Douglas Island news., 1899-08-16
Court at Wrangel.

While at Fort Wrangel last week the writer stepped into the court room one morning. There sat Judge Tustin, grave and dignified, with great beads of perspiration rolling down his cheeks as large as lima beans. Deputy Mar shal Grant was standing close by the side of his honor with troubled look on his cOuntenanCe and occasionally he and the judge would turn and look at each other with such longing eXpres- sions on their faces that 1t at once aroused the sympathy of the writer, who sat down and awaited develop ments.
 Two klootches, both married to white men, sat in chairs in front of the stern officers of the law. The one Klootch had a nice little bright eyed boy two and half years old by her side. The officers were trying to find out where the women got the whiskey that made them drunk the night before, but the klootches refused to tell and such lying as they did, double discounted the champion liars of the age. The klootches were not sworn and the in vestigation was an informal affair. The judge would pop the questions at them and then he and the marshal would stop and consult, then they would med itate in silence for a while, and then commence questioning the klOOtches again This program continued for a long time when Marshal Grant looked at his honor in most appealing and affectiOnate manner and asked permis sion to bring in an Indian who was in jail. The judge gave his consent and soon John Howard, great big, burly, buck Indian, stepped into the room and took a seat in chair. Johns left eye was black and a small piece was bit off of the top of his right hand. John had had fight with his wife and fared pretty badly in the conflict, al though uOt so seriously as his wife, as we will see further on.
 John had been in jail and supposing he could gain his liberty by telling all he knew, simply gave the whole thing away. He told how one of the klootches borrowed five dollars from the other and gave it to a certain white man for two bottles of whiskey.
 The judges face frightened up and Marshal Grant put on a cheerful look, and then the klootches were asked if what John said was true, but they said John was lying and that he was telling this to escape punishment for whipping his wife.
 Then the judge and the marshal looked at each other again. It was one of those sad, far away, disappointed looks.
 "Bring in Johns wife" said his hon or.
 She came and took a seat beside her husband. How did she look? you ask.
 Tough, awful tough. Here is a de- scription of her as we jotted it down at the time:
 She was ordinary size ill heighth. Wide out and weighed probably l6O pounds She wore a light colored cal ico waist, and skirt of the same ma terial but darker color. A red hand kerchief was tied around her neck and she wore a gray shawl. She held a white silk handkerchief in her left hand. She wore large sized, button shoe. Her left cheek was cut open and sWol- len and the right one was also badly bruised, Her upper lip was swollen to three times its natural size. Her left eye was swollen shut and was black and blue. Her right eye was injured, but not as severely as the left. Her nose had a large ugly cut which no doubt extended to the bone. Her face, naturally not very dark