The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-04
By Col. HadIev.

Tn these days Of sudden duel and shoot
at-s;sht feuds it is not a pleasant thing
TO remember that there was no romance
In KelIey's taking off. His skull was
beaten in with nothing more than q vul-
gar AK handle.
Plfp 1et. of December 1867, when the
cavalry settled down for The winter,
Dartv of four left TT. Harker on 4 hunt
ing expedition Kelley and I,unnegon
were employed as camp servants Thirty
miles out buffalo were grazing every
where. and as turkeys were found along
the fringe of timber a temporary camp
was made on the upper waters of Bulfalo
creek Besides buffalo and turkeys there
were antelope, wolves, coyotes, jack
rabbits. cotton tails and even the White-
tail deer were seen. 1t was a hunters
paradiseys But all rejoicing was cut short
the second day out.
Kelley and DUNGEON, busy with camp
duties. quarreled. They were at the
wagon. screened by a thcket. Their high
pitched, angry voices were suddenly IN
terlTipted by q sound as Of one beating
soft earth with a heavy club. Then fol-
lowed a complete silence. One of the
hunters investigated and his excited shout
brought all running. DUNGEON, his face
white and frightened, was standing hold
ing In his hand a new ak handle, crimson
with blood and covered with hair and
particles Of scalp. Kneeling by the pros
trate Kelley, the captain was examining
his head, now bathed in the blood. The
scene told its own story.
Kelley never spoke nor moved He died
In two hours without regaining conscious
ness. None Of the party knew either his
home or his friends, nor was any cIew
to them ever found. While he yet lin
gered a solemn conference decided the
nurderers fate. There was no court nor
court officers in a hundred nliles-Ells-
worth county not being organized till the
next spring. Two OF the party urged that
Dunnogon be hung to the tree under
which the court then sat. The other two
heartily agreed that 1t ought to be done,
but shranll from the moral responsibility.
The plan was abandoned for that reason
The only thing left was to strip the muir
derer Of all but the clothes he wore and
drive him from camp. He reached TT.
Harker in a starving and freezing condi-
ton. Being an accomplished liar, he soon
found a wagon master willing TO take
him to the end of the railroad and
reached his home at Platte City, Mo, in
time to get into a saloon fight before
epring, where he was dangerously wound
ed. Such men, however, always recover
from wounds.
The body Of Kelley, wrapped in a
blanket was left over night. grave IN
the frozen ground was made with diff
Guilty by the hands unused to digging
which accounts doubtless for it's shall
lowEess. The hunters had neither Bible
nor prayerbook. Fortunately, however,
one mernber Of the party remembered tho
entire twe1ty-th!rd psalm. This and the
Lords prayer made a simple burial seTv-
ice, and, after few volleys had been
fired over the grave, the frlendIess boy
was left to his long sleep. The farmer
soon took possession of the land, and
now, thirty-f1ve years later, first learns
tho proximity and history of his silent
tenant
But the weapons then in fashion were
knife and revolver. Wild Bill, Jim Cur
r., Charley Johnson and a few others
got all the fame, but the graveyards
were chiefly filled by a less conspicuous
class of citizens, men who killed by re-
fail-sparingly, one here and there, as
their own safety or inclination dictated
Tho earliest sheriffs and town marshals
refused to take their official duties Sc
riously and in most cases ''stcod in with
the boys" A few years later such an
Office had rather seriogs responsibilities.
Capt. Kingsbury, the first sheriff of Els
worth county in the delirious days of
1868, was shot at so often and had so
many close calls that he seemed to have
charmed life. He was hit but once.
One hot morning that summer Bill
Smith. owner Of the New York house.
began TO drink his own liquor. The news
spread quickly. All knew its significance.
Tho sheriff waited Eor some overt act. He
did not wait long. At 10 a. IN. Smith
stood n his front door and fired once at
every group OF 1nen in sight. In ten sec
onds there were 10 groups. Capt. Kings
bury deliberately walked over to Smith
and begged him to stop footing before
somebody gets killed" The latter good
humoredly consented. ard the captain.
to The sarrrise of everybody, returned un-