The Starkville news., March 13, 1903, Image 1

About The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960

Image provided by: Mississippi Department of Archives and History

                
THE STARKVILLE NEWS
VOLUME 11.
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IT sometimes happens that the
judge of a court of justice finds it
imperative to waive forms and cere
monies, and remember that he is a
man. as well as an official, and that
there are times when he ceases to be
an irresponsible agent of a blind god
dess who often cuts the wrong party
with her two-edged sword.
Of course a court is always a court,
biit the judge is not always the wool
sack, notwithstanding the opinion of
that Dutch justice of the peace who
considered himself always an object
of contempt. In such case, that is to
say, when the judge is a man, and not
a machine, sitting on high, with a ban
dage over his eyes, his ears filled with
wax lest he hear the warblings of the
siren, truth, and a keen, two-edged
sword in his hand with which to strike
at random, his proceedings and opin
ions are not points of pract ice, or prece
dents generally to be followed, but are
said to “coram non judice,” which is as
much as saying: “Not before the judge,
but before the man.” They are not
to be found in the sheep-bound vol
umes lining the walls of every law
yer’s office; they are entered in that
great book known as “Humanity,” the
authority of which is never questioned.
in a little town situated in the heart
of the Rocky mountains, so high above
the level of the sea that the meteor
ological phenomena of its surround
ings could not be regulated by the gov
ernment weather bureau, since they
were always hanging upon the ragged
edge of some inscrutable law, or rule
of physics, sometimes snowing in the
middle of July, or compelling the in
habitants to wear st raw hats and linen
■coats in January, there dwelt a com
munity of individuals who delved for
good and other valuables in daytime,
and at night sat around in the various
places of resort, exchanging lies, or
devising schemes to get rid of their
hard-earned gold without receiving a
quid pro quo. in plain language, Ko
komo was a mining town.
Outwardly, its people were rough,
uncouth men, gathered from all parts
of the earth, with straggling beards,
cowhide boots and clothing that would
not pass muster in a civilized, well-reg
ulated community. Inwardly—well,
every one was a psychological phe
nomenon.
A murder was committed one day,
and the murderer was caught red
handed, or, rather, he caught himself,
for he did not try to escape, actually
sending a message for the sheriff,
while he guarded the corpus delicti
himself. It was well toward eveuing,
and the thermometer had taken a sud
den fancy to drop 20 degrees below
.zero.
There was absolutely no way of es
cape for a criminal, and when the sher
iff escorted his prisoner to the jail, lie
did not worry about the insecurity of
that structure.
“Jim,” quoth he to his prisoner, “I
hain't got no key, an’ can’t lock you
up, but it’s my duty to put you in
jail, for if 1 don’t somebody will ac
cuse me of bein’ bribed, besides it's
thunderin’ cold, Jim. Tell you what
you do. Jim, if you git too cold, come
over to Sample’s, where I'll be, an’
warm up.”
Saying which he shut the door, and
the prisoner was metaphorically in the
clutches of the law.
“Jim” found it rather cold, appar
ently, for later on that evening he left
the precincts of his prison, quite un
concernedly, and started out to find
the sheriff and get w armed up.
The sheriff at that particular time
was enjoying a game of billiards at
Sample’s saloon, with the judge of the
court, the clerk about 20 promi
nent citizens standing or sitting
around a red-hot, big-bellied stove,
watching the game. TJie sheriff had
massed the balls in a corner of the ta
ble, and was about to make a shot
when he felt his arm touched. Turn
ing instantly, he saw his prisoner with
an anxious look on his face.
“Well, Jim,” said he, putting down
bis cue, “what is it?”
“Nothing much,” replied Jim,
“thought I’d come over and warm
up. Hut say, Bill, if you’d made that
shot you’d a missed. Give me tl e cue
an’ I’ll run the string out.”
The others consenting, Jim took
the cue and not only run the game
out, but made a string of about a
hundred over. Everybody at that
quit the game and gathered about
the hot stove to discuss the man who
could handle a cue in that fashion,
all agreeing that he ought to possess
some redeeming trait, although he
had just killed Hill Jackson. The
judge, after ordering hot wdiiskies
for the crowd, set the pace for Jim
to tell all about it.
“Thar ain’t much to tell, judge,”
said Jim, “but 1 don’t allow it w-ar
my fault. Hill Jackson has alius had
it in fur me.”
