Great Falls tribune. [volume], January 15, 1887, Image 5

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

Image provided by: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

                
AN OLD MAN'S STORY,
,Written for the Tribune by Y. H. TIMS.
He wasn't such a very a old man after
:all, though almost universally he was call
ed Old Mian Love.
He looked to be 70, but was only a little
over 50. His hair and beard were a griz
zled gray. His forehead high, not bald.
His nose prominent and red. His eyes
.small, but with a merry twinkle in them
that indicated a humorous soul. His
shoulders were stooped, though strong
looking. His figure short and stout,
though by no means dumpy. In fact he
was one of those big little men,
The smoke from his meerschaum curl
,ed upward lazily as he sat upon the piazza
of the A House in S- . Like
most of the rest of us he was clad in sum
mer habiliments, mosti noticable among
which were a broad-brimmed straw hat
and linen duster.
It was one of those delicious summer
nights which are the joy and boast of Cal
ifornians, and one which everyone about
the A- -- House seemed to be enjoying
in a very quiet sort of a way, superinduc
ed doubtless, by the seductive balminess of
the atmosphere.
Racey, the young blooded horse-breeder,
and Stocky, the broker, sat down, one on
each side of the old man, and upon com
menting on the beauty of the evening
were answered by him in a musing sort of
way as follows:
"Yes,-a beautiful night." He paused
looked up at the moon, let his gaze wan
der among the stars, then turning his own
bright little orbs upon each of them in
turn, added almost inaudibly:
"Just such a night as this."
The young men almost in the same
breath, said:
"You could tell us a story no doubt, Mlr.
Love."
"Boys," and he laid a hand on the knee
of each, "you'll both maybe see just such
another night yet, but I hope it wont cause
any regretful memories."
He looked with enquiring eyes at each
of them and then with a look all around
at the rest of us, went on:
"It was years ago, over in Calaverous, on
the Mokelumne, when most of us had the
gold fever, pretty bad, when the river bars
from Martin's Bar down to Lancha Plana
were thick with men. It was a busy time
'then, everybody was in earnest. Disputes
were settled by Col. Colt. We had no
'time for elections and politics didn't count.
Our judges and court officers, counsel for
defense and prosecution were chosen, ex
tempore, and served pro tem. Our camp
had just held court upon this plan, and to
the satisfaction of the jury it was proven
that Bill Butters had robbed Yankey Jen
kins' sluice-boxes and had stolen forty
ounces of dust out of Joe Warfields cabin.
Butters had never been a favorite, and
when sober enough, had paid more atten
tion to gambling than to bis mule team.
He protested his innocence to the last, but
the jury had said 'hang,' and a pine tree
bore fruit.
"A few of us protested against such t
summary punishment, and argued that as I
all the missing durt had been recovered, 1
such extreme measures were too hard. It 1
was of no use. The jury had said lhang
and that was final. Butters had some lit- j
ftle property, and 'seein' as Love's got sich t
a tender heart, I propose he's made ad
ministrator of th' plunder,' said Al. Mason
So I was empowered to handle Butters'
chattels. I wont attempt to deny that in a
the good old days, it had more than once r
happened that when a man forfeited his
life, his goods were forfeited r
too, and for for his garments v
they cast lots. I had noticed before on v
-such occasions, there were some not at all
adverse to 'dead men's shoes,' in fact were lI
-ever on the alert for such opportunities. ti
-One of these, he's a money lender now,
approachod me with: 1l
'When are you going to sell Butters' c
stuff?' n
"I'm not going to sell Butters stuff un- d
til everybody is satisfied he has no heirs to ti
-claim it was my answer. C
He didn't like my reply nor the tone of a
it, but the court approved of my decision. e:
Butters six-mule team found a driver wil- n
ling to sign an agreement and work it on h
shares. d
"Among his few effects no clue was a
found as to where his State's address was
To the post office came no letters for Wm. h
Butters, bat still I kept watch and guard tl
over the property and its earnings and the A
;boys dubbed me 'The Trustee.'
"One day the postmaster called me in sl
and said 'Mebbe you may know somethin' c
about this,' as he handed me a letter ad- di
dressed to Wm. Butters Allen. b
Together we opened and read It. It was 5
a wife's earnest appeal for 4.tater, She tt
-a wrhitease Sacramento, 8i*ciseo :
aaidk 8te ton, andadi roc to rea
ply. m
"'I have gone home to mother's as yots m
will. se. , e teils quje ºglrl now, ~d ,st
asends her leieto paps,' Sh'e-*roie, `bii =a
.ludlng the letter with a hope that this m
Overcoats Blankets
1887.
