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
It was now late in August and a little snow had fallen on the
mountains in the fore part of the night. By the aid of the diagram
we went to the ground after night, built up a fire and waited till
morning. As soon as it was light enough to see, the doctor took
the diagram out of his pocket, looked at it and said: "It should
be near here." He then turned, and seeing a tree that had been
blown over, said: "There is a tree that answers to the
description." We walked to the tree and at once saw the toe of one
of the dead man's boots protruding through the brush. The doctor
when gathering wood the night before to build a fire, had walked
almost over the body and had picked up two or three chips of wood
from the brush which covered the body. We waited some time before
the crowd came with the wagon. After they arrived the body was
uncovered, loaded into the wagon and hauled to Jacksonville,
arriving in time for the coroner to hold the inquest that
afternoon, and the following day the body was buried.
The time having been set for the preliminary examination, Barton's
wife and her father arrived in Jacksonville the day before the
time set for the trial, and his father-in-law employed an attorney
to conduct the case in court in his behalf. When Barton was
brought into court he waived examination, but it was quite
different with Buckley. When he was brought in for trial the judge
asked him if he had counsel. He said he did not, nor did he want
any, but the judge appointed a lawyer to take his case.
The lawyer took the prisoner off into a room in company with the
deputy sheriff and they were gone about twenty minutes. When they
returned the lawyer stated that the prisoner wished to plead
guilty and receive his sentence so he could start in at once to
work it out. Barton never had a trial, for he starved himself to
death and died in jail. The jailor told me that for seventeen days
he did not eat or drink but one spoonful of soup.
CHAPTER XL.
IN SOCIETY SOME MORE.--A VERY TIGHT PLACE.--TEN PAIRS OF YANKEE
EARS.--BLACK BESS SHAKES HERSELF AT THE RIGHT TIME.--A SOLEMN
COMPACT.
I remained in Jacksonville until about the first of December,
1874, when I received a letter from Lieut. Jackson, who was yet at
Fort Yuma, Ariz., stating that there was an opening for me there,
and asking me if I knew where George Jones was at that time, and
telling me if possible to have him accompany me, as he would
insure us both employment in the scouting field upon our arrival.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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