“No, it wan't about a woman,” con
tinued Jim, deprecatingly, as the
county clerk made a suggestion.
“Women are in a good many things,
an’ they try to get into everything,
but thar’s some things they ain’t
into. Bill jest hated me on general
principles. 1 alius seemed to be git
tin’ into his way, an* the more I tried
to keep away from him, the more 1
run agin him. 1 never seemed to git
along nohow, 1 was alius the under
dog. Bill knew it, an’ a$ I alius
turned up when I w r asn't wanted, he
would swar 1 was a-snoopin’ arter
him to find things out, but 1 wasn’t.
What good would it have done me
if I had found out things? I never
could have done anything with ’em.
If I found a gold mine, somebody
w’ould git it away from me an’ accuse
me of tryiu’ to steal it. But Bill de
clared I was his hoodoo. He said I
was a nightmare, an’ it made him
shiver only to see me around. He
must have felt like when he see a
yaller dorg, he wanted to throw
stones at him. swore he would
kill me if I didn't keep out of his
way, an’ every time he come across
me on the street, not thinkin’ of him
at all, he just up and fought me an’
I alius-got the worst of it.
“Well, this evenin’, along late in
the afternoon, he run into me as I
was turnin’ a corner, an' he swore 1
did it a-purposQ, but how could I?
1 couldn’t see around a corner, could
1? Then Hill says: ‘Damn you, I’ve
got you now where thar ain t nobody
looking, an’ I’ll just kill you an feel
easier.’ With that he draws his gun
an’ says: ‘Say your prayers if you’ve
got any, afore you git sent over the
range whar you’ll never come back
to bother me.’ I didn't keer much
about whether 1 was dead or alive,
but just at that moment 1 felt as if
1 wanted to live, so 1 stooped down
without thinkin’ an’ picked up a rock
that happened to be lyin’ thar, an
dashed it at him. Maybe he was took
by surprise an’ thought I was gittin’
on my knees to pray. 1 didn’t have
no gun nor anything else about me,
an’ 1 had no thought to kill Bill. I
just threw’, the rock for luck, an it
happened to slam him in the face.
That’s all thar is to it, judge.”
“Sheriff, where’s Bill?” inquired a
bystander.
“Oh, he’s dead, all right enough,”
replied the sheriff, “lie’s lyin’ out
there where he fell, most likely as
stiff as a pick handle by this time.
“Jim, was Bill dead when you left
him?” asked the judge.
“1 don’t know, judge,” answered
Jim. “He fell down when the rock
struck him; that’s all I know about
it. I ain’t no doctor, but 1 opine he
was unconscious or he’d a-shot. ’
GOD AND THE CHILDREN.
Last night, through bitter tears he cried,
And, hating me, he fled;
Then turning, full of wounded pride ,
And childish anger, said
He'd ne’er .again come back to me.
I’d lost his love for aye.
And, meaning all he threatened he,
Poor baby!< ran away.
This morning in my arms he lies,
His face upon my breast.
And, looking up w T ith honest eyes.
He says he loves me best;
The punishment I gave last night
Has long since ceased to smart.
The hate he had has taken flight.
And joy is in his heart.
I think the good, kind God above
Keeps children in His care
And gives them of His deepest love
The greater, freer share
Because their tears soon dry away
Before the smiles that wait
To glow again—because that they
So soon forget to hate.
_S. E. Kiser, in Chicago Record-Herald.
Where Germany Is Backward.
We have grown accustomed of late to
think of Germany as a country in
which practical science, fostered by
careful technical education, occupies a
very advanced position, especially in
things based upon chemical knowl
edge. It is therefore somewhat sur
prising to learn, through Consul Gen
eral Mason at Berlin, that fire ex
tinguishers, so commonly employed in
the United States and Great Britain,
are used to a relatively limited extent
in Germany. Mr. Mason has discov
ered but one form of extinguisher
made in that country, and it is com
paratively inefficient. Lately, how
ever, the German depart
ment has ordered 10,000 extinguishers
of American made, and it is expected
STARKVILLE, MISS., FRIDAY, MARCH 13, 1903.
“I suggest that we visit the res
gestae,” said the clerk of the court.
“Second the motion,” said a town
councilman. “Let’s take suthin’ hot
first; it’s on me. What you goin’ to
have, Jim?”
In a few minutes the party re
turned to their position around the
hot stove, and after quiet was re
stored, the judge spoke:
“Mr. Sheriff, open court.”