EVERY MAN'S INTEREST
Not wishing to carry over until next season any wintar goods, I
t¶ will sell what I now have on hand at prices that will pay every per
1- son to buy for next winter, the goods I am offering, which are:
Overcoats, Gloves, Blankets and Fur Caps.
Sharris, the Clothier.
Fur Caps Gloves
might find him at last. The whole letter
bespoke the loving wife and fond mother,
and evinced the writer to be an intelligent
woman. There was no doubt in the mind
of either of us that this woman in far
away Virginia was the wife of Bill But
ters.
"Though dreading to do it, I must write to
her, for was not I the trustee? And so af
ter repeated trials upon many sheets, a
letter was at last written to Mrs. Barbara
Allen. The substance of it was merely
that a man known in our camp as Winm.
Butters had died. HIi.s property, a six
mule team was in my keeping, and re
quested she would favor me with her hus
band's picture if she had one, or describe
his appearance as closely as possible. In
those days a letter didn't come across the
continent in less than a week or a month
either. In due time however, a reply
came and in it was an old-fashioned am
brotype. The most credulous could not
deny that it was the man we had known as
Bill Butters. With no profusion ofthanks,
just enough, she asked me to send her
such details of Mr. Allen's death and last
moments as were within my knowledge.
Mentioning briefly, that in the last letter
received from him, he had written that he
was freighting with a ten-mule team from
Stockton into the mines and was doing
well.
"I was a young man then, and the fe
verish pulse of youthful blood coursed fast
through my veins as I wrote a guarded
answer. Guarded in respect to Butters
manner of death, but to redundancy as to
my stewardship. In New York State af
ter leaving school my aim was the law.
Reading Blackstone and Kent had made
but little impression on my mind when
the California fever broke out, and yet
forms were familiar to me, and I had an
undefined idea of justice and equity,
though law was yet really a stranger.
Overestimating my ability as a fledgling
jurist, .he letter was filled with legal
terms and my promises were in the form
of a legal compact.
"It was no wonder therefore that the
woman expressing her confidence in my
ability and relying on my integrity, wrote
me saying:
"'With your assistance I shall establish
myself as his widow, and hope your ad
vice may enable me to secure the little
which my husband left.'
"Via Panama by next steamer she would
leave New York and she hoped to be able
to find me upon her arrival in California.
"It was while at the postoffice with my
letter from Mrs. Barbara Allen, that I in
common with others herad some startling
news. A late arrival from one of the bars
down the river came in with the full par
ticulars of another tragedy.
[]"Miguel Ramon had, while plundering
a cabin been caught in the act by the own
er, and to effect his escape had killed the
man. A miner's court tried :him, found
him guilty of grand larceny and the mur
der of Ned McClellan, and the sentence
was, 'hang him.'
"The execution of the sentence would
have instantly followed had it not been
tlat he wished to mike. a confession.
Among other crimes he confessed that it
was he who had robbed Yat4tee Jenkins'
sluice boxes and had t:i:.en the for:y oun
ces _from Joe Warid elaL's cabin; fearing
discovery, he hid the dust. in the, jbekley
box of Bill Butters' wagon, and being ob
servdI "vnd pursued by Warfieldtled down
toward the river. In the indistinct light
Sday- real he sal WajlleW "iid& others
are Btters as theh f.. i e excite,
ment occastlned 1 y autts' a>t, he es
Caped. The thieving murderer had been
strung 1 by the incensedy.qowd as s:oon
baticfewlreih l m Out infor
mant closed his recital with the remark:"
er "'Guess our fellows finished off the
right man, and maybe you fellows didn't.'
nt In the crowd that day around the post
nd office, there was more than one man who
`ar would willingly have nade reparation,
ut- but; reparation to Bill Butters was beyond
human power. One of the results was,
to that some who had denounced me as
af- 'chicken hearted, a sympathizer;.&c.,' now
a manifested a growing and kindly interest
ra in 'The Trustee.' For my part, mythoughts
ly were engaged with the duty which await
m. ed me. Mtrs. Allen, would doubtless ar
x- rive by the next steamer, and to her must
e- I break the terrible news of the manner
is- of her husband's death. Would the fact
be of his innocence in any manner allay her
In grief? Was it not more than probable,
he that in the face of most convincing proof
th to the contrary she would have insisted
ply upon his innocence? And now I would
n- appear in her eyes as an apologist for the
Lot headstrong men who had robbed. her of
as her husband. If they intrusted me with
is, his property, it would certainly appear I
or was one of them. Thus I thought, and
ust the more I pondered, the more I shrunk
:e. from meeting the bereaved and grievously
er injured woman.
