The age-herald., 1899-03-12
JOE RIDDLES STORY
 OF THE KLONDIKE
How He Put in a Bid to Hang Con- demned MrdererS---GalloWs
 Was Finally Cheated.

and c. A Fox, of Pennsylvania, had built their boat about thirty miles up from Lake Marsh. They were alone with the exception of frequent visits of Joe Jim, Dawson and Frank Nantuck. the four In- dians charged with the murder of Meechan and the attempted murder of Fox After nnlshing their boat Meechan and Fox loaded their outfits embarked, said good> bye to the Indians and started.
 When they reached a bend in the river about twelve miles from Its mouth volley or rifle balls met the boat, and both men were struck and went down. However, FOX was not killed, for the bullet went through the left shoulder blade and left lung and left his body at the breast-bone. from his position when he fell he saw the four Indians leave the woods to watch the drifting boat, and each held a rifle i;a his hand. The Indians fired another volley and then ran back into the woods to in- tercept the drifting boat at the next bend.
 With his right hand Fox padded the boat 10 the opposite shore and stepped out. For hours he slowly and painfully made his way to the camps at the mouth of the river, the Indians securing the woods behind him In a vain effort to cut off his escape. The northwest mounted police were notified and soon captured two of the Indians who were still securing the woods for Fox, and were shown where the body of Meechan had been sunk in the river, and also where the goods were hidden It was a long tramp lO CdlCu lle OlneT two, TOT they were going from tribe to tribe all along the river. However, they were at last arrested and tried. Fox having recovered and giving his damning evidence and all four were sen- fenced. Frank Nantuck, being quite a youth, the jury recommended that mercy be shown him. The government commuted his sentence to Imprisonment for life, and documents to that effect arrived in Daw- son about ten days previous to the day set for. the execution.
 The first time Mir Riddle saw the prson- CTS was June 9, 1898, at the police post at the foot of Tagish Lake. They were hand cuffed and chained to an anvil, they did not look the murderers they were.
 On Monday, October 31, man was leav- ing for the outside world carrying private mail. Here was chance for the newspa- per men to send out the particulars of the execution If they could only get the carrier to delay his trip one day, which he prom ised to do But on the morning of Novem- Der l. he could not be persuaded to walt until the next day, so the reporters, who had everything written up except the final struggle soon filled that in, and off went their dispatches little dreaming that still further stay would be granted; and 1t was not until late the next day that they came to realize the muddle they were in and be- gan to look about for someone to go up the river after the carrier and bring back their false reports
 The government officials finally came to their relief by sending their best dog team ster, a man famous for his ability to walk long distances quickly without food or rest and by the time he got started the carrier had been gone forty hours But he was soon overhauled, and the papers brought back safely to the writers It is believed that according to law they will never have chance to write up the hang ing of these men, who are theoretically al-
 J. w RIDDLE.