HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Advocate, 1913-6-12, Page 6a..iTM„,l`T''tess.:.1.L.,6as. 4,,.4
ESCAPED FROM
AN
AWFUL DEATH
In the spring of 1912 I had 'busi-,
nese in Toronto. I; became ac-
auainted with. J, Y, Ryan; a man
of about 29. He told me thel-
to v-ieg story, which I am convinced
as absolutely' true, as I have the
"utmost confidence in him, says a
writer in Wide World Magazine.
I went to the States in the early
part of 1.911, and after some knock-
ang about in the West secured em-
ployment at Libby McNeill s ranch
B 24, near the north forks of the
Conclio River in Colorado. Every-
thing went along all right until.
February, 1912,when a party of
us were sent out about 50 miles
from the ranoh on outpost duty for
a round -up turn. Here some of us
struck lucky at a. email stream
where we went to wash up, for in
the sand we found a deposit of gold
dust.
We promptly took possession of
a deserted miners' camp in the
neighborhood, and. Tom May and I,
who for a long time had been the
best of ohums, installed ourselves
in one of the old shacks.
Although Tom and I had been
bgood friends in the past, we had not
een gold seeking long before I de-
ckled to quit him, for he had be-
come an habitual drunkard. Accor
Jingly, after a few words, I went
to a rickety but near the stream
and made it as homelike as possible,
Ieaving May in possession of the
first shack.
I had spent a, 'hard day in the
washings, and was 'returning • home,
well satisfied with my siftings,
when, just as I got to me- door,. I
saw the whole population of the
little camp rushing toward my
shack. I stood still waiting, wan-
dering what on earth was the mat-
ter. They came on shouting, and
when they were quite near one of
the foremsot caught sight of me at
the door.
"There he is I" he yelled." That's
him 1 Some on ye get round to the
back, or he'll give ns the slip.
Come out like .a man, you scoun-
drel.andface the music 1':'
"Shut up your jaw, Jim, and let
me tell him what we -want him, for,"
interrupted another .man, then
turning toward me, he said, stern-
ly, `Ryan, you're accused of steal-
ing Tom. May's bit o' dust, and
there's men here who say they can
prove it, Now, "be a man ,and own
up. Give Tom back hisdust, and
the bays won't be too hard on ye.,
But if you don't, I'll not say as we
won't give you a drop too much."
I was utterly astounded by the.
charge. Tom May and I had lived
comfortably together until his ha-
bit of coming home drunk every
night had caused a bitter quarrel
between us, and then, as related,.
we had separated. Tomas -till lived
in the hut, and I had gone to my
present abode. I was so astonished
by the accusation that for a mom-
ent I could not answer. My hesi-
tation was my undoing. Before I
could recover myself I found the
half -drunken crowd surging round
me, and in less than a minute I
was a prisoner in their hands. The
leader of the mob shouted to those
who held me tobe gentle, as I was
to be tried then and there.
After a lot of confusion, every-
body shouting and nobody listen-
, ing, a man named Rafferty took a
stand on any 'barrow- ' outside the
door and managed to attract the at-
tention of the mob by firing his re-
volver in the air a few times. Then
he started to give them some direc-
tions in respect to the constitution
of a Judge Lynch court.
"You, O'Hagan, and you, Le -
bass, take the men aside and choose
twelve as a jury," he ordered,
"We'll give him a fair trial. In
the meantime, let -Thompson, Rey-
nolds and
eynolds_and May go into Ryan's shack
and search for the dust. You, May,
are a relative of Tom's, so be care-
ful in your work."
I was soon tied to a tree close by
my door, and the jury, quickly cho-
sen, were only waiting the result of
the search, I knew that under the
rough planking of my hut, close be-
side my cot,' there was a substan-
tial hag of gold dust. Tom May
had an equal chance with me in
seeking and washing the dust, but
he had ,spent much of his findings in
drink, whereas I had saved all
mine, for I had in my mind's eye a
girl. and a cottage away in Glen-
cree, County Wicklow. I knew the
temper of the fellows. Maddened
by the vile stuff called, aptly
enough, rot -gut whisky, they were
in no condition to weigh , any evi-
dence for . or against me. I felt
quite sick, for 1 was. eertain that
the full penalty for what they 0011 -
Skier 04
an-Skiere<1 a capital offense would be.
exacted.
