The pioneer West : $b Narratives of the westward march of empire
History
The pioneer West : $b Narratives of the westward march of empire
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
“Dutch John is looking for you to kill you.”
“So I hear,” replied Forbes. “He’ll find me sooner than he wants to.”
A few rods farther on he saw John coming from the Magnolia saloon,
where he had been looking for Forbes. Forbes sprang towards him,
exclaiming with an oath,
“Here I am,” and immediately fired four shots at him. John fired once
in return, and throwing up his hands in affright at the rapid firing of
Forbes, ejaculated,
“_O mein Gott!_ Will I be murdered?”
A bystander who had witnessed the meeting, and saw that John, who had
expected an easy victory, was paralyzed with fear, called to him,
“Turn your artillery loose!”
Forbes was tried for this crime, and acquitted. He was afterwards
convicted of crime of some kind in Carson City, and imprisoned. On New
Year’s day he succeeded in removing his handcuffs, broke jail, and went
to the sheriff’s house, as he said upon entering, “to make a New Year’s
call.” The officer returned him to prison. From this time, his career
of crime knew no impediment.
On his first arrival in the mountains he corresponded for some of the
California and Nevada papers. His letters were highly interesting. His
true name was Edward Richardson.
To return to Stinson and Lyons. After the demonstration of joy at
Forbes’s escape had subsided, the people remembered that there was an
execution on the _tapis_. Drawing up a wagon in front of the building
where the criminals were confined, they ordered them to get in. They
obeyed, followed by several of their friends, who took seats beside
them. Lyons became almost uproarious in his appeals for mercy. The
women, of whom there were many, began to cry, begging earnestly for the
lives of the criminals. Smith, their lawyer, joined his petitions to
those of the women, and the entire crowd began to give way under this
pressure of sympathy. Meantime the wagon was drawn slowly towards the
place of execution. When the excitement was at its highest pitch, a
man demanded in a loud tone that the people should listen to a letter
which Lyons had written to his mother. This document, which had been
prepared by some person for the occasion, was now read. It was filled
with expressions of love for the aged mother, regret for the crime,
repentance, acknowledgments of misspent life, and strong promises of
amendment, if only life could be spared a little longer. Every sentence
elicited fresh grief from the women, who now became perfectly clamorous
in their calls for mercy to the prisoners. After the letter was read,
some one cried out, in derision,
“Give him a horse, and let him go to his mother.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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