The Washington herald., 1910-04-17

/ to a Sparks-Herrell ranch, Of which a
negro named Harris was the foreman !
talked about the killing Of the sheep
! herders. and he told me that Diamond
/ field Jack. whom he seemed to dislike.
had stayed over night at the ranch two
or three days previous to the murder
/ He changed his light-colored suit for
black clothing. saying ne had some work
| to do after dark. Harris also noticed
/ that he had a .i5-caliber revolver loaded
with -4i-caliber cartridges. Diamondneld
Jack. he said with anger. lay in his bed
and shot at the rafters overhead. Harris
showed me the bullet holes. Jack had
! returned later and had spoken vaguely
but exultantly about doing business with
a couple OF sheep herders.
Both sides Armed.
we were pretty well prepared. there
fore, 70 prosecute Diamondfeld Jack for
murder. The trial was tremendously in
teresting. The sheep men, OF whom there
was large and nervous representation
in town. sympathized with the prosecu-
ton. The cattle men. equally as numer-
Gus and expeditions, were hot partisans
Of the prisoner. Certain persons before
each session Of the court were searched
and relieved Of their weapons. During
the trial Diamondheld Jack made a cheer
ful lunge toward me, but an officer caught
him. We proved that the sheep herders
had been killed with .H-caliber cartridges
fired from a .45-caliber revolver. When
Harris was put on the stand he knew
nothing. Strangely enough. he did not
recognize me as a guest of not very
remote evening I began his cross-ex-
animation by asking If he remembered
the man who stopped with him all night.
and to whom he told about Jacks re-
volver his change Of clothing. and so on.
lie was so badly frightened and so much
surprised that he made a clean breast of
the whole matter to the jury.
"Diamondfeld Jack was convicted and
sentenced to be hanged Thirty minutes
before the hour fixed for his execution.
the gallows being up and the rope noosed
and dangling. further proceedings were
stopped by writ Of nabeas corpus.
Afterward his sentence was changed TO
life Imprisonment. In two or three years
he was pardoned on the ground that eli
the evidence Of his guilt was entirely cir
cumstantial"
What became Of him?" 1 asked.
"He quit the cattle business and got
into mining. Senator George d. Nixon.
of Nevada, who knows him well. SAYS
he is now interested in some of the
mines of Mexico. His nickname origi-
mated in plan that he had Of organ
izing a syndicate of gentlemen like HIM
self for digging diamonds in South Africa
Senator Nixon says that he once owned
1000 acres of claims at Goldfeld New.
and could have sold his interests for
100000 in money. His ambition was 20
fit out buccaneering expedition. seize
some small country in South America
and make himself a king. All in all
he was an imaginative character. He
called at the Reno club one day TO talk to
Nixon on matter of business. Nixon
offered him chair.
Sold BOycOtted Papers.
If it is all the same to you, Jack
replied. I'll stand UP. I am not pre-
pared to sit down Whereupon he lifted
the tail of his coat and showed SIX big re-
volvers. Then he unbuttoned the front
of his coat and a sawed-off shotgun was
seen sticking out of an inside pocket.
Still. Nixon says he is not a spectacular
proposition, but quiet man, who minds
his own business. Once. when there was
a strike of Sun printers in Goldfeld and
newsboys were driven from the streets.
Jack loaded with pisfoIs and bundle