Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far WestDrannan, William F.
History
Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, Or, the Last Voice from the Plains: An Authentic Record of a Life Time of Hunting, Trapping, Scouting and Indian Fighting in the Far West
Drannan, William F.
Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.); Indians of North America -- Wars
By the time we had breakfast over people were beginning to come in
to trade, and happening to look down the street I saw forty or
fifty men all well armed come marching up the street in the
direction of the store They marched up to a large gambling house,
called the Shades. There they halted while some of them went in
and returned, bringing with them a man by the name of Jack
Gallagher.
There was a log cabin immediately across the street with a
fireplace in it, and to this house they marched Gallagher and put
him inside.
Leaving a strong guard around the cabin, the balance of them
started out as if hunting some one else. In a short time they came
marching another man to the cabin by the name of Boone Helm, who
had one hand tied up. It seemed to comfort Gallagher to know that
he was going to have company on the long trip by the short route,
and "misery likes company."
The third man was brought in a few minutes later whose name was
Hank Parrish, the fourth and last that day being Clubfoot George.
They were all placed in the log cabin under a strong guard.
About the middle of the afternoon the crowd reassembled at the
cabin jail, took the prisoners out, and marched them up the
street. Mr. Boone and I walked down the street by the side of the
crowd, and after they had gone one block, for some reason they
came to a halt, when Boone Helm sang out in the most profane
language he could have uttered, saying: "Hang me if you intend to,
or I will have to go and warm my sore hand."
They marched on up the street to where there was a new log house
that had been recently built and not yet covered. That had been
prepared for this neck-tie party by placing four dry goods boxes
in a row in the house. The four men were led in and placed on the
boxes and a rope placed around each of their necks thrown over a
joist above and made fast to a sleeper below.
While they were tying the rope around Jack Gallagher's neck--his
hands already having been tied behind him--a perfect stream of
oaths was pouring from his lips, and about the last words he
uttered were: "I hope to meet you all in the bottomest pits of
hell." These words were uttered not more than a minute before the
box was kicked from under him.
After this little hanging-bee everything was quiet until near
spring, when there came to town a man by the name of Slade, who
was full of noisy whiskey, and started in to paint the town red.
This man was the same Slade that used to be stage agent on the
Overland road. He was also the same man that in the year 1852 cut
an old man's ears off while he was tied to a snubbing post in a
horse corrall, where he had been taken by the cowardly curs that
were at that time in the employ of Slade simply because he, Jule,
would not vacate the ranch where Julesburg was afterward
established. After severing both ears from his head they shot him
down like a dog while he was tied and helpless.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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