Great Falls tribune. [volume], November 20, 1886, Image 7

About Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
llddffn Treasures
A TALE OF CALIFORNIA.
Written for the Tribune by Y. H. TIIS.
CHAPTER I
AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.
One evening in July, 187-, found me
-after a dusty and hot stage ride of forty
eight miles, seated in a big, comfortable
arm chair on the broad veranda of the El
dorado hotel, in J- , one of the many
mining towns of California. Its
pristine glory of rich placers had
departed years ago, but still in the
language of one of the old tim
ers, "She's no slouch today, you bet bar
keep!" Quite a group of rich gold quartz
mines wero and are still in operation not
far from the town, and gravel claims about
that vicinity were yielding the "yellow
stuff" in good, paying quantities. The
evening was deliciously mild and pleas- '
tmit, but in this respect was no exception to
others, for in that locality, though, some
times it may be scorching in summer days,
the nights are sweetly cool and balmy. i
The town though it was spoken of as a i
mountain town is not such in reality, as re
gards its topographical situation, lying
among the rolling foothills, yet not far dis
tant from lofty mountains which rear their
timber covered sides clear and majestic to I
the eastward; but the character of the
place and its inhalbitants was as truly
mountainous as could well be wished for. 1
Hardy, generous, wholesouled men met
and greeted you with a free and easy fam
iliarty truly and peculiarly Californian.
The miner still damp from the spray of <
the hydraulic stream, in overalls, jumper 1
and long legged rubber boots, met and I
conversed with the fashionably dressed I
man from Sacramento or "the bay" as old I
Californians persisted in calling San Fran
cisco, while the dusty sombrero crowned
teamster gave expres:.ions to his opinions .
on tho news of the day. And when I say t
conversed or refer to expression of opinion, C
it is in no idle nor passive manner that r
these words are used, for intellect and r
ability were not always clothed in broad- I
cloth habiliments, nor were level headed, a
educated, scholarly gentlemen an absent t
quantity among these bread winners of the a
gravel bank and jerkline. In the interior i
of many a rough cabin could be found, a n
perhaps small, but judiciously selected I
library with the contents of which, the b
owner was on terms of close intimacy. c
Men passed current more for what they ti
were worth than for what they seemed or h
pretended. o
The occupa:ts of the poarch were vari- 1
ously ' neupied; some quietly smokinag.
one or two quietly pacing up and down, a
knot was gathered around "Peg-leg" Kel- (.
iy, listening to his recital of the men and t
'doins in 49," when a wagon drawn by r
four horses, dashed up along-ide from I
which five man alighted while the sixth e
drove on to the stable, Foremost among
the new arrivals ws ws a tall, broad shoulder
ed man, dark complexioned, with a jet
black, long, silken beard. No sooner had
his feet found crra ,, fir, th.n he com
menced divesting himself of a long linen a
coat. Upon reaching the middle of ithe I
veranda he looked about and then in clear,
well modulated voice asked, "Where's I
I\Weston? where's the sheriff'' Our ho t a
of the Eldorado camne forward with extend- tl
ed hand and "Good-evening Mac;" A tl
short conversation betwieen them was in ti
subdued tones and then both went inside. ti
There was a strange resemblance in the u
man's face to some one I felt sure I knew
or had known, but who, where or when b
my memory refused to recall. iHardly a h
minute had elapsed before quite a crowd c+
had gr.theretl at the hotel. Four days be- il
fora the Y - stage had been stopped a tk
little after dark and a box of gold coin 'a
amounting to $25,000 had been taken. Ii
The- money was returns to the Italian s(
mine, the result of a two month's clean up. i1r
The robbery had ceased to be the topic of ih
conversation by the time of my arrival, ci
and so my ears had till this time heard but hl
meagre accounts of it. Various quiet sur- w
mises were indulged by the crowd but to
from none of them could I gather any but te
the vaguest explanation of Mac's instant qi
demand for the sheriff. "Here's Weston," ge
some one said, and as the sheriff approach- tb
ed he was met in the doorway by the tall pm
man with the black beard. "Mr. Weston," ar
he commenced, "I hear that I am charged hi
with a great crime, when I first heard it at do
the mill I treated it as a joke, but when Ti
upon inquiry it was diacovered to be in pl