This having been done in the usual
fashion, with the preliminary com
mand: “Hats off, gentlemen; court’s
in session,” the clerk called the case
of “the people against James Burley,
charged with the murder of William
Jackson.”
A jury of 12 w r as then impaneled,
and the defendent interposing no ob
jection, the prosecuting attorney ex
amined witnesses, who testified to
the finding of the corpus delicti and
the defendant’s admissions. Where
upon the judge, turning to the pris
oner, requested him to tell his story,
after cautioning him that he could
not be compelled to give any evidence
tending to criminate him.
“1 told you all 1 know awhile ago,
judge,” said Jim. “1 hain’t got noth
in’ more to tell.”
“Well, tell it again,” insisted the
judge. “I guess it won’t hurt you
any; besides, the court wants the in
formation.”
Jim repeated his story, and volun
teers on his behalf testified that a
careful examination of the res ges
tae disclosed the fact that a big rock
lay beside the dead man, and that in
his hand was a gun, on the trigger
of which was still pressed a frozen
finger, one cartridge of said gun be
ing empty —that is to say, the one
upon which the hammer had fallen
when the trigger was pulled.
Joe Bowers, a policeman and a
former cow puncher from Arizona,
after qualifying as an expert, testi
fied that Bill Jackson must have
been ready with his gun before the
rook was thrown, for the reason that
the gun could have been drawn
quicker than stooping to pick tip a
rock from the ground. That it was
impossible to tell whether Bill Jack
son was killed by the rock thrown by
the prisoner or whether he had froz
en to death while lying unconscious
after he fell. Further, that, in his
opinion, it was a special dispensation
of Providence that Bill Jackson was
to die before Jim Burley, and that
it was a mere accident, if not a clear
case of self-defense.
The testimony having been all ad
duced, the judge charged the jury,
who returned a verdict of “not
guilty” without leaving their seats.
“And so say you all, gentlemen?”
added the clerk, who was punctilious
about forms and ceremonies.
After shaking hands with the pris
oner and congratulating him upon
his acquittal, arrangements were
made to bury Bill Jackson, and the
judge and sheriff resumed their in
terrupted game of billiards, with Jim
Burley as referee. —Chicago Record-
Herald.
that the eyes of the people of the
fatherland will be opened to their
shortcoming in this regard.—Science.
■Watermelon Railroad.
Probably the first railroad ever built
in the United States principally to haul
watermelons will be a branch which
the Burlington is getting read 3' to con
struct in southern Missouri this spring.
The line w ill be 50 miles long, and will
run through a district which is dis
tinctively the home of the water
melon. Enough melons are said to be
produced there to keep one railroad
busy during the season hauling them.
New Engines Make Fast Time.
A speed of over 82 miles an hour for
a distance of 15 mi ; es has been at
tained by the Midland Railway com
pany’s new compound engines, with a
load of 350 tons, says a London dis
patch to the New York Tribune. A
Newcastle paper which records the
feat, claims that the engines in many
respects are ideal ones, and a distinct
advance on anj' locomotive built hith
erto in this country.
Childless Upper Circles.
President Eliot, of Harvard, com
plains that the graduates of that in
stitution are not becoming the
fathers of children. This, sa3's the
Chicago Record-Herald, seems to in
dicate that they are marrying into
the very best circles.
A Chicago savings bank offers to give
a metal mantel bank free to anyone
who asks for it. Incidental!}', to pre-.
vent blacksliding in the saving habit,
the savings bank retains the key.
LESSON in AMERICAN HISTORY in PUZZLE]
AX INCIDENT IX THE BLACK HAWK WAR,
Find Gen. Atkinson.
The Sacs, Foxes and Winnebago Indians ceded their lands in Illinois
to the United States in 1830, but later refused to leave them until forced
to do so by the military. Later Chief Black Hawk returned from the nfew
lands granted the Indians west of the Mississippi and attacked the troops
at Bock Island, but was easily defeated. In 1832 he returned again with
1.000 warriors from these three tribes, and there followed an Indian war
of considerable magnitude. Gens. Scott and Atkinson were sent with
troops from Buffalo to quell the trouble. Cholera broke out on the boats,
and many of the soldiers died of it. Many others perished in the woods,
but Gen. Atkinson finally defeated the Indians, took Black Hawk and his
two sons prisoners and ended the trouble, the Indians retiring west of
the Mississippi after -ga • giving up all claim to their linds in Illinois.
