Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1904-07-20
SAILS SACRIFICE
tOriginal.1

| But renned, SELF SacrlnclnS love al
ways seems strange among low, wicked
people.
Back in the sixties there was a des-
pera do in New Mexico who gloried in
the name of Bloody Bill" The girl
who bestowed her affections ON this de-
| graded specimen Of q man had a name
not less refined, If less horrible. She
was called "Dishrag SAL from the
| fact that she was scullion-that is,
she was a scullion till it was discovered
that she was Bloody Bills girl. Then
she was told to move on.
| 1t was in 1864, l think, that I took
command Of party Of men whose
business it was to hunt down criminals.
That winter we were ordered to find
| Bloody Bill and get rid Of him, which
| meant if we didn't shoot him In en-
deavoring to take him we were to hang
him to tree. We spent long time
getting on his track, but when we did
get on it were furnished every advan-
tage. One evening man whose brother
had been killed by Bloody Bill rode
into town, a distance of twenty miles.
to tell US that Bill was In deserted
log cabin not far from his ranch. He
had passed the outlaw on the road,
| recognized him without being recog-
| nized, followed and located him. From
| what he had seen about the cabin, he
| judged that Bill would spend the night
there, but he was not to be depended
on for any specified time.
I ordered the men to saddle up, and
| before starting we assembled at the
eating house at the railroad station for
a good supper. There being dozen Of
| us and only one waitress for the party,
we We're being delayed, so i called
| upon the proprietor for better attend
ance whereupon a girl was sent in
from the kitchen. l had heard of
Dishrag Sal and never in the world
would have expected to find her in the
person of this young woman. She was
quite neat in her dress and had very
attractive figure and pretty face,
| though there was not much intelligence
in it. She moved about quietly, but ef
fectively, and appeared not to take any
interest in anything except her work.
| The men talked good deal about Bill,
though no one spoke of going to cap
ture him, and one man told how Bill
was used to beating his girl and how
| patiently she bore his brutal treat
ment. / had my eye on the kitchen
| mo Nxyhil no
cied l saw her eyes slightly contract,
| but the next moment she asked me
in a soft voice if she should fill my cup
| with coffee, and l thought no more
about it.
That night we rode against pierre
ing wind unchecked by woods, driving
before it sleet that struck our faces
like shot. At dawn we reached the
cabin and surrounded it. Then when
it was light enough for us to see clear
~ called:
| 81 say, Bill, come out of that and
give yourself up"
| There was no answer, so / called
again:
| We've got you cOrnered, Bill"
Still no answer.
| "We're a dozen rifles"
| Not hearing the slightest sound in
| the cabin, ordered the men to close
in slowly and cautiously. We had
scarcely begun our advance when
there was a puff of smoke from win
dow in the cabin, and one of my best
men fell on his face. Not considering
any further waste Of life necessary,
posted my men behind trees, and we
kept up a steady fire. An occasional
shot in reply Informed us that the in
mate was still alive. This was not
surprising, for our bullets could only
penetrate between the logs, and we
did not know what further protection
there was inside.
| Finally / ordered the men to collect
brushwood, and, advancing to a tree
quite near, / set fire to ii and threw 1t
against the cabin. I was shot in the
arm for my pains, and few min
utes later another of my men was bad
ly wounded. However, l persisted and
at last was rewarded by seeing a small
flame crawling up a corner OF the
building. Nevertheless it was still half
an hour before flames were well start
ed. By this time / was much cha
grined at haying lost one man killed,
besides the wounded, on so worthless
life and ordered two of my best men to
shoot the outlaw the moment he APP
peared. Suddenly the door opened, and
back of the smoke and flames stood
figure. One of the two men l had di-
rected to do so fired. The other drop
ped the butt Of his rife on the ground.
The figure sank down, heap in the
cabin door.
you've killed a woman" said the
man who had not fired.
l, being nearer than the rest, ran to
the cabin, and, true enough, there, ly-
ing on her face, was woman. /
turned her over and was thunderstruck
to recognize the kitchen girl who had
waited on us at table the evening be-
fore.
/ was not long in framing a theory
of explanation which proved to be cor