Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1903-04-19

! Justice Bean. The boss was arrested.
Then squad of white men, armed to
/ the teeth. demanded immediate trial
| for the prisoner, intending to release
! him if declared guilty. Judge Bean told
! them to picket their horses and make
| themselves at home--he would try the
case next day.
There was wisdom in his action.
! They squandered money in the Judges
| saloon, until he decided that the stat
ute's contained nothing showing it
crime to kill a Chinaman. SO the Of
| fender was discharged.
A Noted Verdict.
Another famous verdict was when
the Pecos bridge, when in the course of
construction fell and killed a man.
| Acting as coroner. the Judge en-
pannelled a jury, which brought in
verdict of accidental death. But this
is not ALL said Judge Bean. 81 find on
the body of the deceased, a revolver
and forty dollars. 1t is contrary to
Texas law to carry concealed weapons.
l therefore confscate the pistol and
fine deceased forty dollars for this
breach of law Then the judge put
the pistol into his belt and the forty
dollars into his pocket.
On another occasion two Mexican
couples whom he had married returned
for readjustment. They said they could
not agree and they proposed to swap
! wives. After the evidence ON both
sides was heard and the marriage was
reversed the wives changing husbands,
and the judge collected $15 from each
them. charging each an additional S..
When the regular judge of the judicial
district heard of the affair he wrote,
at is all right this time. but don't do
it again.
A favorite method of punishing Of
tenders in ordinary cases was by re-
quiring them to pay their fines by pur-
chasing beer at the Jersy Lily saloon
and treating the crowd. Two dozen bot
ties of beer was a moderate fine and
enabled him to hold his own against
the opposition saloon.
A noted story of Judge Geans early
career is thus narrated by Major Hor-
ace Bell, in his "Reminiscences of
Ranger" 1t concerns California life in
the fifties
While the celebration was al its
height smootl-faced young man of
exceedingly polite and graceful de-
meanor, rode up, dismounted and en-
tered Roy Beans saloon. The new
comer leaned against the bar and care
lessly surveyed the scene. While qiet
ly looking on, he was roughly accost-
el by a misunderstanding man, who, TAX
ing a position directly in front of the
Young fellow and surveying him from
head to foot, said, with a contemptuous
grin:
We'll, where in hell did you come
from?"
why, I Just arrived from Los An
geles."
The quiet demeanor of the young
man enraged the bully, and he became
still more overbearing, declaring him.
self the wild Wolf of the Arkansas.
81 am the bloodiest man in the Cher
Ckee nation said he. Il am half
breed Cherokee. ] am and | belong to
the Ridge party. killed a soldier
at Fort Yuma. and l have been here
three weeks and amt killed nobody
yet I'm going to give these Mexicans
d chance to have a funeral. and if you
open your mouth I'll kill you.
Roy Bean was watching the proceed
ings from behind the bar His sym
pathies were with the young man. and
he quietly slipped small Derringer in
to his hand. The youth secreted the
| weapon, and when the bully resumed
his insulting remarks and thu cats, he
cool1y looked at him and said:
"You are not dangerous, and | don't
think you will hurt me-
Then the storm broke. The bully
jumped up, and, cracking his heels,
cried to the crowd:
Get out of the way. I'm going to
shoot"
A general rush was made for the