every man's mouth, when on the road peo- co
ple looked askance at me it became un- fri
bearable. I have lived in this country hi
seven years and to my knowledge this is to
the first time tongue of man has dared say cu
one word against my character as acitizen wt
or breathe a syllable derogatory to< my an
good name. I am here sir to confront my ga
accusers. Let them come forward, make thi
their charge against me, have as speedy an hi
examination as reasonable circumstances sax
may permit and clear myself of their false I
I and foul accusation. I shall be here at
this house if wanted tonight, ready at any t
hour to place myself in your keeping." a
During his address to Weston his eyes oc- I
casionally searched the crowd and more I
than once did they look into mine, and my a
fancy led me to believe that in his glance I
there was an expression of recognition antl I
friendliness, but when his gaze was direct- I
ed to the sheriff there appeared to be such "
a firm determination in them that I doubt- e
ed my perspicacity and as he turned to go i
inside, my conclusion was that it was only I
- imagination. "I knew Mac wouldn't stand t
no such game as that," remarked Peg-leg r
- when the subject of his remark had disap- I
peared from view. "Reminds me of a fel- b
low I knew in Tuolumne in '49," he went I
on, as a ready audience gathered around s'
him. "Tom Jackson made a big clean up "
one Saturday night and next morning the b
boys found his cabin door open, Tom lay- d
in' on the floor with his throat cut from ý
ear to ear, the fire-place all dug up and"- I
Just then the corelative of Peg-leg's hero n
appeared on the scene and Kelly became h
suddenly dum. "Excuse me, sir, but did a
you not live in San Francisco some seven a1
or eight years ago?" My questioner was
Mac and there was a kindness in his tone e,
which won me and inwardly .I became en- a
listed iunong those who believed him in- A
nocent. "Yes, sir, my home is still in San h
Francisco, although absent from it for a q
couple of years," was my rejoinder. tl
"Used to have considerable business with to
Bernard's express?" Despite the long it
beard, the peculiar surroundings and tl
strange locality, his identity became plain ei
as day to me. "Jim MacLeod, you, is it a
possible?" I exclaimed for the suddeness a
of the revelation had startled me. He x
smiled at my excitement. We shook hands t<
warmly, went inside, and a rapid cross-fire ih
of questions and answers, occupied us for ,f
fully two hours. Before parting for the
night he told more fully than I had yet ti
heard the current particulars of the stage
robbery, and that Sam Lufkins the driver, o0
said that the two men who did it were ot
MacLeod and Johnny Broadwear. Of
Johnny Broadwear's whereabouts at the m
time of the robbery he knew nothing, but er
of his own he could prove by almost every em
man at Chase's Mill that he was eighteen o
miles distant at the alleged time of its per- hi
petration. Chase came up just as we were
about to part and casually mentioned that ni
the teamster had just notified him to get af
another man before the week was out. At dE
Mac's solicitation I engaged as teamster, ds
my time to commence next morning. hE
Early next afternoon Sam Lufkins made th
his appearance in town and upon being r m
confronted by Mac diswvowed having.said an
that he (Mac) was one of the robbers, but
his denial was shifting and upon the face As
of it bore evidence that he had at least ex- fir
o1)re.s:d a belief of that tenor. Dissatisti
ed, unwilling to let the matter rest upon o
such a weak vindication of himself Mac
demanded an examination. The fcrmali- ,
ties of a charge upon information were rin
made out and a warrant was served upl,,
him. T'he hour for trial was set for 2
o'clock in the afternoon.
'I
t CHIAPTER II
3 THE EXAMi~ ATIO\.
The clerk read the charge. The judge .
asked the usual "guilty or not. guilty'" S
e In emphatic but low tone Mac- answered
, "Not ilty your honor." The first wit
s ness called was Sam Lufkins, who related
all the particulars of time, exact spot on
- the road, words used by the robbers, and tl
L then upon being coached by the prosecu- tl
1 ting attorney, stated that he thought at the
time that the shorter of the two was John
ny Broadwear and the taller man had a
"long black beard like Mr. 31acLeod's,"
i but 'twas dark; the men both had white
handkerchiefs over their faces and he
1 couldn't swear positively who committed -
- thc robbery. The express agent testified
t to seeinu the box put into tile coach, it was cm
i waybilled to Y- , addressed to the t.
