Weekly Arizona journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1903-1908, 1907-07-10
(By orick Jackson)

Il u "A long span Dack 10 nearly ~
v..,. apo. To review the scenes Of
,h,, day or to summon from the
.Asdowy pas. the forms Of those once
familiar, to link, A. IL were, the pas.
With the present, crystalises time into
III. beauties Of the sentiment, "The
Better the Day, the Better the Deed. ["
Looking backward to 1879, when the
writer first met the late "Bucky"
ONeill, and to 1898 when his earthly
career closed, nearly . score Of years
were sealed between the two In the
tronges, ties Of personal friendship
and unbroken association. OF his life
in ,ae days spent in Arizona, the pub.
lie generally are familiar. OF that
chapter, however, in his youth or at
the time he was entering the threshold
Of manhood, little has ever reached the
public. lie guarded the past cautiously,
And aside from the writer, none knew
Of the intensity Of the drama played by
him and in which he was the central
figure on the stage, the only actor.
Some Of the thrilling scenes in the play
enacted will be mentioned in this bri Il
resume Of his life, but that feature
which writer's have been dishing out
since he fell at San Juan ms an officer in
the U. $. Army, will be discountenan-
eed, because it partakes too wildly Of
the border bandit and the frontier ruff.
fan, u class which Bucky O'Neill never
did nor never would tolerate in ais
days
This hackneycd rot that has been
thrown n. his door Is Of the rankest
and vilcst Imagination, and is as far
away from the true nature Of the man
as the earth is from the heavens.
O'Neill was a tender hearted man, and
yet courageous one. He never openly
or privately connivcd ut fomenting a
conflict between men, and both as
private citizen and M an officer Of the
law in this territory on many occasions
bis sagacity was shown by assisting tne
law abiding element against the des'
perado, and as well in thwarting this
element before their plans were ready
to be sprung.
Covering the earlier life Of Bucky
0'Neilc memory Is the only authority
at hand to refer to. From his own lips,
and AS far back as 1880, and subse'
quen,ly, dates and incidents ARE recall
ed, one thread and another in his life
unwouud and which may prove interest
ing in this day when the. memory Of
the departed comes comes home WIZ
tender throes and the finer nbers OF
man give way to the benefcent nalo thai
encircles them all In reminiscent
grandeur. He was born, he said, In th'
county Of Tyrone, Ireland, and Mt oil
early age, between Ave and six years
came to the United States, his father
and mother preceding him. This state
msnt ix contradicted. But 1t Is tru'
nevertheless, and % given me b,
o'Neill personally, and ON more thar
ono occasion. He entered the public
schools a. = youth In Philadelphia ou'
this form Of education WAS soon dis
earded, and he began an educationa
career destined to take him into IN
Catholic Church - . priest OF tina
faith. To use his own words, ne &c
belled at the idea Of having bis III
sealed" up and his ambition curoe
but Mt the same time he was an arden
and an enthusiastic believer In 'n'
doctrine Of that religion, which he re
tanned to the end. Accordingly Uni
course Of education was discarded, an
he went into the school OF the IN"
This proce lure also became obno1io"'
and he fitted to the open. Here
waere began his career rs Py'.
teehnic star In the armament OF me-
as he aptly put It. He went to the navy
securing through influence, the RANK .
a subaltern, IL memory serves "
right, that Of clerk to the payma'.s'
His ship was the swatara, sem''nen
ing machine combined with tram"
equipment. The coast OF brah'' We
the station assigned for cruise y"
Bahia the objective point .
After reaching this latter po'n' ~
quent sasre leaves were granted o0'
officers and men. 1t was on ono
these occasions that an event occufre
in his life which he frequently renea'
ed, and especially 20 when IN . oe
pondent mood. II WAS Of the taxing
human life 1t his hands. The me'"0
was the duel, and the rsasos s"'