Present'Iy the searchers inside
the shack gave a ishout, and in an-
other mfinten:t they appeared in the
doorway. Tom's cousin holding up
to view a canvas bag, which I knew
held my savings.
"Look here, boys!" he shouted,
"here is the very bag' which poor
Tom showed me only last night,
When he paid me my Winnings.''
body And the crowd took' up the
question, "Aye, where's Tom 1'
A huh fell on the mob for a morn-
ent. Then the ery was heard on
every side:
"Where's Tom May i Go and
bring him. Toni•!, Torn May I
Where's Tom's"
Bverybedy asked the question#.
but no one could answer it.
Once ,more Rafferty mounted tho
barrow, and coon,, had the crowd
listening to him.
"Jim, you and Lerbass go over to
Tom's shack and fetch him," he
said. "Ile should be here as prin-
cipal witness, anyhow. This court
can't go en without him."
Jim Rafferty, then, was to be my
judge. That zneant little chanoo for
me, kr I had given Rafferty a well -
merited thrashing some few days
previously for an insult of a gross
nature, and I knew that he hated
me,
Soon the messengers came back
with the news that Tum was not to.
be found. After a while it was de-
cided to
e-cided'to put nie down in a vile, hole
in the vicinity sand; keep me there
until such a time as Ton, could be
found,
Some of the drunken brutes were
for animmediate execution, but
the judge ruled them out of order,
and I was accordingly dragged tb
a dismal .old tunnel, leading heaven'
Only knows where, and securely
bound, thrown afew yards within
its foul depths. They placed a
guard at the entrance and left
.me, bound hand and foot, lying on
my back on the damp floor.
Out there in Oolorado there is
no twilight, and suddenly it be-
came dark as pitch. I could not
sleep, for the wrenches who had tied
me up had drawn the ropes so
tightly as to stop the circulation
from my knees down, and my hand's
felt dead with pain. My head.
ached terribly; I felt as if it were
going to burst. After a few hours
of this awful agony I became un
conscious, and when I came to my-
self I fancied I was in a saloon
wherethey were throwing dice', for
I could hear the rattle.
"Good heavens !" had almost es-
caped my lips, but my eyes just
then caught :a sight that paralyzed
my tongue. I had heard •a rattle
right enough, one of the most. dead-
ly that ever struck on a human
ear. It was the awful signal of the
diamond rattlesnake.
Coiled at my side, with its ugly
head poised and its eyes shining
like points of fire, was a full' grown
rattler. Every- movement of its
writhing coils gave rise to the aw-
ful sound that had roused me. As
in a trance I, watched the ;swaying
of its head, and wondered where •it,
would strike.' The cords had
numbed my body, but .I wondered if
the reptile would notice the drops -
of cold sweat which dripped off my
face.
But here I was compelled to turn
my starting eyes on the other side,
for the same .awful sound came close
to my ear. Then—horrors fi-1 felt
the cold, loathsome muzzle of the
reptile move over my forehead, and
the: scaly length of its body drag its
awful coils right across my face!
In a moment the place was alive
with sound I seemed to be in a nest
of the creatures. The sight was so
unnerving that I lost consciousness,
and it is a mercy that it so hap-
pened. When I again knew any-
thing about the world it was day-
light. The sound that had awaken-
ed me was caused by the entranee
of four men, who dragged me to
my feet, and, cutting • the rope.
which bound my .legs, told" me to
follow. No matter how willing I.
might be to;orbey, "I could not even
stand,much less walk. But my .es-
corb was only too willing to carry
me f -or, as one fellow remarked cal
lousiy, "it will be his last jaunt."'
Arrived at my hut, they propped
me up against the wall. I looked
round anxiously at the faces of the
crowd, but I saw • nothing to give
me any hope. Indeed, there seem-
ed to be a sullen desire on their
part to begin the work they had at
heart;—to hang meto the nearest
tree.
Presently, some -sort of order was
brought about by the judge, whose
first words drove the blood from my
face in a, rush to my heart. Had I
not been leaning against the hut I
should have fallen.
"Citizens,'' he shouted, "there's
little use in my telling' you what
you all know well by this time. You
have seen with your owneyes the
dead body of poor Tom May•—"
Here I became faint, .and two
rough fellows came to my assistance.