Italian Mine, valued at $25,000. No pas- di
E sengers on waybill. The manager of the
mine expected the arrival of the $25,000, li
e had a letter and the receipt from San Fran- i
cisco. Here the prosecution rested. Mac
had intended conducting his own case bat al
- was prevailed upon to allow Mr. F m
to act for him. Mr. Chase being called, Ee
testified that upon the day and evening in th
question, MacLeod and he had been to
gether the greater part of the day, and in th
the evening from supper time till half
past eight. On the evenings preceding th
and following, had seen and spoken with ýh
him at supper and observed him in the an
door of his cabin till eight or nine o'clock. be
To the best of his belief and judgmentthe bli
place on the road where the robbery was m
committed, was between 18 and 19 miles In
from the mill; MacLeod had worked for ins
him off and on for five years; the last time te
for sixteen months continuously; MacLeod ho
cut logs for the saw mill, was an extra good ti
wofkman and had always regarded him as at
an honest sober manr Max Joohnm next ml
gave evidence that MacLedd carne in from co
the woods at a quarter to six, stood with l,
him at the pump while hefilled theboiler, ie
saw him before the whistle blew washing ti
ie himself at the stand near his cabin door, 1
st sat opposite him at supper and saw him :
y and IMr. Chase go into the office together 1
" shortly after supper time; did not remem
ber his being absent at supper during the t
e past month. Was positive he had notbeen e
y away at supper time during the past week. I
e Had been in Mr. Chase's employ eight r
I months as engineer. Dick Trapper com
t- menced tlis evidence by stating he was a c
h "bull-whacker," "See Mac in the woods a
t- every day, by a long shot the best chopper I
o in the See-ny-ray, haint been away at sup- c
y per time but once't since along in June, s
d that was of a Sunday, got too fur up the
g river an was late a g.ttin' home." In re- b
ply to question by council as to whether v
he knew this of his own hnowlege or by e
t hearsay, the indomitable bullwhacker b
I straightened up and laconically answered, e
p "Know it, dead sure." "How do- ?"
e but before the question could be propoun- ti
ded by the lawyer Dick was to the fore t
z with-"Bin with 'im all day, was late too." o
- ick was about to launch forth once more d
1 when-"That will do sir," pnt an end to
his testimony and reluctantly, though tri- «
I umphantly he descended from the witness
a stand to mingle with the throng.
"Duncan Caldwell, he said, as he reach- v
3 ed behind him for the chair arms, "C-a-l-d- fi
- w-e-l-l," he spelled it out for the clerk. t
- As his name indicated, he was from "the
land o'cakes" and though it had been
I quite a number of years since he has seen ti
I the land of his birth, his tongue refused tl
Sto articulate in any other manner than that e
1 in vogue in "Auld Rclkie." In reply to g
I the question, "Do you know the defend- a
1 ent?" he answered, "W(ell, aye well," and fi
t after a pause as though collecting far re
awiay memories, "I ha'e known Jemmy n
MacCleod for thirteen year come naxt Oc- s,
tober the four-an-twantieth." "You both
have been at work for Mr. Chase at the
sawmill have you notl" queries the lawyer.
"Aye," responds Duncan, "he cuts doon the
timmer an ,I saw't up" "Tell the court o
what yon know of MacLeod's presence at
or absence from the mill on the eleventh .
