Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); West (U.S.) -- Social life and customs
"Oh! everybody in this country knows about Slade. There are said to be
fully a hundred graves near Julesburg in which are buried the worst
characters in the country, and Jack killed a great many of them. Jules
Reni for whom Julesburg was named, was one of his first victims. Reni
was as hard a character as Slade. The fact is that along this road there
have been here and there for several years the headquarters of
desperadoes who are worse than the Indians. The story which Bob has told
you concerning the horse thief's wife reminds me of an experience with
Jack Slade's wife. Jack had become a terror to the country, and
everybody was afraid of him because he was a quick, dead shot, and his
revolver was his usual argument in case of any difference. A lot of men
finally laid for Jack and decided to lynch him. Watching patiently for
their opportunity, they caught him asleep and secured his guns. Instead
of stringing him up at once, they locked him up in a log room and stood
guard around it until they could bring others to participate in the
ceremonies. Jack assumed that everything was all up with him, so he
urged that they send for his wife that he might see her once more and
make his dying confessions. In the goodness of their hearts this one
last wish was granted, for they were satisfied that Jack would die game.
He was a bold and brave though a bad man in life, and would surely be
square in his last hour. The wife was notified and coming quickly,
mounted upon a fine horse, without being searched she was admitted to
the room where Jack was confined. Before the door had been closed she
whipped out revolvers for two, and defying the crowd the woman marched
Slade to the horse she had brought, upon which both of them quickly
mounted, keeping their guns at all times leveled with the threat that
the first one of his captors that moved was a dead man. The business was
done so quickly that Slade and his helpmate were soon out of reach. The
party was afraid of Slade with a gun. This occurred on the Rocky Ridge
division which you came over and where the stages ran last year until
they were taken off on account of the Indian troubles. Jack for a time
had charge of that run for the Overland. He came from Clinton County,
Illinois."
Noah had been poking the sage brush fire into renewed life; then
crossing his hands behind his coat tails and backing close to the
reviving embers he said, "That story that Bob told a few minutes ago
brings to mind the remark which some of us heard made by one of that
gang back on the road who sold to Dan the corn, which was to be
delivered to him on arrival at Julesburg. I guess some of you know that
Dan isn't much afraid of anybody, so when he found that the rascals were
trying to swindle him on the corn, Dan, holding a club in his hand said
to their boss, 'You are a horse thief and a liar.' 'Well,' said the
fellow, 'may be that's all right, but do you know anything against my
reputation for honesty?'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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