The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1921-02-11
sFRENZIED' JUSTICE IN OZARK
REGION IN EARLY DAYS

The quaint legal philosophy in the
romantic Ozark region made famous
by the works of Harold Bell Wright
during the early days of "circuit rid
ers" is related in an address delivered
by L. B. Woodside, former Circuit
Judge and once member of the cir
cult rider group, before the Bar AS.
sociation of the 10Th judicial circuit
held at Salem, Mo-, last summer. We
have been able to procure copy of
the address through tie courtesy of
Judge Frank Kelly.
The address contains many interest
ing anecdotes from the early history
of the court of the 10th Judicial dis
trict composed of the counties of
Crawford, Dent, Phelps. Pulaski and
Texas, which lie in the very heart of
the 0zarks. Present day illegal lights"
will no doubt term the customs and
practices prevailing at that time very
crude indeed.
Following are few of the more in
teresting episodes of the court life
as related by Mr.. Woodside:
Pioneer M0Onshine
Judge Leet convened the Reynolds
county circuit court at 2 o'clock. A
demurrer to an indictment had been
argued and he was delivering his opin-
ion, which bristled with constitutional
tuition and the American flag were
two things upon which the people of
Reynolds county had to rely, to pro-
tect them from the encroachment of
government power and the invasion
of hostile forces and as long 'as he
was judge the one should not be over
ridden nor the other trampled in the
dust. Just as he closed this sentence
Foreman Carly Of the Grand Jury ap-
peared at the door, poked his head
inside and said: "Mr Leet, you can
adjourn court"
He was clothed in cotton striped
pants which lacked six inches of COM
ing to his shoe tops, woolsey shirt
and had on a stovepipe hat, which as
he spoke he took off and put under his
left arm. The court room was seated
with two rows of pine slab seats, rest
ing on wooden pegs and without backs
There was an aisle of about two
feet between the rows. Carly, with
some effort, pulled himself within the
door and undertook to walk down the
aisle, but his legs wabbled and he
could not make it, and he got up on
a seat and stepping from one to the
other until he got well to the front,
he spoke in loud voice: "Mr. Leet,
you can adjourn court. All of the
grand jury is drunk but me and we
can't do damn thing today"
The judge looked up over his spec
tacles, but all he said was: "Mr. Shel-
iff, take than man outS Carly pro-
tested and said he was only following
instructions Of the court, but the sher.
if quietly led him from the court room.
Sterling Prices Mules
General Sterling Price, in his raid
through Missouri in September, 1864,
captured Pilot Knob. The Pilot Knob
Iron Company had great many mules
which were branded P. X. Price con-
fiscated them. A few weeks later
when the Confederates got near JEFF
ferson City two of the mules got so
lame they could not travel. The
Confederates left them with an old
farmer by the name of Brown and
took two fresh mules from him in
their places.
Brown nursed them to strength
and by spring he had fine span of
16-hand mules able to do an immense
amount of farm work. One of his
evil minded and jealous neighbors re-
ported to the Pilot Knob Co. the