Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-07-21
WAY BACK IN OF KENTUCk.
Dave Holden an Unwilling Administrator o.
| Justice

| Judge L. y. Allen has been writing
a series OF sketches, mostly of Ken
lucky life, in the State he halls from,
which is ripe with incidents for SO
many quaint and unique, If not nearly
always of all exciting nature. While
this task has been done about as a
great author wrote "Hours of Idle
ness" with no thought of publication,
it seems to us as if they might make a
book that would be read with interest.
especially where the material for the
scenes has existed. A sample chapter
from the collection is here given. The
chapter begins:
Another Oldfeldian, entangled, as it
were, in my story is Dave Holden.
The other sons of Dan Ripley swore
vengeance against Burlingame and
ODE Crews, go the friends Of the last
named-the idea was the Squirrel
managed to get the grand jury to in
dict him, and, rs soon as he could be
+ moved, to have him sent to Jail for his
own protection, believing that in due
time jury would ac9uit him, and
! that, meanwhile, something could be
done toward allaying the anger of his
enemies. In both of these respects, as
the result showed, the Squire's wisdom
was made manifest, and these chron-
iclcs will probably contain nothing
! further connected with that desperate
encounte- out on the Lawton pike
But Obe's imprisonment and exper.
fences in Jail afford me fine chance
80 draw pen picture of our jailer,
Dave Holden, who is one Of the drol.
lest creatures in Oldtelds. Literally
and in sober fact, Dave was born in
Jail and has been in Jail all his life,
seeing that his father before him was
jailer and that our Jail house is go
built that the prisoners cells and the
dwelling rooms of the jailer are all
under one roof, the only difference be-
tween them being that the cells have
barred windows and iron doors, while
the dwelling rooms are the ordinary
rooms OF a decent residence.
When old Tom Holden went to his
reward in the early forties and was
laid away in narrow cell-one harder
to escape from than any of those he
had ever confined hog thieves or muir
derers in-his son Dave succeeded to
the office and it's gruesome but indis-
| pensable duties, so characterized by
me because, as everybody knows, she
jailer must not only keep human be.
ings under lock and key, hut he must
execute the judgments OF the court and
apply the lash to the bare backs OF
petty offenders; tie the rope around
the necks OF those who are condemned
to be hung" until they are dead" and
adjust the black cap over the faces OF
the miserable wretches at the last mo-
ment.
Reverend Spooner has favorito
sermon in which, to use his words, he
"uncaps hell" and shows the tiends
in that awful place torturing poor sim
ners, pouring melted lead down their
Threats, or with three pronged pitch.
forks, tossing 'em back into the flames
when, in their unspeakable agony,
they have wriggled out. can under
stand how they can find a delight in
such business, seeing that they are
in hell themselves and that it's the
only pleasure the place affords, but |
can't understand how a human being
can, Of his own free will, lock himself
up in q Jail and cowhide the backs OF
poor thieving negroes or touch the
spring that let's a shaking. horror.
stricken men drop to eternity! Think
OF all the outside world with its sun.
shine, its birds and its flowers, its
pleasant duties and its innocent en-.
joyments to be had for the choosing
Think OF these in comparison with a
jailer's life!
But to resume. As l say, Dave
Holden was born and raised in Jail
From earliest infancy the swish of the
cow.hide and the scream OF the victim
were sounds familiar to his ears, and
never murderer paid the penalty Of
his crime but what Dave witnessed
the awful scene. from the rope knot
ting and the black cap to the last
tremor OF body and limbs.
IT'S said that at one time in his boy
hood days he reaped large profit in
the way of apples and marbles from
other boys for smuggling them into
the Jail yard to see a hanging. bee, sc
to speak, but that his appetite for &C
cumulating riches got so keen, and
such crowd OF urchins gained admit
lance, his father was compelled e
break up the business. Used to sucf
sounds and sights all bis life. Dave
who. by nature. is not unkindly, ant
who is of a philosophical turn of mind
withal, got to classifying human be
ings into the outsiders and the insid
ers, the former being, in his estima
ton, potential insiders, and the latter
he divided into what he called tn.
cow-hiders, and the neck -twisters. A,
man in the cattle business take.
note OF every steer or calf he sees
naturally and as Q matter OF Ions
; habit, estimating their present anC
future worth to the butcher, fixing il
his mind how they will cut up, how
many choice streaks and prime roast'
are in them, and forgetting not to take
| INV HIS iuoHtai grasp tue niue hn(
the hoofs. so, in time. after Dave hat
succeeded his father in the jailer's Of
fee, he formed the habit of observing
men from the jailer's standpoint, so t.
speak, and in passing along the stree
he would look at negro's back or {
white mans neck, from this profes
sional coign of vantage, as it were, ant
would make approximate estimates
respecting the stripes that could b,
laid on before the victim tainted, o.
the extent of the drop that would b,
required to break his neck bone.
/ opiue that men in other vacations
doctors for instance. acquire similar
mental habits. Sometimes l catci
Doc Humes' eyes fastened on me will
an expression that sends cold Chilli
along my spinal column, for l an
, satisfied that for the moment he il
not thinking OF me as his old friend
Dominic Collins, but is taking stock
so to speak, of my anatomy, and cogi
tating as to whether my skeleton
would be too long to hang up in hi