The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-10-24
SECOND PHASE.


THE papers an said yt was righteols
verdict. and that Tom Bingham richly
deserved mis- fate, and | took occasion TO
po.llt out ITO tsle boys, WHO mad been PREF
~ hard on me, what " IS, kb.er all 70
1--we in a lAW-aioiling STATE. 13lbs s0rnel5W,
there seemed to be a change in public
opinion Most folks appeared 10 be sorry
for poor Tom Bingham, vino was q g91d
follow, they said, when he hadn't liquor
aboard. Then the ladies took a great IN
tere5t in Tom, and sent him flowers and
he protested religion. and 50 all the
preachers began to speak tearfully. OF
him, and polnt out what man ne mts11t
have made If he'd had a chance. Then
IN be hanged if they didn't set up = pc
ttlon to the governor and nave ON 1T
generally the names of pretty Clear every
b'3l1y in thar part o the state When |
heard that Tom Bingham had helped
more than anybody else to elect that gov
ernor. l began to quake. The papers on
Toni side o politics began TO nave nice
latle anecdotes about him, showing how
IendeT-heaIlted ne was. how good ne was
to the poor and how he'd been nobody
enemy but his own. The opposition pa
pers apparently Thought it wasn't very
generous when a man was in a hioga to be
hard against him, 50 nothing was said on
Che other side [ Thought I'd get up a
lltGla IJ9ttICll myself to see THAT THE law
was carried out, and L signed, and so did
Cherokee Sam and the either Two. but
tilat was all tine signatures 1 could set.
Peo-tie agreed with me as a general
thing shat 1T WaS good to have she law
carried oGt, but they were all sorry for
Tom, and they said 1t wouldn't bring
the other man TO NE, Whlch QonN
suppose 1t would. I went up TO the
caDltcl and had 4 talk with tina gov
erGl-r myself. he WAS awful polite and
Mica tn ne found I didn't dive in The
state and hadn't any vote, and hadn't
any influence either; then ne was mighty
Snort and said he was there to do his
duty; and he'd look into the case from
all sides. and would give a decision free
from either fear or friendship. Well, l
knew exactly what that meant, so l caIne
back to the place where Tom Bingham
was in jail called my boys together and
told EN- just what L thought which. It
seems, had been what they thought all
along. Tom Bingham was to be hanged
at O'Clock next morning, and the COY
ernor hadn't yet given his decision. We
heard, in fact, That at o clock tnAt night
a. deDutation of influential citizens was
TO call on him at the capital; they were
to talk and he was to listen. Tom Bfng-
hams lawyer was to be there, and the
governor, SO that everything would be
fair, had invited our iaWyer TO be present
also. When the deputation got through
Ginning. if the lawyers had anything
to say the governor would h5ten to them
then he would give his decision, and 1t
would then BE- te1egiaphed on 10 the
sheriff.
other deputntion, this one on horseback.
and led by myself that went out q town.
There was six telegraph wires reaching
Wiltonville. and before 10 o'clock all these
wires were cut. and Wiltonville couldn t
communicate with the outside world BY
telegraph. Is It was The sheriffs dutE to
hang that man at 7 o'clock unless the
dispatch came to the conuury The wires
in all probability wouldn't be fixed before
noon next day. for we'd cut EN- pretty
bad.
well, Tve heard Cherokee Sam use
language in his tine. but never like that
ne gave utterance to next day when ne
heard the sheriff had refused to hang Tom
Binshean until telegraph communication
was restored, which it was, as we ex-
pected about noon. Then the first thing
that came over the wires Wa-s q reprieNe
from the governor, which mad been wait
ing for L hours to get through.