The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-07-30
MANS
EXPERIENCE"


the store signs with his guns, you will
know, when you know him, that rs
only bis original way of celebrating,
and that he means no offense.
When l was trying to serve the
Master in New Mexico in the dawn Of
the sos soon got over sensitiveness
about having revolver handy, and
acquired fair skill in it's use l have
seen times when it was Of valuable
aid in establishing the truths of Chris
tianity and in commanding an abiding
respect for fair dealing
"One day tall, dark-eyed gentle
man with long, desperate looking
mustache drifted into town and
stormed the tavern, run by a gentle
man named Hardness. The stranger
wore couple of revolvers, red fan
mel shirt and boots reaching beyond
his knees.
Hardness rubbed his hands to-
gether and bowed
My names Chauncey de Argyle
and I'm a bad man from the headwa-
tiers of Bitter creek, Montana said the
visitor.
YES remarked the landlord, at
fably. Glad to meet you, Mr.. Argyle.
Shall put all that on the ledger?'
"'All O. what?'
why, the sort of a man you are
and where you're from?'
Don't mind if you do returned the
guest, who seemed to be pleased by the
suggestion, an if you got room you
might say I've killed Ii men, land
lord-13!'
"'Ah, yes. Thirteen men in glory!
Anything else?
And write down I'm going to kill
13 more fore / leave this burg. Might
as well let these ducks know what sort
of mans amongst 'em right now
Hardness made some marks on the
register, but as the man from Bitter
creek could neither read nor write he
had to take the landlords word as to
what they stood for. Next morning
the bad man strobe out and kicked up
a muss with Dutchy Ingelf,iz, an in
nOcent old fellow, who had few men
working a silver lode up the mountain.
He told Dutchy that was his land, and
his gun and said they constituted his
title. Ingelfritz decided not to contest,
and Immediately surrendered possess
sion. | had been asleep an hour that
night when Hardness burst into my
room.
Wheeler he exclaimed, for the
love of heaven get up and help me save
that mans life
What man? asked.
1.-The bad man from Bitter creek,
who came in yesterday. The boys
have already tried him, found him
guilty and sentenced him to hang.
They've sent for a rope and appointed
the executioner.'
Here was kettle of fish We had
noticed in the early evening that
things had been remarkably quiet, but
supposed the men of the town had
gone of to some neighboring village,
as had been their habit. jumped out
of bed. The landlord accompanied me
around to Big likes saloon, where the
trial had been held.
Fellows / said, this will never
do; you can't hang a man unless he's
committed murder
That's just what he's done, par
SON., spoke up a poker dealer, who
boarded at the hotel; he's killed Ii
men; he said it hisself.'
ut was pretty hard to get around |
that sort of evidence, and Hardness
and / worked and pleaded with them |
until the committee arrived with the |
prisoner. l never saw sucn change
in man in my life. He was captured !
without struggle, and when led in |
among the strong men who had SEN |
fenced him to die he shock like |
schoOlbOy who was making his maiden |
speech in public. All the bravado of |
yesterday was gone; the bad man from |
Bitter creek realized he was up against |
the most serious proposition of his |
life, and he begged most pathetically |
for reversal of the judgment. The |
tryors, with stern-set jaws, listened in |
somber silence.
THE men there often attended my
church, and l knew they entertained |
respect for me, but my urgence for
that miserable mans life that night |
was asking a great deal of them. Even |
when forced to admit that there was |
no evidence that he ever had or ever
would kill anybody, they insisted that |
he ought to die because of his absolute
and cowardice. In their
eyes the last was of itself a capital |
crime.
"One at a time we gained the court
and jury over, and finally the man who
had presided said:
well, parson. if we don't hang this
coyote what do you suggest We ought
to do with him? He can't stay here
"'No, | replied, and | don't believe
he'd want to. Let's give him five min
utes to get out of gunshot, and if he
comes back then you can hang him for
contempt of court
1.-The boys looked at each ether, and
the poker dealer made motion to fol-
low the suggestion. 1t was carried
The court pulled out his
watch and his gun.
"'Now, my friend from Bitter Creek
be said, it's just three a. m. You