The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1897-01-28
Stories of an Inland State.

and James Trude AlIthums of Thorn coun
ty, alias Geranium Jim.
"Allthums." spoke up Wayne, "a ma,
from the west told me today that you wer
once in a vigilance committee in Thor
| county, and insisted on me getting you {
tell the story
HE said WASP" asked Allthums.
s'Yes"
''Well. suppose It must be so then"
"But, were your
kind Of
"How was it?"
do you mean the hanging Of Turtl
Cole?"
II don't know whether-yes II was Tur
| tie Cole. I remember now said the Bos
eager for a story.
| We'll in the case OF Turtle Cole wa!
| engaged, and it was a strange case too"
Go on with the story" said Criggle. 80
never heard it,
Geranium Jim pulled off his coat huns
it on the wall and told this yarn:
did any one of you ever drop off the
Arkansaw into the desert in an early day:
| Well you can thank your stars for that
| You know the Lord created the world and
| made Texas out of the scraps left over
Well this desert is a continuation Of Texas
II is the God-forlornest lot OF unproduc-
tice dirt that any man ever set eyes on
outside of Sahara. First OF all its sand
just plain. ordinary, yellow sand which the
inland ocean powdered for five million
years and which the winds have been pow
dering still finer for the last ten million.
Some times this Internal long stretch OF
sSnd is covered with shin-oak and some
TINS with sage brush and sometimes with
cactus and some times with mesquite. but
mostly it is sand, just dog-gone pulverized
Pebbles, so sharp that I have come off of II
on windy day with my face bleeding raw.
NOW, 'spose you drop down off the Ar
kansas three days-this was in an early
day-and you won't see a living thing but
this internal sand The boys used TO get
SO dred OF the everlasting monotony that
they would sleep in the daytime and travel
a. night. Plumb black was better than
That dreary waste OF sand. About the
fourth day down from the Arkansas you
would see away to the south great tree
You would travel half day with your
eyes riveted on its big top. 1t was the only
tree in forty counties-there was no coun-
ties then. When you got there you would
just get in the shade of that tree and ask
'em to kill you. That was heaven enough
ana you never wanted to leave It again.
Everybody loved that tree just as every
body would love the sun il she happened
TO fal to appear for about thirty DAYS
some day. Well, they just dotted on that
tree. They loved it. I've seen the big
gest murderers in that country 90 I'D to
that big old tree and hug her and really
show emotion
IL wasn't near any place. What God
was thinking of when He put it there no
one could ever make out, even the preach
ers. 1t just stuck up there all alone
Twenty miles to the south of il was the
RV ranch. I passed by the old tree MANY
a time. Lots Of times there was campers
right under it and sometimes the campers
were camped a little way from il and some
thlnS In the shape Of a dangling form wa.
a-swinging from its branches. AS much as
the boys loved it they never hesitated to
desecrate Its branches with the hanging Of
a thief or something of that kind. Conn
mlttees rode forty miles. was told, to use
that tree in the interest Of good govern
ment.
now, there was man named Turtle
Cole on the nv ranch, and he was a had
one He was called Turtle because of his
walk He did some mean trick and the
boys just took him and rode him out of
that place on rail and daubed him over
with tar and tickle-grass. Feathers? Too
darn scarce. Well, Turtle, he allowed he
would get even. He stood away off on the
prairie and when his hands wasn't busy
picking or the tickle-grass he was shaking
EN- at that ranch.
That night Turtle slipped back to the
ranch and stole horse and some clothe,
ana an AK This took him nearly all night.
but he rode like mad to that dear old tree
Ead
Town with crash. 1t woke the campers
Up near it, and they soon saw, with the
lawn. what had been done There was
zen men there and they all lust sir down
md cried at the sight of that tree. Then
hey sent a courier to the ranch. And
pretty soon the whole ranch turned ont
'iding like mad. They knew IL was Turtle
md they took his trail and went after him
Did man Naugie led the pack and if he
iidn make things hum. I amt got much |
'art in this story myself. l was in the |
Jack after old man Naugle. never saw
men ride like that before or since. They |
we're that intent on knocking the bottoms |
lean on their ponies that they clean forgot
he tree and everything else. I bet that
laf OF EN- had forgotten the name of the |
nan they was after before noon. Thew |
vas Just a-going and a>going trying TO |
,eep cid man Naugle in sight A rascal |
lways runs Handicapped and old man Maui
lie. who invented this maxim. was dead \
ure he'd take his man. 1t was about 2 |
'clock when a bunch of US rode up and /
ound Turtle Cole sitting in the sand, and |
Id man Naugle a-walking around and
round him in the sand making a regular
ircus ring. He was accusing hin, every
tep.
when we rode up old man Naugie saws.
yeing his man like he'd like TO eat him
cots and all:
:" 1t was Turtle-he Acknowledges he
one it
" Yes said Turtle. a-sitting there in the
and, disarmed but defiant. I done 1t and
m glad OF tt
'Shet up said the old man, or III XIII
on on the spot
Turtles horse had gone plumb lame in
Is forelegs and the old man had taken
I'M, after spanging few lead at him just
D scare him. But Turtle didn't scare much.
lie was low-down, ornery. mean and didn't
i've continental whether he was killed or
OF
somebody suggested a trial
He confessed, growled old man Nau-
lie angrily. That's trial enough
L amt much on law, but 1 think II was
well, We started back over those sands.
ID man Naugie and your humble servant
the side OF Turtle Cole tied on horse
nd his arms corded up behind so he could
I move. Ii was a long ride in the night.
could hear the horses shutting around in
lie sand and the fellows snoring on their
orses in their saddles Ike # was a Pun
an car. But We kept awake and watched
II man
" He'll get his trial in the morning. Nau- ,
e said 10 me. He'll get his trial sure !
loush-and there won't be no priest, let
one a jury
This was addressed to ne but IL was .
cant as balm to the culpris's feelings. 7