The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1897-07-17
SOON TO BE A FREE MAN.
Don Cameron P~attersOn's Sentence
Committed by Gov. Stephens.

4 Don Cameron Patterson, whose
career plays II conspicuous role in
d the history of Saline county, and who
n has been in state prison for nearly five
wears, was shown executive clemency
4 Tuesday. Gov. Stephens commuted
his sentence. and he will soon be free
t our request Judge Jno +. Ryland
q has furnished the following facts con
O corning this peculiar case. Judge
Ryland has been in communication
$ with the young man ever since his
d incarceration. He writes:
GLOW slippery is the path of youth!
How dangerous The way the young
have to travel! And how true The
I words of the wise man. who says:
]. ''There is a way which seemeth right
INTO a man, but the end thereof are
the ways of DEATH" These reflections
were suggested by the history of a
Young man with whom the writer WAS
: acquainted, and which he will attempt
5 to give, hoping it may serve to deter
> some and prove II blessing TO others,
by way of warning.
s'Several years ago a bright young
E man, of fine form and manner, hand
some and courteous IN his demeanor,
thus showing that he sprang from no
mean origin, came 10 Missouri from
one of the eastern states and began lite
rs 4 civil engineer. Nature had en-
? dowed him with mind and body that
would have entitled him to Il high rank
among men, and these qualities he had
improved by education and physical
culture. But alasl Amidst all the
qualities that go TO make up Il noble
manhood he had added one sad quality,
that, like ~leaven, had permeated his
whole being-he had formed the unfOr-
tunate drink habit. In this he but
followed the example of SO many great
and even good men, as the world
counts goodness.
'Our young friend began his career
as a civil engineer in his new home
Missouri-under The most encouraging
circumstances. He was well qualified
in his profession, had a pleasing adj
dress, aud by these means he soon
attracted the attention of those who
needed his services. He went down
into the lead and zinc mining districts
of Missouri, where he soon found en-
plONIlSub anu Wuclc uC uituC iOHuS '
but alas, the demon love of drink
chung TO him and followed him like a
shadow, and soon destroyed his bust
! ness prospects and drove away his
friends; and the consequent lack of
means followed the loss of friends and
work.
ale left the mining regions of our
state and came up TO the Missouri
and assumed the name and character
of s.ChIef of a Corps of Railroad En-
gineers," under u false and fictitious
name. As is often the case, his innate
love of his family forbade his using
his patrOnymIc when he had deter
mined to leave the path of truth and
honesty and enter upon that of crime
and f%alsehood. Using the assumed
name and false character as 'tChief
Engineer of a Railroad Company" he
ingratiated himself with and won the
confidence of some of the leading citi-
zens of the community in which he |
stopped, and in an evil hour commit I
ted The crime of forgery and betrayed 7
the confidence OF his new-made friends. :
As a consequence he had to flee and !
become 4 fugitive from justice. He 6
sought refuge in the east, but those n
whom he had wronged followed him, >
and when the officers of the law were
Just about to pounce upon him he fled /
again, and sought shelter from his pur- a
suers IN the far west. But even there, 2
there was no hiding from those who il
treasured up a sense Of the wrong he
had committed, and he was there =
His evil habi stuck to him.. l
Ii had destroyed his self-respect, had r
converted him into II criminal, and
still it clung to him aud caused his
arrest.
'.ln one of those western towns, -
whittier he had fled, he committed :,
some MINOR offense in u drunken spree, :
and got into The c~alnboose, and while "
there the keeper of the prison learned n
Of his crime in Missouri aud of u small n
for his apprehension, and thus L
his hiding place was ascertained. He "
returned to Missouri, where hel
tried and convicted, and the jury Z
his punishment at ten years a
Imprisonment in the p~enitentiary. His .,
rase was taken 10 the supreme court,
where the judgment of the trial court u
was affirmed and after months con "
inement he was eventually incarcer- "
lted in the states prison TO serve out II
his long sentence in that unhappy ;,
place, or to obtain executive c%lenlency "
sooner, il such could be done. u
elbow sad and distressing was this
1oung mans career thus far, and how b,
great his fall! But there is IA silver
lining to every cloud, and the darkest
night Is often succeeded by a bright
beautiful day. So may the sequel
If this sad history be to this young
nan. HI
ssWhile in The county Jail awaiting 10
Iial and the Judgment of the supreme q,
court, he was brought to reflect upon ar
ais sad mistake and the great wrong
ne had committed, and through the NJ
influence of the precept and example OF
If the ~jailor's Christian wife he was u
to see himself as a great sin W
Ter, and to cry for mercy and pardon, sa
which he received through Jesus Christ ~
'ur Lord. He was soundly converted, nv
nd became Il firm believer in the Chris fo
ian religion. He did not make known Ri
lis change to any one, saw the godly w
who was the instrument in 81
iod's hands of his conversion, until no
fter he was inoarcerated in the states in
'rIson, when he communicated the Iii
" W Nv JuASO AC MIMI
ng: Il would have told you of my tel
Apply change, sooner, Judge, but for WI WI
fact that / was afraid some one pn
would say that it was all a sham and
r%etense, to obtain ~clemency.' His
onduct IN Jail was most exemplary.
lie was docile and submissive to the
lIlor's requirements. His whole con
showed that he was IA changed
ian. He admitted the enormity of
is crime and the business of his pun an
except that he thought it too CO..
lie desired to be free once lu'
lore, that he might redeem himself as adj
II as he could, by living an upright,
)ber, Christian life. With this desire De,
urning in his breast, and a love of he
'eedom that is u~nquenchable in the ipC
uman soul, he began to work for II On
his family connection, en- VI !
some of the most prominent LIE,
-. .I... -. IT,, otAta 4f ~, I;.tI $500 M