New-York tribune., 1900-12-02


| / agreed to take up the case made the Two Two
| OF EN- clear right out for home, and told en-
to take quietly the arrest that was sure TO come
There's no use goln' into all the details Of
how I prepared for that trial. pursued . Ins
Judge but anyway, 70 make a long story shofI
| IL was in less than month that the case eshe
up and I was in TIE courtroom defenuihs : IL -
Tiehtbird for murder in the first degree FoGr
Of Jirn's halfbreed brothers were in the HS HttIs
stuYy courtroom which was pacAe1 ~
jarnned. Everybody knew Jim was g guiiIsz s1 a.,
right but then everybody knew wasn't 10y 10y
to LET nv reputation as a criminal lawyer suner
IL I could help Il. People came rtdin over = - -.
all parts Of the country, and IL pei ma a. = Sov-
60 down there now ANYBODY can teIi - H.,
old Lot Johnson was murdered ana no" Jill
Lightbird the halfbreed was tried 1Or II .s
well Jim made ideal witness, r Iz Lts
story down pat The District AlIolLe1 -.
was as smart a chap as you're likely 70 run IN
S.ate. laid about fifteen traps Tor tle I4.-atb-
but couldn't catch him 1t seefasu +U5 ~
best 10 me to put Lightbird on the stanu' pc
cause he told his fake story so straight and
made a good ir Ipression on the jury
The Gpshot of il was that the11 ed,-;c4 and as
the trial was drawtn' 10 a close began 20 Ieel
that my man was safe. -, :.
sBut there was one thing hadn I reckoned
On and that was the prisoners superstition ana
thar was where the District Attorney gOt ne
Those uigcers and halfbreeds IN the kenJucky
Mountains All wear a charm bag around their
necks that is practically their Whos re4Igloh Il
was on the last day of the trial anu as sdld, l
suddenly leaned over TO the prisoner and said:
Jim Lightbird. let's have that charm bag OF
"Ii7n started back like he was shot and
eI1;tcbed at his breast, where the charm bag was
bid He wouldn't give it up, but the District
Attorney on some pretexr or other. got the
Judge 70 rule that Jim should let go Even then
il took a couple of cOnstables 10 force the bag
away from poor Jims clutch
mo sooner had the prosecuting attorney got
his hands on the bag than he out with his knife,
ripped the bag open and chucked 1t on the table
out fell all of Jim's poor little fetiches-a rattle
srake's rattle, dried weaseIs foot, TWO or three
rusty nails and the like
You could have heard pin drop in the court
room when these wretched gewgaws fell rafting
on the table. And Jim flushed suddenly crimson
and then came scAly yellow again
1T was the beginning OF the end All the
courage ran out OF the halforeed as SANDS OUT
OF glass, and he sat there shaking and afraid
His charm bag was gone: what was 20 help hIn
now? The sweat stood out in big drops on ms
forehead and he cast look Of despair at me Ike
a lost soul
'aThe prosecution was quick 10 see its adyan-
tage, and in a few minutes OF questions hac
Jim all tied up and contradieted a dozen times
He stuck 10 his old story, but his nerve was
all gone and the District Attorney simply
punched holes in everything Jim said A more
complete breakdown 1 never saw in my life, ana
everybody knew THAI Jtrn's goose was cooked
The Jury stayed out half an hour for forms
sake but the Judge didn't waste more than two
minutes IN passing the death sentence on Jim,
and he was TO be hanged within month at
that"
from the table. knocked out his pipe and pre-
pared 70 leave the hotel Office
was there a big crowd at Lightbird's hang
ing Judge?" inquired one Of the sympathetic
auditors
The Judge bit of the end of a big cigar and
lighted IL before he answered Then, taking it
ont OF his mouth. he said slowly Why, as 10
Jim Lightbird. he didn't hang after all
7 could make quite a story out OF that" he
added; another story as these new tangled
literary chaps say. But it'll only take minute
The way Jim escaped the moose just this:
After that sentence he was kept AT the court
house for q couple OF hours and then they were
going 70 take him across country 10 the State
prison. Just as 7 said gOodby 10 Jim, a little
piece Of paper was thrust into my hand 1t
asked ME TO meet Jims brothers at once IN a
certain saloon Just down the street
II had no idea what they could want, and
hated TO see them right after Jirl's conviction
But went They were al together in little
room upstairs and they were up 20 some devil
try sure. was no sooner in the room than
they pounced On ms, and said must get word
TO Jim that at the Hawksbee Crossroads five
miles from Conway they we're going 70 waylay
the Sherih's men that were taking him to the
State prison. in the fight that would ensue
Jim must clear out cut across two fields and
then on an old, deserted road he would find a
man in a buggy. with fast horse waiting 10
hurry him across the State border. twenty miles
away
of course 7 at once told the bunch Of half
breeds that I could cOuntensnce no such at
tempted rescue as that, mucn less take part
in il. And then I set myself 70 work showing
them how futile the attempt would be: how they
were sure 10 kill couple more men, and that
meant certain hanging for the whole lot Of
them Anyway. the SherifT's party was strong
and well armed and would quite likely clean
out the Lightbird bunch in the fight
But all I could say was OF absolutely no
weight. Their minds We're made Up Brother
Reub' they said. had been hanged over in the
next county. and there shouldn't be a second
hanging II their family. Not only this but II
I wasn't prepared 70 help them cut they would
kill me quietly right there and then.
"Of course that a bluff. and Il did not
bother me But what I did know was that the
halfbreeds were set upon having a desperate
fight. A couple OF them might be killed in il
but they would certainly Kill more than like
number OF the Shertf's party, and the whole
county would be stirred UP for months on end
over the affair. It would be telegraphed all
over the United States and would give US too
much notoriety. All this I wanted to avoid
with nice families. I didn't want them way
laid and killed
so finally, TO escape all this, promised Jirn's
brothers that II they would give up this attempt
at rescue would see to II that Jim should not
swing. They accepted my promise without a
word, and let me go.
What did do? I took the next train for
the Governor for a week I had pretty big
contract on my hands, but the Governor trusted
me, and az the end OF that time had His Ex-
cerency's signature, ccmmuting Jin's sentence
10 life Imprisonment.
'fOn the whole, was pretty well satisfied with
the way things turned out and IL seemed 70 rne
everybody got as good he deserved excepr
He certainly did get the short end OF the
stick"
~0p1-rp