White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1913-03-02
%TR|bULAT|ONS Of
A TROUBADOUR
TRAVELLING SINGER WHO STOPS
OFF AT CARLIN GIVEN REALS
TIC TASTE OF COW-PUNCHER
SPORT.

Last SATURDAY FRANCOIS, the trou-
bador, who is walking from Oakland
to New York on a 1000 mile wager
arrived in Carlin on Southern Pa
cifc passenger train No. 6. He wore
a big sombrero hat with a flaming
red ribbon around it, a khaki suit
and leggings and strapped around his
waist was a belt containing two au-
tomato revolVers, a Bowie knife and
an Indian ~tomahawk, says the Elko
Independent. The conductor had TAX
en- his armory from him before he
would permit him to enter the pas
senger coach. This was not because
Francois looked like a bad man, but
because his armory might cause trou-
BILE with the passengers. To get even
with the conductor he reported him
to headquarters as lacking in cour-
tesy.
His arrival caused a connection in
Carlin and it soon spread around
that he had ''squealed" on the con-
ductor. This was spread around
among the trainmen until a genius
known as Counterfeit Bill" framed
up a plan at 2:30 a. m. "Bill' is
not a railroad man and it was not
for the above incident that he want
ed to do things to Francois. He was
a cowboy from the T. S. range. lie
had een ~cowpunchers come and go,
but never before had he seen a man
in Carlin, CARRIED in a khaki suit,
brass buttons. leggins, a sombrero
hat draped with a red bandana, a
Spanish belt loaded with pistols,
knives and tomahawk and it was
too much for him. He could not re-
fuse the challenge.
The fun began while Francois was
resting in the Depot hotel. Bill got
some 30 miners, who were in from
the Lynn district and together with
as many more town men and boys
from the range and arranged the
setting for the undoing of the great
singer and walker.
A short time afterward the light
in the hotel went out Bill and six
of the. boys rushed into the hotel
and told Francois that some muck
raker had climbed one of the poles
and cut the wires. Francois jump
ed to the window with an automatic
in hand and said that he would not
tolerate such business and threatned
to shoot the eulprit If he could be
found. Presently Bill rushed to the
window and fired several shots at a
man who could be seer on the pole.
Failing to bring the man down, he
turned TO Francois who fired five
times and the man dropped from the
pole. The shooting brought a crowd
to the street and they rushed to
where the man fell. put him on a
stretcher and rushed him to a near
by doctor.
Their attention was next directed
to the men who did the shooting.
Bill and Francois were both arrest
ed and Francois was held for the
murder. In his attempt to prove an
alibi he had reloaded his revolver.
Bill admitted shooting but he did
not fire the fatal shot. Francois
shiyered as the motley throng surged
him. He was taken to a
where the news was received
that the man on the pole was fixing
the wires and that he had died from
the shots fired by Francois.
The town vas at the mercy of the
angry crowd which by this time had
grown to several hundred men. A
rope was secured and placed around
the singers neck but in some man
ner he broke away and it might be
said that If he kept up the pace he
made he would reach New York
three years ahead of his schedule.
No less than 90 shots were fired at
him as he ran. He was finally
caught and begged not to be taken
back to the mob. He lost his hat
in the race and two or three bullet