The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-27
FACING DEATH ron IDLE BOASTS.
Gold Fields Jack" Convicted of
Murder Committed by Another.


From the San Francisco Chronicle.
John Davis, or Gold Fields Jack" who
is lying in a cell in Albion, Idaho, will be
the central figure in a story which will he
told when, on the opening of the coming
term of the United States Circuit Court of
Appeals, his application for a writ of ha-
peas corpus will be heard. 1t is a case
of the deadly hatred of the cattleman for
the sheepman, the struggle of the sheep
man to secure all the available range in
the mountains and the refusal to do JUS
tice 10 an innocent man when the guilty
man has confessed and been tried for the
killing % two enemies.
The fatal shooting took place two years
ago, and there is connected with the case
all through a series of circumstances
which are sufficient to give a foundation
for the many complications which have
since arisen. The whole trouble started
when the sheepmen of Eastern Idaho fail
ed to keep an alleged agreement 10 stay
to the east of the Shoshone range of hills
and give to the cattlemen undisputed pos
session of the rich range on the west of
the hills About the Deep and Rock
Creek valleys lies the vast range which is
part of the possessions of the Sparks
Harrell Company, and it was on the land
of this corporation that the double trag-
edy took place.
When first the flocks of the sheepmen
began to be seen to the west of the range
of hills there was a council of war, and
the cattlemen decided to fight There was
not pitched battle, however, for the
sheepmen were close to the government of
the counties on the southern tier, and
Cassia was no exception to the rule-in
fact 1t was said that the sheepmen had
friends at court, even in the state govern
ment However, it was a case of armed
neutrality, and when one of two of the
sheepmen could locate some of the cow
boys in the valleys or on the ranges they
would pot at them with entire serenity.
1t must be said, too, that the cowboys
would waste lead at long range upon some
of the sheep herders when the chance Of
fered
Gold Fields Jack" a boastful. dare
devil sort of fellow, not overpopuIar with
mis- comrades, had said that he would like
no job better than to get $40 a month for
killing sheep herders so when on the
evening of Feb. 2 he rode into the settle
ment at Rock Creek and said that in a
night battle he had killed two herders, his
story was believed He always CARRIED a
rifle and was a dead shot Fourteen days
later the bodies of two men were found
upon the plains. Gold Fields Jack" was
arrested and convicted upon the evidence
or his boasts and sentenced to be hanged
the case dragging along until Feb Is of
this year, the day set for the execution.
But when the conviction of Davis was
known another man came to the front and
admitted that he had killed Dan Cum
mings and J. c. Wilson, the sheen herd
ers. This was jeff D. Gray, who had re-
turned to Idaho 10 stand trial for a lit
tie shooting scrape from a San JOAQUIN
ranch in this state. Gray told a story of
an attack upon himself and a comrade bv
the two sheep herders at noon of Feb 1
two days after Gold Fields Jacks adj
venture. He described his quick work
with his gun and how ne killed the sheen
herders with two bullets fired as rapidly
as he could pull the trigger On the
strength of his story a stay was granted
to Davis, and Gray was put on trial at
Albion, the county seat of Cassia county.
Gray was acquitted on the plea of self
defense, but the pardon board would not
let Davis go. They seemed to feel that
there must be sacrifice for the sheen
herders. Then it was that the writ was
asked of Judge Beatty of the Circuit Court
of Idaho, and. this being refused, an APP
peal was taken.
Meanwhile the gallows has been erected
and stands outside Davis window-the
same one from which he looked and heard
the appeals of counsel for his freedom. If
he should fail of this remedy Attorney
John w. Dorsey, who has fought the case
will take It to the United States Supreme
Court.