he "During the next month no man. could
an have been more assiduous than was I in
ag arranging every detail of business con
nected with that mule team. It hadcearn
:e- ed considerable in the hands of honest
Lst Jim Briggs, but Jim was no accountant
ed and I was so exact in getting every item
'r3 of expense that he lost his temper with
to me, and indignantly asked:
f- "'D'ye think I'm a durned thief?'
W. "No, no, but I want to show the woman
le an account of every cent, I answered
an him.
,et "'Well ye ought to hired a bookkeeper
an to go along with me,' was his reply.
y, "At last the account of my stewardship
'r. was in such shape that I was willing to (
g submit it.
al "If Mrs. Allen had sailed from New
m York at the time she intended, the ,con
necting steamer on the Pacific side was
1e now pretty nearly due. So with my reso
iy lution screwed up to the sticking point, I
t started for San Francisco.
"The steamer hadn't arrived when I got
h there and I was glad of it, for I wanted a
little breathing spell and an opportunity
le to dress up in better attire than the rough
clothes worn in the mines.
Id "I had been in town but a day when the
le hills re-echoed the cannon's boom from
the old steamer Pacific.
y With the great and eager throng, down
I went to the wharf to perform my part.
`g In spite of the chaffing and laughing, A
rs there was expectancy in the facesjof many C
which told of anxieties otherthan my own.
Husbands waiting for wives,, friends and
g relations, hoping they had, come. The
whole impatient assemblage were of the
e sterner sex. Not one womano in sight, for
in those lays but comparatively few wo
men had arrived from the Stnates. As the
e steamer swung alongside the wharf, some
more daring than the rest clambered
n aboard before the gang plank was shoved
out.
it 1n the babel of tongues, half drowned
b by escaping iteam, in the crush and con
fusion I found myself aboard.` Down in
g the cabin I founid the stewardess and the
moment my tongue had ,pronounced the
question to her, I saw there was some-~
thing amiss. .
it (CItdenedcek .
(Anovu nfLatht WtIc3 . 1
GREAT FALLS, MONT.
The Only First-Class Hotel in the City.
Open Day and Night.
Bar and. Billiard Room
St
In Connection, Stocked With the Finest Brands of Liquors and.Cigars.
D. C. Ehrhart, Prop.
CASCADE HOTEL,
d CREAT FALLS, MONT
The Only First-Class Restaurant in theCity
;h Centrally Located, Good Accommodations, Cbirienient to Ranchmen as it d AdjoIus the
Eclipse Stables
STEVE SPITZLEY, Manager
Ly C Furnished Rooms in Connection. lxt Ave. South.
HORSES FOR Weii Broken
Saddle, Work and Driving
t HORSES.
Address, CHAS. BREWSTER, TRaLL. MorT.
Range-Smith River
BEACHLEY BRO. & HICKORY,
General News Dealers and Stationers.
CANDIESi.NUTS, TOBACCO AND SIIOKER'S ARTI A LES.
p Prices to Suit the Times.
o Great Falls, - - Mont.
LARENT H I Su Rive Mnt.
,t James Gibb, Propnrietor.
a Travelers Will Find Good Accommodations
e Across the Missouri River above.
n the mouth of Sun River is now
running. A new wagon road con
necting with this Ferry whibh in
t. tersects the Helena road near Eagle
, Rock, and effects a saving in distance of TEN MILES between
y Great FaNts and Helena. The road is plain and good.
ePURGIN & OROWDER,
S--Ivelerin
WinOP es, Ligqaors sna Cigars.
Coruer t.. Are sth. & d. St., .- .t Falls.
- - -- _ . i
Great - Falls - Exchange,
a JERRY QUESNELL & HERMAN WILDEKOPF Prop.s
Fine Wines, Liquors and Cigars. BILLIARD and POOL 'tble.
G&ATFAL.S, _ MOWT.
e
First National Bank,l w- G.Tob d -P ape
OF i1. BENTON. E G. Maeay, - asbier
DIRECTORS: I L . .', "I 1.. p..oeT. C d.
Su . . , . cn s .. test ; l ..,
, A