Arizona republican., 1899-06-07

1 into squads of three or four and hide until the soldiers had returned to headquarters, when they would sud- denly reaDDear and renew their dep relations. Matera went on the war path one day and Tourney ordered Colonel Ben Bel of Mexican war fame to take his dragons and run him dcwn. saying:
 If you get him alive don't bring him here; hang him, hang him there. d-n him, as high as Haman. Now, good by, and gcod luck to you
 Colonel Bell caught Matera in due time, and about the first thing the old rascal said was that he wanted the treatment of prisoner of war.
 You do, do you?' said ColCnel Bell. fYCun get it. Do you see yon limb?' pointing to a huge branch about thirty feet above their heads. When thc sun rises tomorrow you'll swing thera, and if you don't swing quite as high as Haman, it'll do the business all right
 At sunrise the next morning Ma tera was hanged, and few hours later his body was cut down and buried. Be- ing satisfied that the uprising had re- ceiyed a quistus, Colonel Bell set out on his return trip and reported at headquarters the following Monday morning. Within an hour of his ar rival General Flournoy was in full possession of all that had been done to crush the outbreak. When Colonel Bel told him that, agreed ble to in structi0ns, he had hanged old Matera, and most appropriately on a Friday morning, the general exclaimed:
 Good Lord, man, You didn't do that?'
 Yes. I did said the colonel, and we'll have no more trouble in thnt quarter.
 Without Q drumhead court mar tiaI?' asked the general.
 Of course said Bell We took him red-handed. smoked him cut of a cave. Every settler knCiws him to be the leader of the gang. What need of a drumhead? The sooner he was dis posed Of the better. There'n be no more butchering there, you bet. I've taught them a lesson they won't fer get
 This said tEe general, reflective ly. is a bad business, but we must make the best of it. We must have the adjutant draw up charges and spe- cifcaticns immediately, charging al the crimes in the calendar against him, giving the names of twenty-five set tiers as witnesses, and find him guilty on every count and sentence him to be banged. We must forward the find ings to Washington for approval and trust to luck
 This was dcne at once. "A voyage to the states via Panama then required from three to five months under ia VCrable conditions. After many days the findings of the court martial in the Matera case were delivered at the war department. Jefferson Davis Vas then secretary of war, and was, as is well known, a Sreat stick,er for the routine of procedure and the observu, tion of technical niceties then in rec ogniZed usage in the conduct of court martial. After 2 careful investigation of the charges and a critical examina- ton of the evidence, he concluded that the extreme penalty Of the law was not warranted and disaEproved the findings and provided for another form Of punishment for Matera. This de- ] cIsiOn was started on it's way back to ] the golden coast, and after months t 1 reached Sacramento.
 C0nsternation ruled the hour of its | receipt by General FlOurnoy. What l was to be done? Here was an Indian | eight months buried who was net off 1
 
 be punished as Q horrible exampieI Fortunately in those days there was not newspaper reporter always al the official elbow seeking news for | publication. 4 fresh copy of the origi- : nal proceedings was made and re- turned to the secretary of war, accom- panied by private personal letter i from FlouTnoy stating in detail the whole truth. Again the findings were received at Washington, perhaps with 1. less aypeTcriticism than before, and were this time graveIy approved ami ! he sentence of the court ordered to be !. carried into execution. His condem- 1. latiCn to death arrived in California ] about the time of the first anniversary | 1f Matera $ death, and he thus became !, as wei. as bodily deceased
 This story" added the narrator, ; was related to Q number of army off ! CTS in my presence by Colonel Bell, hifty years or more ago, and the off, ! ,ial records confirmed it in every de- i Tr7- N