The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1913-05-30
HANGING THE WRONG MAN.
(By M. Quad.)

(By NJ. Quad.)
| You see, William Bowers, was as
/ much to blame as any of us, and be-
| ing he was the man who was hung, he
ought to have entered into particulars
! to a further extent than he did.
! 1 shall always blame him that he
didn't.
! William was placid. I knew him
] for three years, and only three times
did 1 know of his countenance under
going a change for even a second.
Once he met a grizzly face to face,
and that placid expression gave way to
a look of surprise and interest He
was pursued on another occasion by
! "a Indians and his countenance ex-
/ pressed inconsistencies. The third
( change is what 1 am going to tell you
about.
There had been a good deal of rob-
| bling and killing around the camp that
summer, and somehow it had been
impossible to lay hand on one OF the
perpetrators. The men had become
rolled and desperate, and it was gen.
: orally understood that the first often
der that fell into our clutches would
step off the head of a barrel to be
brought up suddenly by a rope and a
limb.
One day, when some of the boys
were returning from Pot-Luck creek
with flour and pork they came upon
the placid William Bowers in bad
situation. He was bending over the
body of man named Powers, who
had been settled by the thrust of a
bowie. and his hands were bloody.
The placid William was nabbed.
What did he do? Just nothing at
ALL
What did he say? Why, when the
boys laid hands on him he quietly re-
marked that he had discovered the
body only five minutes before, and was
inspecting it in hopes to discover signs
of life.
Too thin,
And too placid to fit that crowd!
The camp didn't waste any valuable
time over Williams case. Within an
hour court was convened William
was arraigned, and the dead body was
placed in sight of all. Circumstances
were against the prisoner. but there
were some things we forgot. William
had been quiet, honest, civil resi-
dent of Diamond Gulch. He had new
er been known to carry a bowie knife.
He had been down the trail to wash
some shirts and had discovered the
body on his return. He scarcely knew
the murdered man by sight. and
could, therefore, have had no grudge
against him. The victim had little or
no money, while the accused had the
biggest pile of any man in camp.
But placid William should have
kicked.
And he didn't kick worth a cent. He
pleaded Not guilty in careless, in
different manner, as if the result was
He told about going to wash his shirts
and of the finding of the body-out
there was nothing anxious about him.
IF you believe me, let me go; if you
don't believe me, bring on the rope
That was the sum and substance OF
his defense and it was bad for William.
When it was too late We saw where
he could have proved his record clear If
he had tried to; but we had sent him to
answer before the highest court of all
Well the court could scarcely fail to
convict under the circumstances, and in
less than an hour it became the pain
full duty of the judge to arise and re-
mark:
william, you have been found guilty
of murder. Does it make any great diff
ference to you whether you are hung
this afternoon or tomorrow? Weather's
liable to change here mighty sudden,
YOU know and we may not have such
an afternoon again this week"
The placid William replied that he
would be ready in half an hour, and he
was.
He went to his shanty. accompanied
by Colonel Smith, and when he had dis
posed of his property and written let
ter to friends in the east, he walked
coofly to the gallows-tree. mounted the
barrel. and never winked an eye when
the moose was slipped over his head.
Then came a painful pause.
1t is a serious thing to kick barrel
from under the feet of a fellow man and
let a rope catch and choke him to death
We felt 1t so, and when the pause came
we could hear each others hard breath
ing.
civilian Bowers solemnly remarked
the Judge. You are about to hang!
And now one more I ask you if you
are guilty of the awful crime?"
No was the equally calm reply
But he had been tried, convicted and
sentenced, and the sentence must be
carried out. 1t was when the man ad-
vanced to pull away the barrel that
Williams countenance lost its placidity.
For five seconds he seemed a stranger
to us ALL A white shadow crossed his
face a look of fear crept into his eyes,
and his jaw fell.
Then placid William was himself
again. He braced right up, shut his
teeth hard, and he died with counte-
nance as unreliable as stone.
A week afterward a robber who was
fired on and fatally wounded confess
sed that he was guilty of the murder
for which William Bowers had been
hung. That was a nice mess for US,
and there were many solemn faces as
we gathered around the judge and |
a sked him what could be done about
wall. reckon we'd better have an
inquest if thar be no objections was
the reply; and we had an inquest.
We viewed the rope, the barrel, the
tree and the grave and the verdict
was:
Hung the wrong man and sorry for
it,"
But placid William was half to
blame He should have objected Sc
riously to being hung.
There were those of us who thought
that perhaps William had an object
in assisting us to depart from this
vale of tears Our theory was scorned
by the majority, but time proved us
right