The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-07-23

| OF sins"-The Hillside Graveyard.
1t was a quiet day in Creole camp in
the morning of the summer of 1892. Most
of the miners were away in the hills Many
of the gamblers and others of the night
shift were still sleeping, though it was
| now o'clock.
| A sorry looking young woman was
working the shops and saloons on the
shady side of the avenue She carried
long sheet of writing paper, upon which
she asked people to put their names and
opposite their names the amount of their
subscriptions. One of the girls had died
the night before, and this money was asked
In order to pay some one to dig hole at
the top of the hill and to hire an express
wagon to haul the girl up there. When
the woman came to the Leadville dance
hall, she entered and was greeted sadly by
another woman who stood over behind a
low railing, which extended from the end
of the bar to the front of the tent, fencing
off a little space which served as an Office
for the proprietor and the woman, who
was a silent partner in the firm. The Wis
itor pushed the paper over toward the man
"a small, sallow looking man of 49, who
was ever fidgeting and glancing at the
| door of whatever house he happened TO be
in. The man glanced down the column,
saw "Soapy smith, So, and as he hated
"Soapy" he Immediately raised him So,
gave the woman the money, and wrote
just under his name and the &c. "Charity
covereth multitude of sins" Then he
passed out from behind the bar and began
walking slowly to the rear end of the long
room.
The woman with the sorry face and the
long white paper passed out. Upon the
|
| threshold she met n man in miners clothes,
and even as she turned to look at him "a
| very short man rode up to the door of the
tent and handed double barreled shotgun
to the man ut the entrance. As the miner
looking man entered the tent with the gun
the woman with the paper turned as if she
would follow him, for she feared that the
stranger might do violence reluctant as
she was to believe that man in refined
mining center would resort to the use of
so clumsy, not to say unconventional,
shooting iron as shotgun "Hello, Bob!"
called the man with the gun, and as the
keeper of the dance hall turned he raised
the weapon and let go both barrels. The
shot, without scattering, entered the throat
of the victim and carried his gold collar
button out through the back of his neck.
The report of tho shotgun startled the
whole camp, and as the Leadville was di-
rectly opposite my hotel / rushed over and
was almost the first man in the place. One
man had preceded me, and as / entered he
came out and shouted, Bob Ford deadl"
At the moment l entered the only person
in the room was the insignificant looking
woman in the little Office. She was weep
ing. She knew me us the editor of the
morning paper and at once began to pour
out the story of Bobs virtues. "He had
planned she said, "to do much good "
YES" said l. sit is reported that he in
tended TO kill off the entire Chronicle force,
including the editor"
eyes, know" she went on hurriedly,
for the place was filing up rapidly, but
he didn't mean it-he told me so-he
didn't have it in fur you-all little bit
But. say" she continued, waving hand
in the direction of the corpse and her eyes
filled with fresh food of tears, "just to
think they should shoot him with that
kind of IA gun - just breaks-my
heart!" and she leaned her head upon the
bar and wept.
"Well, said l, glancing toward the rear
of the room to make sure he was still there,
"Bob's all right. He's good fellow
now. -
1 had known Ford He was the first man
to whom l was introduced upon my first
visit to the camp. He had been our guide
and had shown Judge Rocker and me the
camp by candlclight. twas upon this oc-
casion that noticed his nervousness. If q
man came in and left the door open Ford
would slip back and shut it, If there was
u mirror over the bar he always kept his
eyes on it, not to see himself, but to OBJ
serve those who passed To and fro behind
him.
In pleasant wayI asked him if he was
expecting some one. Unanswered, smiling
sadly, that he was always expecting some
one
Kelly, the "tough citizen, " who removed
Ford, seemed, strangely enough, TO regard
the killing of this man much as Ford had
looked upon the killing of Jesse James
Ford was an open enemy of society, and
only month before his death had closed
all the business houses and put the camp
to bed at 9 p. IN. The morning paper had
suggested that Ford be informed that he
would be expected in the future to refrain
from shutting up the town, leave the
camp or be hanged, just as he pleased,
and for that he swore he would kill off the
working force from the editor in chief
down to "Freclle Jimmie, the devil
, However, Kelly was wrong. He was
condemned even by Ford's enemies for his
cowardly act, just as the public had disap-
; proved of the murder of Jesse James. All
agreed that the removal of Jesse would
facilitate the movement of trains in Mis-
souri,, and that Ford's absence would add
much to the peace snd quiet of Creole
camp, but no man admires n coward. So
Kelly was arrested, and in Judge Bell s
: court he was surprised to receive life
sentence in the pen.
On the morning of the day following the
| l,o lo m
% storeroom where religious services were
, held. They brought Ford's coffin and
placed it upon bench, and then the
preacher got up and preached funeral
sermon. He was not very enthusiastic L
thought, but he had a tough client and n
hard case. He took for his text, If he could
, be said to have taken anything, the line
which Ford had written upon the white
paper, "Charity covereth multitude OF
, sin, and made the most of It,
When he had finished, an express wag-