White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1911-03-05

closed up the saloons and all places
OF business and then guards were
posted and nobody was allowed to
leave or come into the place.
One of the suspected four had left
the town the night of the murder
and, as he was known to have friends
over in the vicinity of Lake Mono, an
armed posse rode over to Bridgeport
with a note TO the sheriff making a
demand upon him to get the fellow.
dead or alive. The posse. with the
sheriff at its head, took the trail
around the lake and found their man
lying in the snow, alongside the trail
and nearly frozen to death. They
might not have found him at all, as
1t was night, but the sheriff's horse
SHE'D at something and, getting off
to see what it was, he found his man.
The prisoner was turned over to the
men from our town and, two days
later, was in the courthouse with
the other prisoners.
These men were now tried, one at
a time, with the W hundred citizens
as a jury. Witnesses were sworn.
examined and then cross-examined
by a lawyer who had been appointed
to act for the defense. Every man
was unanimously found guilty and
sentenced to be hanged.
This on a Monday. A gallows was
built in the court yard and word sent
out, far and near. that the men
would be hanged at ten O'Clock in the
morning, on the following Monday.
When the following Monday came,
the town was literally packed with
men. and children. The gal
lows was surrounded by an armed
guard, with fixed bayonets, standing
shoulder to shoulder.
Promptly at ten O'Clock, accom-
panied by a priest, the condemned
men were led onto the scaffold. One
of the men from Bridgeport address
ed the crowd, telling how his friend
had been slain and then detailed the
proceedings that had been taken to
arrest and try his murderers, not
falling to mention the fact that the
jury consisted of two hundred men,
instead of twelve, that a lawyer had
given them an able defense and that,
in every single instance the verdict
of guilty had been absolutely unani-
nous. He then read off the names
of the jury and they included every
responsible, law-abiding man in the
community. The jury wanted it un-
derstood. he said, that they took the
full responsibility of their act in ex-
eeuting these men and they warned
every eut-throat in Nevada and else
xHha~A -. ~ tAzfr A.~a = =
berth.
He then turned to the men stand
ing on the traps, with ropes around
their neeks, and said that each could
have a few minutes in which TO say
goodbye or make any last request.
The first mar took up his time in
debating a letter to his mother which
the priest took down, kneeling on
one knee. The second and third men
had nothing to say. The fourth was
different. He vas a young fellow,
twenty-one years old that very day,
and had come on the seaffold, dane
ing a jig, laughing and full of bra
vado. When il came his turn, he
said he had a weak throat and as he
wanted every young man there TO
h'aA hhaA III hdd ~ 5ds III Adht
warning, he asked that the guard be
ordered to fall back close to the
scaffold, so the people could come
closer.
The sheriff. who had command of
the guard. knew his man, and knew
all about the weak throat story. 1t
seems the same fellow had stood on
the gallows, two years before, in
Oregon and, by giving the same ex-
euse. enabled his friends to get close
to the gibbet, rush the guard and
rescue him. When tine sheriff now
received orders to have the guard
fall back. he told his men of the Ore
gon rescue, ordered them to keep
their bayonets leveled and to fall
back carefully. three PAGES. but to
kill any man who tried to break
through.
When the Oregon fugitive heard
this. he collapsed like a rag and had
TO be supported by a nan on each
side. There was no more laughing
or dancing and the bravado was all
gone.
The gallows had been arranged so
that the four traps could be sprung
together from one trigger. A firing
squad had been detailed as no one
mar cared to be the hangman and,
at the word of command, a volley
rang out. the trigger was shattered
and it was all over.
| was a young boy at the time and
was there and saw II all. Even to
this day, il Is the safest town in the