscuring the land
marks of travel The BARRIERS homeward
course took him through Pine to State and
thence along State to Maple. The time
he locked his door was l1:15. When half
way down the square below Spruce street,
and directly opposite the New York no.
tel, he met three men. They separated 10
let him pass between them, but closed in
before he had time to go by, and one.
pushing a pistol under his nose told him
to throw up his hands. Bockhaus held
up his left hand, but still kept his right
in his overcoat pocket.
On you. put up your other handr
shouted the robber grabbing the barber
by the throat and pushing the business
end of his gun so close to his nostrils
that he could smell what the pistol had
had for supper
1T is dangled oop nit der liningl Can't
you Wait a leedle for feler?" gasped the
little barber in broken English.
Up with il, coat and air. commanded
the highwayman. sternly.
The hand obeyed, bringing with IT a
six-shooter, which sent forth little
stream Of fire when IN range with the
robbers body. sending a bullet between
the third and fourth ribs, which lodged
against the spinal column. The pad spun
around and fell. firing a ball at the bar
ber's head as he went down He soon
recovered his feet however, and started
TO run. About this time some four or
five shots were fired in rapid succession,
one of the bullets lodging in the arm Of
the other robber, who, in attempting to
get away, ran into the embrace of two
policemen. who took him to Jail. Another
officer, who had been attracted by the
musketry, escorted the barber to his
home.
The little knot Of belated citizens in
the neighborhood. who gathered on the
sidewalk to discuss the shooting, had
dispersed, and the affair, in the language
of diplomacy, was regarded as closed
when Mrs. John Atkins wife of the edi-
tor of the Leadville Chronicle, heard a
noise on the back poIcn of her sitting
room, and cautiously opened the door
TO see what was the matter The porch
was covered with snow. and the lamp
light revealed not two feet from the
door the PROSTATE body of a man. He
was lying face down and apparently
lifeless. Mrs. Atkins informed her hus-
band. and, after ascertaining that the
man was dead, the body was removed
TO the morgue, where on the following
day the inquest was held.
On Sunday evening, Nov Is, a large
number of prominent citizens met at the
Clarendon hotel and discussed the ques-
ito or organizing a vigilance committee.
The mayor expressed his hearty approval
of the proposed measure; several coun-
cilmen sanctioned 1t, and indicated their
willingness either to pull the rope or
start the wagon from under" while one
gentleman periodically offered to deliver
into the hands of a regularly constituted
vigilance committee 100 men whom he
. - Ng..F-.
1ustice-loving man to be robbers and
highwaymen of standard coinage. The
sentiment Of every man present was that
not only the wounded footpad, whose
name had been ascertained TO be Pat Stu
art, should be strangled at the end of
rope. but that after his execution the COM
mittee should proceed to the infested
Streets. and all well marked dens of
thieves and highbinders, and there con-
tine the hanging.
More than ordinary interest had been
created by the killing of the footpad
known as Harry Clifford, because he was
the first professional thief who had come
10 a, timely end in Leadville. The papers
had published accounts of 70 different hold
ups and street robberies, and of all this
number Harry Clifford was the first to
pay the penalty of his crime. Naturally
enough the incident of Saturday night
made many law-abiding citizens feel good
The brave barber was generally applaud
ed, and a motion that the Citizens As
ISOLATION show its appreciation of his eff
forts in the good cause in some substan-
tial manner met with such response. as
''I'll give $40 or I'll give S. until upward
of $500 had been pledged, the proposition
assuming tangible form in the shape of
subscription list, by means of which
enough money was raised to buy the
barber brace of ivory handled Colts
pocket revolvers and a gold watch and
chain, which We're subsequently presented
to him
AT o'clock Sunday afternoon a process
sion had formed on Harrison avenue. com
posed Of miners, merchants, professional
men and citizens generally, headed by a
large banner, on one side of which was
printed in bold letters: Terror to high
wayman," and on the reverse side. Foot
pad exterminator!" Behind this came Carl
Bockhaus, the barber. He was seated in
an easy chair on a platform supported on
the shoulders of twenty men. Following
and surrounding this was a cheering
throng, including some women. They
marched through the leading streets to
the city jail. The marshal and organizer
of the parade. was John Steele, the Lead
vile correspondent of the Omaha Bee.
Steele called halt in front of the lail and