“Why don’t you fire upon them?” said he, with a vulgar oath to the sheriff. “You have ordered them to disperse, and still permit them to defy you.” The sheriff, though a determined, was a kind-hearted man, and wished to avoid bloodshed. He knew if his men fired, the fire would be returned, and a bloody battle would follow. He was also aware that seven hundred or more had enrolled their names in the ranks of the Vigilantes, courageous men and good citizens, who would probably rally to the assistance of their comrades in case of an attack. The day wore on with nothing more serious to interrupt its harmony than the noisy exchange of profane epithets and vulgar threats between the two bands, until it was finally agreed that persons should be selected from both factions to work up the terms of a peace. The result was that the Vigilantes disbanded, upon the sheriff’s pledge that none of them should be arrested, and Patterson was conveyed to prison to await the decision of a trial at law. After an unsuccessful effort of his attorney to have him admitted to bail, the sheriff remanded him to custody. The counsel on both sides prepared for trial with considerable energy. The evidence was all reduced to writing. The character of each juryman, the place of his nativity, and his political predilections were ascertained and reported to the defendant’s counsel. The judge and sheriff were required, by the Idaho law, to prepare the list of talesmen when the regular panel of jurors was exhausted. In the performance of this duty in Patterson’s case, the judge selected Republicans, and the sheriff Democrats. When the list was completed, and the venire issued, a copy of it was furnished to Patterson’s friends, who caused to be summoned as talesmen such persons named in it as were suspected of enmity to the accused, in order that they might be rejected as jurors. The preliminary challenges allowed by law to the defendant were double those allowed to the prosecution. With all these advantages, the defendant’s counsel could hardly fail in selecting a jury favorable to their client; and after the jury was sworn, such was its general composition, that both the friends and enemies of the prisoner predicted an acquittal. Nor were they disappointed. When his freedom was announced from the bench, his friends flocked around him to tender their congratulations. But Patterson was not deceived. He felt that he was surrounded by enemies. Sullen eyes were fixed upon him as he walked the streets. Little gatherings of the friends of Pinkham stood on every corner in anxious consultation. He very soon concluded that his only safety was in departure. At first he thought of returning to Texas, but the allurements around him were too strong: besides, he owed considerable sums of money to the friends who had aided him in making his defence. He had, moreover, many attached friends, who, by promises of assistance, sought to dissuade him from leaving the country. Finally,