Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-03-10


the commanding officer. Colonel Beal, com
handing the American troops then in pos
session, and said to him My name is /
John /. Lemon. have perfect acquaint- |
snce with the Spanish language I have |
met with reverses and / want the position |
OF interpreter in the purchasing depart |
ment where, I think, I can be useful" !
He spoke the language so beautifully and |
well that he was a. once employed as in /
terprcter in the commissary department |
His business was 10 60 with or act az
agent Of the quartermaster to different |
towns around Chihuahua and buy supplies !
lie had been there about sixty days or less, |
when one morning Mr.. Lemon disappeared |
and with him about twenty-five or thirty |
teamsters that had been in the employ Of
the United states government hauling sup
plies for the troops. Some hours after he
disappeared at the end of the day, some
Indians came in from some Of the Indian
villages, ten or fifteen miles away. with
the first Sews OF Lemon 1t appeared that
Lemon had seduced these teamsters to go
with him, and upon this kind OF story
He told them that, at the breaking out OF
the Mexican war he was a merchant in a
large town in the interior OF Sonora, the
name Of which I do not just now recall.
and that he had about 100000 worth of
property, merchandise, in a store that he
owned; that Mexican priest there had
infamed the people against him, saying
that he was an American. This priest, he
claimed, organized a mob, took possession
of his store. confiscated his property, and
he barely escaped with his life. He told
the Transfers that he was on confidential
terms with that priest; that he knew that
the priest had 10000 in silver and gold
buried in the sleeping room Of his house.
He said to them: Il want you to go with
me. You can have every dollar of the
money. All I want to do is to hang that
priest on his own veranda. When we get
the money and hang the priest it will be
easy to escape 20 California" They be-
lieved him and went with him. He took
them to the Indian villages, made requisl-
lions upon tho head men or chiefs for pro-
visions and horses, mounted his men and
started for this town In Sonora where the
priest lived. In payment of his outfit, he
gave drafts on Colonel Beal, who was
then the commanding oficer, something
like this Colonel Beal, commanding etc.
Please pay Juan Simmones"-or whatever
the name was of the Indian chief-"S4OOO
for supplies" and added: Charge to the
account OF John Shocks, captain United
States army"
Indians on His Trail.
OF course. the poor Indians had to go
back without their money, but when they
went back they organized a party of In
dams and followed Lemon and his men.
The Indians after some days, returned
but all that they ever told us was that
they had found Lemon and his party one
night In a thicket of dry chaparral, they
had surrounded tho thicket; there was a
strong wind blowing and they set fire to
the dry chaparral, and they didn't know
what had become of Lemons party" They
did know that they got their horses, or
nearly all of them.
/ Some months after that a man came
walking down the mountain. at the foot
OF which Santa Fe lies, a ragged, dirty
! individual with an old straw hat and shoes
all 20 pieces-as disreputabe looking white
man as was ever seen in the city. He
walked right into the public square and
right over into the military headquarters,
where the same Colonel Beal was in com
mand. and introduced himself as Mr. John
7. Lemon. The old major responded:
Guard, come here, come here; take this
man to the guardhouse!' and into the
guardhouse he won't, without any where
/ ases" or "wherefores," or writ Of any
/ kind. A court-martial was convened.
| Lemon defended himself so we'll and skill
fully that he secured an acquittal He
had not committed any crime known TO
the military code, nor had he defrauded
the United States government, as his
John Shocks, captain United States
army" drafts had not been paid He, upon
his acquttal, concluded to practice law,
and opened an ONCE next to mine, with
this man Reynolds. He was man of the
most extensive and varied knowledge that
l ever met and was as we'll versed In the
Bible as any preacher. and was a pro-
found theologian. He had perfect knowl-
edge OF medicine and surgery, was an
astronomer, geologist and chemist; in
fact. there was nothing you could name.
except the law, that he didn't know. ana
yet he undertook to practice law. We made
short work Of him after we got him into
court, got him into the intricacies of special
pleading
His Genius and Daring.
As illustrating the genius and daring Of
the man, 1 will relate an incident. There
was in New Mexico man by the name
OF Maxwell. a pioneer out in New Mexico,
and the same one to whom was given that
large tract OF land known Maxwell's
land grant, on the Pecos river, New
Mexico. Maxwell had been out trading
with the Indians and got into a fight with
them, with the result of which he got a
bullet in the back of his neck He came
in TO Santa Fe for surgical aid lie was
very popular man. The best physicians
the army suTgeons-were called into con-
sultation; they declared that that bullet
lay so near the artery leading to the brain
that they were afraid to undertake to cut
it out. Well, Maxwell knew that he would
die II II were left in there. Lemon heard
OF il, and he exclaimed; IAN nonsense;
l will get that bullet out II he will let me.
and they will lend me their instruments. 80
Maxwell was told what Lemon had said.
He sent for Lemon, and told him he would
take his chances Of the operation, as he
must have that bullet out, or he would
die. l happened to be present when the
operation was performed Without chloro.
forming the man at all. he laid Maxwell
down on his face, took the surgical instru.
ment and cut down into his neck When
he got down &c the bullet he called to the
surgeon standing by, and said: "Put vou,