"The prisoner not only did that
meanest of mean acts --robbed his.
pard," went on the judge; "but he
now has to answer the charge of
murder as well."
Here ho had to draw a gun and
threaten the crowd, who "hung back
as he proceeded,
"Jack Ryan, you are charged with
murder and robbery; What, have
you to say in your defense • Z"
A11 I' could do, of course, was to
deny any knowledge of the imputed
crimes,. and the judge then told the
crowd hew, at a late hour at night,.
a party, searching .:for Tom May,
had come across his body lying near''.
the but I had .occupied, hidden in a
dense mass of underbusle He had
been dead for some lours, and the
opinion d everyone present, said
"Where is Tom i"' asked come- Rafferty, would hack his own as re-
d CAMPAIGNER IN THE INTERESTS OF CONSCRIPTION'
IN GREAT BRITAIN.
Despite the fact that he was born in September, 1832, Lord ' Rob-
erts,' without question the most popular of British soldiers, continues
to work with great activity in what he whole-heartedly believes to be
the best interests of his; country. His remarkable campaign in favor of
citizen service, which included visits to Bristol, Wolverhampton and
Leeds, ended for the time being at Glasgow, where' the veteran Field -
Marshal spoke tonearly twenty thousand people, urging upon them
the importance: of the proposals of the National, Service League.- In
the course' of his speech in St.`Andrew's Hall, in which was held the
principal of the three meetings, his .Lordship. said: "I desire to in-
augurate a reform that in a'few years will ."provide for the defence
of these islands a citizen army sufficient in numbers and efficiently
trained. . • . As a means for' the defence of these islands, the v olun-
tary system, and the false oonfidenoe,w,hieh'that system inspiresr are
sapping the very foundations: of the national charagter, drying up the
sources of manly energy, and ars a standing menace to the indepen-
dence of the British Nation."
garded the person who had killed
him. ..
"What say you, citizens Is the
prisoner guilty 4" he concluded.
With a, mighty shout the crowd
answered, ``Guilty•l"
When the noise had 'died down
the judge proceeded complacently :
Wall, boys; take him to "• that
tree' yonder and -finish him. T ia.t"s'
the sentence of this•here court."
I was moreovercome by 'the news
of Tom's death than by the know-
ledge that my own life was for-
feited. But just here, for some rea-
son or other, a ,halt was called in
the proceedings. •There was a whis-
pered confab between the judge and
a few of the leaders, and the result
was that i was taken back to the
cave and placed in the same posi-
tion as before.
Quietness secined to have settled
down on the camp, for no sound
save the tramp, tramp of my guard
disti rbed the stillness of the place...
I begged the sentry to take me out-
side, telling himof my experience
with the 'snakes, but - he was hard
as stone, "and would not listen. to
Wearied out in mind and body I
soon fell asleep, in,.• spite 'of my
fears. I was awakened by the
sound of footsteps; and; looking 'up,
I - saw at the entrance four men,.
who carried ;on 'their shoulders the
dead body of Tom May!
.Entering, they placed the corpse
in a sitting position opposite to
where I sat, leaning against the Op-
posite wall. The face was cruelly
distorted, and gave ample indica-
tion of a horrible end.. There was
no visible sign to .indicate the man-
ner of his death, .and failing any
tangible proof, of how he had died,
the men had fastened their suspi-
cions en me:
I could not account for my res-
pite, and sat staring at the corpse
and: waiting,
Night carne at last, and then, to
make the face of my su'pposed';vic-
tim more plain, the wretches placed
two lamps in owls position that I
lay in obscurity, while the corpse
showed up in all the ghastliness of
death.
One thing I felt: thankful for—
the 'snakes avoided the light, and I
was not molested.
Irz spite . of . the horrors of my
position I slept -well,' and next
morning, much to my surprise, I.
was •conducted to my own hurt,'• and
told 'that I" was to be closely guard-
ed until :the; authorities °.at Vert
Hendrick could be, communicated
with,
At about noon on the day follow-
ing my watch with. the ;corpse of
Tour May, there arrived in camp' a
detachment of twenty troopers, lel
by a Captain Morrington, The
whole cireitmsta1ices were placed
before him, and the soldiers formed
three'-eid•es',of a square, with the
captain en its fourth lido. 1 stood
between t\O soldiers, while the wit-
nesses were collected in a group at
the right of the officer.
