"Now, my friends," said Bradwell, "you know why Sam Potter lived in
this out-of-the-way place. Let us all be perfectly easy now. Alf, sit
down. You look as though you were about to be hanged. I will walk
up and down the room, as it would be almost impossible for me to
keep still, and will tell you the story of my trouble in Kentucky.
As the newspaper article states, Moore and I were members of the
Legislature. One day he introduced a bill, the passage of which I did
not think would be of benefit to the State. In fact, it was full of
what we called buncombe, and was, I thought, intended to play upon an
unthoughtful constituency and insure the re-election of its author.
I opposed the measure, and was somewhat instrumental in its defeat.
This inflamed Moore's anger. He denounced me in most violent terms,
and swore that he would hold me to an account which might prove
painful to one of us. The Legislature adjourned the next day, and, as
I did not make it my business to look for Moore, I left the capital
without seeing him. He lived near Lexington, to the east; I lived
west. One day, several weeks later, while riding horseback to town, I
saw, sitting on a fence, a hawk that had just caught a quail. I drew
my pistol and fired at the hawk, but missed it. I went on into town,
and, as I was going to remain but a very short time, did not put up my
horse at a livery stable, but tied him to a rack in a lot in the rear
of several stores. I had transacted my business, and was going through
an alley leading to the lot, when I heard the report of a pistol. I
hurried onward, and, upon turning into the lot, came upon the dead body
of Moore. A bullet had passed through his head. Before I had recovered
from the shock of so ghastly a discovery, several men ran to the
place, and it was not long until a large crowd had gathered in the lot.
I did not think of my position, and surely had no idea that I should be
suspected. You may therefore well imagine my surprise when the sheriff
arrested me. I was searched. One chamber of my revolver was empty, and,
still worse, the bullet which had passed through Moore's head, and
which was extracted from a cedar post, corresponded in size with the
bore of my pistol. I was taken to jail. The next day bail was refused.
This was annoying, but aside from being suspected of so grave a charge,
I did not regard the affair as serious. I had not counted upon the men
whom I had to fight. I had not thought of Moore's enraged relatives.
The trial came on. There was great excitement. I had many friends, but
it seemed that they were afraid of the Moores. The jury was cowed.
A verdict of guilty was brought in. A motion for a new trial was
overruled. My lawyers, prominent and able men, appealed to the supreme
court. The decision of the court below was sustained. The date of
execution was fixed. I could not realize it. One day I saw through my
grated window that men were putting up a scaffold in the jail yard. My
blood ran cold.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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