The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-08-26
. WARRANT
FOR MINER
An Old One and it
Never Touched
Him.

When Addison Miner. Honolulus
Ward McAllister, arrived In Hilo on his
to find a warrant for his arrest in the
hands of Attorney G. O. Smith, said
warrant having been issued against
Miner in Dyea in the year 1897 and
brought to Hilo when Smith went there
to stay. The arm of the law is indeed
a long one.
The story connected with this war
rant is following: In 1897 Mr.. Miner
was staying at a small mining camp,
Sleeps Camp by name. up the Chill
coot Pass about; twelve miles from
Dyea. The piaca wa5 then stirred UP
by numerous robberies on the poor mi
ners who had braved the dangers of the
pass on their way to the summit. One
case in particular aroused the wrath
of everyone.
| An old man from Northern Washing
ton was robbed of his entire outfit just
latter he had reached the summit of the
trail. and thought that his troubles
were over The case was piteous one;
the 60-year-old man had mortgaged ev-
|ery stick to raise money for his outfit,
leaving his wife just enough to last her
a year, after which time he expected to
be back with a fortune. He had work
ed hard and endured the perils of the
trail for several weeks before he had
reached the summit, and then imme-
diately upon reaching 1t he was robbed. |
Several cases of the same kind had
happened it being the little game of the
robbers TO steal an outfit, wash the bags |
and sell the stuff when they had re-
placed it in fresh canvas: so it was lit
tie wonder that when the robbers were
located the population of Sleeps Camp |
did not wait for the slow proceedings !
of far-off law court, but took the |
law into their own hands.
Mr.. Miner was appointed deputy |
sheriff and, with two deputies, he set |
out for the robbers. 1t was showing |
so hard that when they reached the
guilty ones all that could be seen was
the very top of their hut. A tunnel dug
through the snow led from the surface
to the interior of the hut and through
this, with revolver in hand, the bold
trio crept on hands and knees. 1t can
be easily understood that in this posi-
ton they We're at the mercy of the oc-
cupants of the hut.
s'They We're awfully decent, though,
says Mr.. Miner. '.As matter of fact
we were apologizing to them all the
time on our way down to Sleeps
Camp.
trih oil of
Judges and one chief justice We're APP
pointed brother of Mr. Miner be-
ing one of the judges Special depu-
ties were appointed to stand guard
over each man, as they were kept sep
arate.
After the evidence of all three men
had been. taken. and no two CT tie
stories told by them had agreed, two
of them were brought forth to confront
each other. This did not better the
story The judges finally decided that
J lynching was the only suitable verdict.
and the prisoners We're led away.
As soon as they had reached the
street one of the prisoners pulled a
revolver, shot the man guarding hiEa
and, before any one realized what had
happened, he was running away at full
speed down the trail which at this
place curved in nearly semicircle.
| While the rest of the crowd started
after him, Mr.. Miner, with more cool
mess, cut across over the frozen river
and met his man at the end of the
semi-circle. When the man saw his
retreat thus cut off, he stopped short
and shot himself He died immediate
ly.
The sudden sight of this tragedy
1 lnd IF he
Isiderably and. on returning they de-
tcided to pardon one of the prisoners
who seemed to have been more a dupe
of the other two, than an active GRIM
inal The remaining victim was ad
judged a public hogging.
The impressiveness Of the scene, as
Mr.. Miner describes it, must have
been intense. In the center of the little
group of tents, which constituted
fSheepscamp.' stood the prisoners
closely guarded by armed men; near
them others We're engaged In erecting
a fiogging-post while Mr.. Miner
himself, as the artistic member of the
camp, was preparing this sign, to De
hung on the vietin Il am a thief;
pass me along.
The man, a tall, fair Swede. was
stripped TO the waist; peeled OF Innu-
merable wooden undershirts," Mr.. Miz-
ner says. When he had been tied, ar
old, deaf man in the crowd jumped up
and asked to be allowed to be the exc
icutioner.
IF my son was a man like that" ht
cried, II would want to fog him my
self,
He was granted his request, and
arming himself with one.inch rope
he proceeded on his grim task. The
fair skin of the victim was striped
with big red welts. as the stroke:
Unlisted through the clear frosty air
At the twenty-third stroke the GROVE
cried quits though they had intend
ed to give him an even fifty. and the
prisoner was then put into his innu
merable undershirts and conducted tt
the saloon, where he reyenged hirnseI
upon his tormentors by eating an enor
fmous meal at their expense. When HI
had finished he was driven to Dyea
with his sign dangling from his neck
OF course, Mr.. ]. o. Smith, who, a
that time was United States marsha
at Dyea, Immediately issued warrant
against the leaders in this affair; they
however, were warned in time, and fit
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