The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-20

caused him TO turn to the right and hurry
faster. Over there a group of very rough
looking men were attempting TO force a
guard line, and the Governor could see the
backs of at least twenty of them as they
made a rush away from him and toward
the guard.
He was to the leeward of the disturbance
and heard an officer halt his main guard.
which had come up at double time, and
caution them with the word, 'Ste-e-a-
a~dy-y-y-y-y!" long drawn out In a waving
but firm tone; then suddenly and rapidly
rang out, Load; ready; aim; ste-e-a-a-
dy-y-y-y-y!'-the voice became a slow
Groom again, kept up for half a minute,
and the Governor began TO run in that d.
~rection. followed by the labor leaders at a
little distance. The president of the labor
federation called out. For Gods sake,
man, lie DOWN. and with his companion
dropped to the ground. Before they had
fattened themselves against the earth the
officer of the guard snapped out like a cello
string breaking from strain. "Fire!" The
Governor stumbled, put his hands to his
chest, and slowly sank down in a heap.
Men came running toward the single roar
that was the continuation Of the officers
command, but all stopped where the two
highest officials of their federation were
standing by a wounded man. with their
hats at their feet and each with a hand
up with an identical gesture, and their own
commands coming sharp and tense:
Let no man come within forty feet of
this spot, Hats off and perfect silence! The
man that fails to obey every order now is
on the scab list foreveri Hats off! Perfect
silence! Mehaffey. run like the wind and
tell the colonel to come here. You don't
know what's the matter. but something
terrible has happened"
The Governors private secretary, I'm a
bicycle suit much mud-besplashed, had fol-
lowed unperceived at a distance that al
ways gave him a clear passage to his chief.
He made a dash through the lines now that
put him by Governor Shacklett's side be-
fore the crowd had time to form in the
neighborhood. He took the Governors
head on his arm. and tears streamed down
his white, set face as he said:
A r you-are you
"Quick. Mckee: your notebook said
Governor Shacklett, with the old ring In his
voice. albeit low and forced. Mckee took
out the pocket memorandum, ruled in close
double lines. and a pencil. Governor Shack
lett began at once, his voice growing grad
ually more feeble. but distinct to the end:
II, N. c. Shacklett. being wounded in the
county Of Coles and State of Illinois, and
believing that 1 am about to die, do make
this, my ante-mortem statement. The shot
which struck mo was fired by some SOL
diers acting in the line of duty, and pur-
suant to orders In conformity with the d.
r%ections given by me to their commanding
officers. Their action was right and legal.
and that / happened to be shot was no
fault of theirs. or their officers"
The Governor reached out his right hand,
and Mckee placed 1T in the book. The
leaves shook as the notebook was trans
ferred to the left hand and the right was
held out again, not so far this time, for the
pencil. Without looking at the page the
Governor began his signature with the
usual flourish on the first initial, and the
IN. G. Shacklett," for its first half was
his characteristic sign manual; the last
half was wavering, and the final IT. was
not there.
McKee," he whispered. ''wire Cox, and
tell Bradbury to tell the truth at the fu-
neral. And tell her that-the last-thing-I
thought of-was-Mary Stod-"
Mckee. in that stunned state which
causes the mind to shoot out on tangents
like the arms of an aurora borealis, swept
over in a moment the life of the Warsaw
girl who had become the wife of an his
toric character. but to her husband was
still Mary Stoddard. He staid there with
the head of his best friend on his arm until
the militia colonel touched his shoulder and
ap~pealingly asked for advice. Then he ten
derby laid Shacklett's head upon a coat Of
fered by a miner whose black face was
furrowed by white streaks from the eyes
down, Strengthened up, and said:
Keep your guard here; use your best
Judgment; take orders from no one but
acting Governor Cox; advise with Mrs.
Shacklett as soon as she arrives, and re-
member that in his dying agony Governor
Shacklett took care to prevent any harm
coming to your men-his men-on account
of what has happened" And Mckee took
from the cold hand the notebook with it's
ante-mortem statement written in short
hand, signed in pencil, but constructed by
a lawyer to meet all the requirements of
the laws Of the State regarding admissible
evidence in any court.
The next week seemed an oppressive
nightmare to the whole State. While there
4 was a tCiubiC hhC tudt VI an edTLlQuake
among all classes of people from the Wa
bash to the Mississippi, and from Lake
Michigan to the Ohio, Mrs. Shacklett sat
stunned beyond movement and talked to no
one. Mckee met the reporters and corre-
spondents, who got together every after
noon, and he gave them, with a drawn
face, the days further arrangements for
the funeral. which was to be held in the
hall of the House of Representatives. In
the Statehouse, and to be followed by a
private last trip to Warsaw by rail. Burial
was to be in the soil of Governor Shack
let's native State, on the high bluff of the
Mississippi river. The newspapers found
an unusual absence of biographical ma
terial prepared years in advance, and some
Of them sent staff men down into Egypt to
learn something of the dead Governors
early life. One of these was accompanied
by an illustrator, who found by the side
of the long, but little, Embarras river the
carefully tended graves of the Governors
PARENTS; and the writer, with the artist.
managed to learn something OF the shrewd
old Sammy Shacklett, who had managed to
be elected sheriff repeatedly, and his wife,
who had been a power for good in the COM
munity In earlier days, and had gone to
heaven after a pious life. Some of the
people said that Noel Shacklett was just
like his father, and others said that he re-