Mower County transcript., 1904-08-17

about five year ago. I'd been maxim
a sort Of pet of little, yaller haired
child stoppin' at the Johnston house
with her ma fer the summer, an one
day, settin' up thar in the Office, tuck
'er on my knee. She sorter sQuirmed
of, an when l asked 'er what was the
matter she said she'd heard I'd killed
a man. 1t set me back so that didn't
detain 'er, an she looked scared ever
time I passed whar she was at. Huh!
Talk about trouble, George, yore'n
hain't a circumstance! I had jest got
married, an everything looked bright.
1T was at an election. The feller
was q friend o. mine, but few years
younger. We was on opposite sides
an had sharp words. The lie was
passed, an then we come together.
Some O. the crowd parted US, but was
a ragin' demon. was drinkin' man
then-that ia, took a dram occasion
ally-an' I got full an went home fer
q revolver. Then set out to find i'm.
It was about 10 O'clock at night when
I run acrost i'm at a livery stable, a
Old shack at tother end o. the town.
He was in the back end with Hank
williams, the man that run it. anti
heard i'm tellin' Hank good, night an
seed Inn a-comin'', ;;t41 didn't know what
/ was a-dcin,--as ,God,:is2my fjudge,o1
didn't" I hated I'm With, the+hatdh6 6f
he'll, = an, ! wanted wanted i'm out
OF Att1e5l way Ta drawed i. .as ssha ss6tiie
nigh, a. r think r cugsed I'm! I r.
member he was again right at me- ne
scared-scared mighty nigh out o his
senses. He raised his hans sorter,
like a body will to ward off anything,
but the revolver was aimed right, an
cooked an easy on trigger, an it went
off,"
Hillyer paused. His hands were fold
ed one in the other, and both were
quivering. George Buckley was star
ing at him with bewildered fixity, his
long, slender hand stayed in his heavy
hair.
'Tm sorter scared at the sound O. my
own voice." said Hillyer. "Its like
somebody else was a-tellin' about it.
I hain't even whispered it to myself.
An in all my prayers in regard to it I
never have spoke his name ur the name
o the crime. always said, You know
what I mean, Lord. Show me how to
unload it, Welp'-Hillyer swallowed
"he fell dead in his tracks. I was
sober in a second. heard Williams
a-comin', an when he seed me an the
smokin' pistol an my deed he give
little cry an started to break an run,
but I thowed the revolver down an
called to i'm an begged i'm not to
leave. Then l stood in a boss stall
while he went an examined-the body.
I couldn't fetch it. Then he come back
to me an told me Lynn Hambright
was corpse. Thar was a pile O. dirty
hay in the stall, an remember jest
fell on 1t, face downward, an begun to
cry an beg the Lord to save me.
civilians had heart like a child's.
He stood thar an watched an listened
tn my ravin's Of fear an regret till all
at once he begun try1n' to paclry me.
He told me I'd come clear; that it was
In self defense; that he had seed it all
an would 60 on the stand an testify
in my behalf. know .now-in fact,
knowed when heard him on the stand
that he was lynn to save my neck,
but wanted to escape the penalty an
couldn't a stopped i'm. The fear O.
meetin' my God was awful. 1 wasn't
even Jailed. It was in unsettled times
jest after the war. My folks was prom
inent, an public sympathy fer me,
young as was, was high. The hard
est thing of all to bear was the grief Of
Hambright's mother. 1t looked like it
I'd mighty nigh kill 'er. He was her
youngest an pet. Her other boys nev-
er amounted to anything an had gone
west an left 'er. Finally come clear
In the eyes O. the world, but, as God
knows, not in my own. That crime is
before me, wakin' or sleepin'. l often
dream that I never done it, an day
light gives that the lie. Seemed like
ever thing I went into turned out mon
ey, an prospered, though I did all I
could to alleviate suffering an help
the different churches. Mrs. Ham
bright jest had a little farm over in the
mountains that turned out bare liv-
in, an sent a friend to 'er to offer
her help, but she Indignantly refused
1t. Shed come in town once in awhile,
but she'd never come nigh whar I was
at. Then heard she was tryin' to git
a pension through congress- Her hus-
band had claimed to be Union man,
an that he was forced into the Con-
federate ranks, whar he fit an was
killed, an somebody told 'er she was
entitled to pension. Old Trabue tuck
up the claim an writ on about it to
Warrington, an one day he happened
10 tell me that he had had 4 final de-
cfsion an that she couldn't git it an
that he hated to have to tell .'er. the
outcome. Then got him to pretend
to her that the pension was allowed,
an, I paid the $l5 q month. I've been
doin' it 5fsr twenty year now, an. it
has kent 'er from ,su6srtn', but I'm in
mortal dread o her nndin' out whar
the money comes from an seliin' her
place to repay It. shes still in good
health over thar III, flna rnns,n<a = trs fs$Ss