. SCHOOL AND CHURCH.
No charge is made to school chil
dren using the street cars in Vic
toria, Australia.
It is estimated that the number of
Bibles issued last year from all the
printing presses was over 7,300,000
copies.
Dr. Kikuchi, the present minister
of education in Japan, has recom
mended the Bible as one of the best
books for students of English to
read.
Bishop Partridge, of Kioto, be
lieves that there must be an oriental
type of Christianit}', just as there is
an occidental, and that the Protest
ant Episcopal church of America can
not be transplanted to Japan.
The constant widening of the scope
of school courses is instanced b3 r the
recent introduction of classes in gar
dening, housework and basket mak
ing in the Ityauuis (Mass.) normal
school, and a course in millinery in
the Boston public schools.
The Christian Endeavorers of
America have built 29 churches in
destitute portions of the L uited
States. Twenty-one of these have
been built by the Christian Endeavor
Missionar3' League of the Reformed
church in America. The Christian
Endeavor gifts from this denomina
tion during the past 3'ear have
amounted to $10,477.
To a Georgia clevg\'man belongs
the proudest record in the work of
the church. Rev. D. S. McCurry, of
Gainesville, who is now 72 3'ears old,
has been doing active work in the
Baptist church in that section for
40 3'ears with wonderful energ3'. In
that time he has preached 9,800 ser
mons; to reach his appointments and
deliver these sermons he traveled 50,-
000 miles, equal to tw,o journe3 r s
around the earth. He has conducted
911 funerals, baptized 4,013 persons,
and married 621 couples.
Prof. Wetz, of Freiberg university,
declared in a recent speech that
Americans have better university
equipment than Germans. The fore
most American universities, he point
ed out, are now better equipped than
the German universities for compre
hensive training, as the mmunificent
gifts from private individuals for li
braries, museums, laboratories and
professorships supply the American
professors with facilities for instruc
tion superior to those of their German
colleagues. Therefore, Germany' is in
danger of being surpassed by the
United States in intellectual develop
ment.
Facts.
Facts do not depend on feelings.—
Rain’s Horn, ..
NUMBER 1.
HUMOROUS.
Taking a tumble and taking a drop
are not synonymous, but one often,
leads to the other. —Chicago Daily
News.
Sharpe —“So Barker's apartment
house was a failure?’’ Whealton —
“Yes; a flat failure.” —Philadelphia
Press.
First Boarder —“Don’t you think our
landlady keeps a good table?” Second
Ditto —“If she does, she keeps it to her
self!”—Harvard Lampoon.
A Hopeless Creditor. —Wigg —“I feel
that Borrowed owes me an apology.”
Wagg—“l wish that was all he owed
me.” —Philadelphia Record.
Very . Hopeful. —“He’s a hopeful
soul.” “Yes, indeed! He was just say
ing to-day that he’d done more hoping
and less realizing than any one he
knew.” —Detroit Free Press.
Strictly Business. —“Then you do not
feel the same interest in me that your
daughter does?” “I do not. There is
no interest attached to a bad invest
ment.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The modern novel is bounded on the
east by blood, on the west by thunder,
on the north by gossip, on the south by
inanities, and is surrounded by adver
tisements. —Baltimore News.
Dr. Smarty —“Had a very delicate
surgical operation at my place yester
day. Removed an arm from a lady’s
waist.” Dr. Synnex —“If it was your
arm, the operation could not have been
very painful to the lady.” —Boston
Transcript.
Plate Glass. —“Good morning,” said
the old gentleman. “I’d like to look
over some of your spectacles.” “Yes,
sir,” replied the clerk, who had been
given notice to leave, “that’s what most
of our customers do. It’s just as good
as looking through, them.” —Philadel-
phia Press. \
Wife (to her husband, who is a great
criminal lawyer, and who has found
fault with the dinner): “There you go
again, always finding fault with my
cooking. You never see any redeeming
qualities in me, and yet you have an
excuse for every murderer that comes
along.”—Short Stories.
Fish Poison.
In view’ of the frequent deaths fol
lowing the eating of some kinds of
raw smoked fish, the Academy of St.
Petersburg offers 7.500 rubles in prizes
for the best treatise on fish poison.—
Science.
Cowbells Scare- Tlgew.
Swiss cowbells have been introduced
into the Himalayas as a protection for
cattle against tigers. The tigers are
said to run as soon as they hear the
bells.—London News,