The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-03-07
HANGING THE
WRONG MAN
By Nj. QUAD
Copyright. 1913. by Associated Lit
erary Press.

IuELnef extent imam ne ulu-
shall always blame him that be
didn't
William was placid | knew him for
three years. and only three times did l
know of his countenance undergoing
change for even a second
Once he met grizzly face TO face,
and that placid expression gave way to
look of surprise and interest. He
was pursued on another occasion by
twenty-four Indians, and his cOunte-
nance expressed inconsistencies. The
third change is what ! 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 i'm
possible to lay a hand on one of the
/ perpetrators. The men had become
rolled and desperate, and it was gener
! ally understood that the first offender
! that fell into our clutches would step
off the head of barrel to be brought
/ up suddenly by rope and limb.
One day when some of the boys were
returning from Pot Luck creek with .
-four and pork they came upon the I
placid William Bowers in q bad situa-
ton. he was bending over the body +
of man named Powers, who had been /
settled by the thrust of bowie, and I
his hands were bloody.
The placid William was nabbed.
What did he do? lust 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 i've minutes before and was
inspecting it in hopes to discover signs
of life.
Too thin,
And too placid to tit 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
Well, the court could scarcely fail to
convict under the circumstances. and
in less than an hour it became the
painful duty Of the judge to arise and
remark:
William. you have been found guilty
Of murder Does it make any great
difference to you whether you are hung
this afternoon or tomorrow? Wealth
er's liable to change here mighty sud
den. you know. and we may not have
such an afternoon again for a week"
The placid William replied that he
would be ready in half an hour. and
be was
He went to his shanty. accompanied
by Colonel Smith. and when he had
disposed of his property and written a
letter TO friends in the east he walked
cooIly 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.
Ii is a serious thing to kick a barrel
from under the feet Of a fellow man
and let a rope catch and choke him to
death We felt il so. and when the
pause came we could hear each others
hard breathing
William ROvers.' solemnly remark
ed the Judge. you are about to hang!
Yes" calmly replied the prisoner.
And now. once more. / 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
Is advanced to kick away the barrel that
IN Williams countenance lost its placidi
~ ". For five. seconds be seemed &
~ stranger to US all a white shadow
IN crossed his face. look of fear creep
into his eyes, and his jaw fell
ia Then placid William was himself
no again He braced right up. shut hi.
r. teeth hard and he died with a cOun
Is tenance as unreadable as a stone.
40 4 week afterward a robber who wa
of fred on and fatally wounded confess
N ed that he was guilty of the murde
an for which William Bowers had beel
~. hung. That was a nice mess for US
-or We'd done wrong and we was sorry 70
40 it. but William orter made a bette
~ fight for his life.
b. ! One day, six months after the TRACE
dy. a woman came riding into cam
.. on a mule We saw her when yet
long ways off. and we groahed.
=, AS she came nearer we swore.
As she halted we turned to each ott
er and asked:
What is it? Who is it?''
zen She was six feet tall. She had
'ds broken nose She had yellow eye
ny She had tusks for teeth. and she chew
~. ed plug tobacco.
All We'll. critters?' she queried as sh
hS' looked us over.
What is it?' asked one of the me
ate as he stepped forward.
pet My William. Where is he?"
GER DO you refer to William Bovers?"
ale II do sir. I'm not the woman to &
tue around referring to other women
ear husbands"
aui Your William has departed. madam
las ITO whereT"
% To better land. we hope"
the You mean that he is dead?''
set Dead and buried and probably pla
e" ing on a harp"
ION. How much did he leave behiI
tuh him.