of this month," advises counsel. "In the
mornin' he was at his breakfast and tauld
me he was thinkin' he had shoogar pine
enough for they flume boards, bull pine
enonugh for the bridge timmers an speered
o'me hoo the foir loags were hauldin' oot,
he took his dinner basket an his watter
jug an hied him away up the hill. At
nicht he cam in the mill a few minnits
afore quittin time, an sed he, 'its been a G
devlish hot day,' the whuch I could na
deny, so I sed naething. After the supper
he an Mr. Chase went ov'r to the wee hoose
they call the oftice, they were in thare
maybe twa hours, when Jemmy cam oot
an sittin on his own door step commenced
whustlin; a wonderful whustler is Jemmy. d
Ae whastled jigs, strathspeys an reels, then
first ae thing tien anither till lie got thinnk
in' like wi himself' and then lie 1power'd
o:t. 'Bon:ie Dundee a:u iui.,h', th coi
' cert wi'Annie Laurie.' I had been min
,,'n to, gang to ray bed but wi Annie Lau
rie darlin' in my heed. I could do naethin'
I bet t it d cwo an write a scrawl to the auld
foik in Bonnie Dundee and when I wad
h e tgut doon the date I was'na certain till
I th'inket t'was a week agone Indepen
, deuce day an that brought it the eleventh."
j At the fir.st few words that Duncan utter
ed there seemed a general inclination to
I laugh, but before he had in his broad
Scotch accent finished his story, a hush
pervadd the court room such as might
have preceded the imposing of a death
penalty upon a murderer. The man's sin
cerity, -implicity and earnetnests held the
thront, and as he went on, their sympa
thies went whi:! him, so that when he had
ended a s:cland more of silence was suc
ceeded bey iron drawn breaths which in
same insltances amounted almost to sighs.
"Are there any more witnesses for the de
fence '" , asked the prosecuting attorney.
"Ye.s, sir, five or six" replied lawyer F.
With a wave of his hand toward his broth
er professional the attorney for the prose
cution said, "Your honor, as the represen
tative here of the county I deem it my
duty as prosecuting attorney to do all in
my power to vindicate the majesty of the
law. to bring before the bar of justice such
violators of the law as may be within my
jurisdiction, and by every faiir and honor
able means secure their conviction, but,
may it please this court the duties of pros
ecutor of criminals should never prompt
the attorney for the people to become a
persecutor of the innocent. In this case
the defendent demanded an examination,
was anxious that what was said of him on
the highways and in the haunts of men
should be said before a court of justice
and of law. Its clear that what may have
been but the faintest suspicion of resem
blance or probability has as it went from
mouth to mouth grown and been addedto.
In my opinion it is not necessary to exam
ine further into this charge. Upon the
testimony of four intelligent, upright and
honest citizens we are compelled to believe
that the defendent, James MacLeod, was
at the time this stage robbery 'was com
mitted going about the even and honest
course of his daily life at a distance of at
least eighteen miles from the scene of'the
depredation., On the part of the prosecu
tion we have not one iota of evidence to
the contrary, therefore I move this honor
able court that the charge of highway rob
bery against James MacLeod be dismiss
ed." The judge without a moments hesi
tation announced the case dismissed. One
enthusiastic individual jamming his hat on
his head ran for the door shouting, "Hur
rah for Mac! bully boy! hurrah!" Elbow
ing and stumping his way through the
csowd came "Peg-leg" with extended hand
apparently as much winded as though he
had run a saw mill. "Knowed you'd come
out on top, Sam Lufkins ain't got no more
sense an a loon, give us yer hand Mac."
Mac gave the desired hand and it may
have been only a highly heated court room
which influenced my fancy, but I imagin
ed that "Peg-leg,' winsed a little under the
hearty grip of the mm he so much admir
ed.
Many and hearty were the congratula
tion. The prosecuting attorney was voted
to be a "brick." Duncan was eulogized by
one of his special admirers, as "The durn
dest, finest, high-cock-aloruin old Scotchy
on the Pacific coast," and one man said,
"Sam Lufkins not got sense enough to
prospect for mud in a hog-wallow." And t
so the boys went on, each in his own fa
vorite manner of expression. Many and
frequent were the invitations extended to
Mac to "have somethin," "wet yer whistle,"
"celebrate," "ratify," "cement the bonds,"
"partake," in fact the catalogue of invita
tions to imbibe was so long - and varied
that memory fails in recalling any consid
erable proportion of the quaint phraseolo
gy in which they were couched. Each
and all of these requests Mac quietly but
firmly declined. When the hotel was
reached however he "stood treats" for the
whole assemblage and then excusing him
self, withdrew.
To be Contin ued.
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