The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1910-06-25


EEs5Ssssx%z@ advance note" and preposterous
sax@ slop chest charge had been deducted
from his wages they handed him
the balance, pitiful little pile OF
small silver, and told him to get out
- 1t against the law, of course, but
he didn't know that.
He was set adrift almost without
money in land of strangers.
hostile land too. for the gendarmes
in front of the Office eyed him with
disfavor. He was desperately lone
Ieit the grip of circumstance keen upon him. AS
andered about the strange streets he discovered
In the lining of his coat, an envelope, until then
ced Its contents were four OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES bills
lis note:
Irvington. Oct. IT,
S Snly yo make trouble for thieves. only
ss S1
'NS ''' '''1'ns ana yours Ss H truly,
The friendly faces of Uncle Sans greenbacks
gave him courage. He made plans and acted on
them then and there Meeting that English mate
in the street. he gave him most artistic beat.
Ing paid fine, and took the next boat for Lon
don town. Incidentally, he forgot all about his de-
sire to travel six or seven thousand miles and kill
the sailortown kings. What spasm of virtue caused
them to give him back his money he never knew.
They were not noted for doing such things.
That the kings continually escaped punish
ment was small wonder. The men injured never
had chance to tell their stories until they were
ashore in some foreign land. Consuls in foreign
ports could not libel ships or detain captains on
their unsupported word. The ships papers were
always straight. at any rate the face of them.
The most that could be done was to report the
case and there 1t ended The Sherman boys on
the other side of the earth never heard even an
echo Of it. The witnesses against them were scat
tered over the seven seas and prosecution could
not touch them
The United States district attorney and his staff
did their best to keep the Shermans within the let
ter, at least, of the shipping laws but they had
hard shedding. In one the kings were indicted
Charlie Marsden the star witness for the prosecu-
tion was locked up in Jail for safekeeping Charlie
Marsden disappeared. The jaer told a story Of
masked men, guns and general confusion. but could
identify no one having taken part in the jail
delivery. With the witness gone prosecution halt
ed. Long afterward Charlie Marsden came vback
and told a moving tale. He had been bound,
gagged and carried aboard ship Just as she
sailed. When released at sea, he was told that
he had been regularly shipped and was led sorry
life aboard. In foreign ports he appealed in vain
to consuls, who showed him his name-forged Of
course-on the ships articles and laughed at him
When he finally worked his way back to Irvington
his story awakened interest and new prosecutions
were begun The Sherman boys had welpaid
lawyers who dragged out the cases with adjourn
ments and legal tangles Irvington was too busy
to be long excited over the wrongs of a few sail
ors Prosecution faltered and paltered along its
usual dismal way, and what at last brought the
sailortown kings up with round turn was the
united public opinion of Irvingon directed against
them.
Irvington suddenly walked up to find itself blot
on the map. Unexplained dead men are no good
advertisement for any town; neither arc mysteri-
disappearance Of strangers within its gates to
be desired. If their friends make fuss about them
Captains who refused to be held up for extrava-
CANT blood money and to play villain at small
profit. avoided the port. Business was falling off,
Upper Irvington hit where it lived and the
Sherman boys were notified to quit
The kings of sailortown have abdicated Steam
vessels make voyages short that advance
notes" are no longer prizes. Seamen's unions
have given measure of protection even to deep
water sailors, who seem to have fewer rights and
more hardshps than most men. The bullying cap
tain the buckle mate and the boarding master have
all been singed by the feeble and tardy fire OF
United States maritime law. The railroads had
their share in the revolution But what really
caused the Sherman boys to become private cti
was the wrath of upper Irvington. When IL
was hit in its pocket and its sefesteem-that up
set the kingdom Of the salortown tyrants