The sun., 1900-08-26
VERY CLOSE TO A LrNCH:NG.
How the Ncck OF Reckless sleuth Was Saved
by an Accident.

From the NCr orleans Times Domuryq,
"On officer often has 10 risk hi- life tn protect
a prisoner, remarked an old railroad deao.
tive last evening but generally little strategy
will outwit a mob. The queerest case Of that
kind ever heard Of happened years ago. out in
Colorado. at a place called Carbonvle I,
was pretty tough mining camp. and one night.
In brawl the town marshal was shot dead bv
a gambler named Connors. The murderer vas
a stranger In the place and managed to max,
his escape: but the marshal had been very pnru.
lar, and the miners swore all kinds Of vengeance
About a week later couple Of deput, -lsrirs
captured Connors at place some thirty milo,
away and decided Ia take him to the next county
seat for safe keeping. The road ran through
Carbondalc, and, a. the news OF the arrest had
already reached that camp and stirred il &.
fever pitch, they calculated, very CORRECTLY tl,t
there was likely to be trouble when they showed
up. At last one Of the deputies. a reckless sort
OF chap named Jake Higgins, suggested a scheme
1 look a good deal like Connors, he said. and
those folks over there hardly know him sun
pose ! play prisoner, while We send an ON ,ar
with our man through town by n hack road,
they amt going 10 hang me right away sudden
and while they are pow-WoWlug about IL Com
nors will be through aud gone. Then We can
tell 'em who ! am, show EN- our badges am
papers, have the laugh on the gang and folIo,r
On behind. This brilliant idea, which would
have occurred tO nobody but a scattcr-hraiuri
lunatiC liz" Higgins, was promptly adnDfaI
He was handcuffed. put in n wagon between
two deputies, and the real prisoner brouyht
up the rear with another oflccrin a buggy H''
II was about dusk when the wagon reached
Carbonville, continued the detective, and
; lhT;t as they nag 'NpeGted. crowd Of tough
ciizehS were IN waiting They promptly
held up the team and the spokesman told ia
officers that the good citizens Of the camp had
decided II wasn't worth Nhilo to waste a,v
only thing that was needed be- said was n short
piece Of hemp and they brought sociior Il
shaft rope, all ready for the ceremony Tho
deputy began 10 cNpoStuHte to gain time I'M
they cut him short and started todrac Hi-ri..
out Of the wagon while some the other, threw
tho loose end Of the rope over a near bv limb
That looked critical and the deputy got ratflnd
Hold on, boys" he yelled, This isu't tho mani
Aud with that ho hhrted out the whole story
as fast ~ his tongue could waG. As they mirIIt
have anticipated. If they had had any sense tho
explanation was received with ieerS NCrl SEQ
Connors had been In camp only few hour, te-
fore he got INTO the shooting SCrapc, and HiggNs
was himself a stranger IN that locality. 80 Il
was easy 10 confuse them. especially rs ih,v
really did look alike. 4 dozen men in tho crowd
declared positively that the deputy was 10
real murderer and they simply laughed al hls
papers and star. It's too thin" said the loader.
well give yon a couple OF minutes to say yonr
At that stage, when HigRins's life wasn't
worth an old button. miner came rushing ~
with the news that two men had been badly
that one Of them was handcufed That started
the crowd and they suspended proceedings IN
investigate. II seemed that the other offcer
with the bona-nde prisoner had attempted 10
cut around town AZ top speed and ran the buggy
into little gulch. He had his colarbone
broken and Connors fractured his leg. when
they carried them into bar II was seen m
once that there had been n mistake, and some
how or other. the idea that they had corle
within an ace Of stringinG up the wrong man
took all the lynching spirit ont of the n1oh
Connors was allowed 10 60 through. spert .lV
months In Jail, got change of venue and was
actually acquitted on trial. don't know what
became Of him Higgins died year or So aro.
That's true story, boys. and the very closest
call in my memory"