The Cairo bulletin., 1911-09-28

&fG8 not often that the condemn,
NA ed felon, hearing bolt shot
NIX behind him in the door Of a
@A9l death cell, hopes to feel and
breathe the open air again,
save for few terrible mo-
ments when he marches out to the
scaffold, to die. Never does he dream
that he will again see the gayety OF
life and freedom expressed In scenes
of strength and skill, or that he will
ke permitted to participate In them,
writes special correspondent of the
st. Louis Post Dispatch. That is why
In all the annals OF baseball. there Is
no record OF such an umpire as Casey
murderer Casey of the Nevada state
prison-who went from death cell
to Judge baseball game between two
teams of his fellow convicts.
Patrick c. Casey, whose wooden leg
and sobriquet Of "Pegleg' tell one
chapter In the story of his misfortunes,
was fan of fans In q time gone past,
That was before he wandered into the
land where "sixshooters" and Bowie
knives set the Darwinian theory aside.
That was before Goldfield had sprung
up In the desert to lure men on to
hardships that might yield luxury or
death. and before Casey. in that turbu.
lent and terrible Goldfield summer OF
1909, deliberately sauntered down a
street of the mushroom city, slew
Mrs. Thomas Heslip on her own door
step and dangerously wounded Mrs
Thomas Mann, guest at the Heslip
home
Between Casey, the prison umpire
and Casey. the boy, wrangling with
other boys on a corner lot where
coming champs" were wont to put
their hopes to test, series OF event
tul years had interposed record
which was long and not too good, and
in which Casey had played the game
with lead instead of the horsehide
spheroid of the diamond.
Eut the years had not made Casey
forget, and the wayward life of the
mining camps had not stamped out OF
his soul the spirit of sport, and his
old-time love Of our national game
When he was led to the warden's Of
fee few weeks ago and informed
that his plea for a new trial had re
leased him, for time, at any rate
from the death cell he had occupied
since December Z, 1909, his first re
quest was that he might take some
part In the baseball games then be
ing planned for prisoners whose sen
fences stop short of the gallows. And
when he stood behind the bat to offici
ate at the first Of the prisoners
baseball games, there was no tremoi
or doubt In the voice that cried: bat
ter up; play BALL"
Surely a Remarkable Game.
In order to see the ball game
Casey gave the warden his word OF
honor that he would abide by all the
rules governing the prison yard He
promised that he would act as a fail
and impartial Judge. He swore that
he would make no attempt to escape
or TO cheat the gallows by destroyins
himself while he was at liberty in the
yard. In a word, Casey, the Goldfielt
murderer, whose life was being de
msndsd by all the people of Nevada
was strictly ION his honor" to b.
good one afternoon.
Surely that was a unique and per
haps remarkable game of ball. Their,
was no velvet green with soft brown
paths of earth. The diamond wa.
black strips of paint laid on the hare
face OF the prison yard, which /.
blasted and quarried out of sole
rock. in the heart of which the exca
vators found mastodon tracks and foot
prints of prehistoric men.
One team was composed of Shines
as the negro prisoners are called
and the other white men whose crime,
ranged from petit larceny to murder
Around the diamond sat 200 other fel
lows. above whom rose the walls q
the prison yard. With them wa,
Warden Baker, who took charge q
the prison last January, and imme
diately began working out system
of reform In which baseball plays n,
small part
Completing the picture. were tn,
guards, patroling the top of the wall,
In sharp relief against the blue skie.
Of freedom. and constantly countin,
the men In the yard lest any attemp
at escape should be made.
Umpires Decision "Went.v
Nobody dared question decision
from the peg-legged lord of the game
To have cried loudly for Judgment
on close play at base, or to hav,
complained strenuously when Case,
announced STRIKE" "safs" or 'y'r,