"ridence as to the finding of the
body ;was given by those who dis-
covered it. The captain' asked
to sec the spot. Ile and two sol-
diers went to the back of my hut,
and one of them crept into the bush
to see the exact 'spot.
Suddenly he jumped to his feet,
giving one startled cry,' "Rat
tlers ! Everybody got ash far away
as possible, and the captain, re-
turning ,
eturning: to the' `group of men, de-
manded to eee the body. He glanced
at it, and then turned toward the
crowd.
"You are a lot of. hot-headed
fools 1" he said. "Anyone with
eyes can 'see that the man died with
snakebite.'
And so it proved. Tom had gone
to hide the 'gold which he had pre-
vioiisly, in a fit of • •spite, accused
me. of taking, and had been bitten
by a rattler after doing so. When
the bush was burned to clear away
the snakes, the place was found to
be :literally alive with the venomous
creatures. Tom's gold was found
in a hole which served as an exit
from the cave in which I had been
confined. The finding of the gold,
of course, oompletely exonerated
me, and the men vied with one an-
other in making; a fuss of me.
Poor May! In. his drunken spite
hes dug a pit for me, but. fell Into it
himself. •
GRAFT TAILS ON FISH.
O:ne. Goldfish • So .Treated •Recently>
Sold for $1,000 in Japan.
Among+ the many interesting arts
in which the Japanese excel is that
of the making of fishtails. Almost
every one has ,weir the bush -tailed.
goldfish, with its four, five, and
sometimes six, long tails, bat it
is not -generally known " that . most
of ahem are not -its own.
When the little goldfish are very,
very young their flesh is' se clear 'as
glass, so :that one can . see every
bone in. their tiny bodies. At this
time the few that are born with two
er more tails are put by them-
selves, and then a queer -looking
old. Jap, with a great magnifying
glass fastened in front of his eye.
and wee sharp tools bandy, reaches.
dawn under the water and cuts off•
the tails of the plain little fish, and
then three or four of these tails are
joined cif to the backbone where
the one was out off and fastened
there with tiny bandages, until they
grow fast,
Tae Japanese, *he are very skil-
ful in queer things of this kind,
grow, the finest; goldfish in the
world, and: it is a very good busi-
ness, for very fine fish of the kind
often bring as much as $300 to
$500, and one sold not long ago for
$7,000,
Bless Her Heart.
New edd •"Did you sew the but-
ton on my coat, love l";
Mrs, NOwedd—"No, darling; I.
couldn't find the button, so I just
sewed up the buttonhole."
The weaker a man is the stronger
his habits grow on him.
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•a
Strawberries in iiany Styles.
Strawberry Shortcake, I. -Chop
a tablespoon of butter into a pint
of flour' with which you have sifted
a teaspoon of baking powder and
a,. half teaspoon of salt. When the
shortening is well mixed moisten
with enough milk to make a soft
dough. Rollor shape with the
hands into a round loaf and put
to bake in a steady oven. When
done split it open, cutting only the
edge and: then tearing the rest of
=it apartand put between the two
thicknesses a quart of berries which
you have mashed and sprinkled
thickly with sugar. . Leave enough
of the berries to heap on the top.
Eat this warm with cream and
sugar. If you choose you can add
to the looks and the deliciousness
of the dish by putting whipped
cream around the cake and on top
of it.
Strawberry Shortcake, - II.--
Cream's.
I.--Cream's cup ef sugar and two.
tablespoons of butter and stir into
them three eggs, beaten light, and
half a cup of.•rich milk. Beat well,
put in 'a cup of flour, which has
been sifted, with a teaspoon of, bak-
ing powder, and bake innthree lay-
ers in jelly cake tins. When cold
take the. cakes from the tins and
spread halved strawberries be -
ween the bottom and second and
the second aandthird layers, reserv-
ing enough whole berries to arrange
on top.. Heap whipped cream over
all and pass'cream.with the cake.
Strawberry .. Float. -Crush two
quarts of -ripe strawberries, drain
the juice from them,, sweeted to
taste, and mix withit' a pint of
rich create. ' Whip light the whites
of four eggs , with as many, table-
spoons'' of powdered sugar, beat the
crushed . berries into this, adding
a , little more- sugar if the berries
are unusually tart. Pour the
cream and juice into a glass dish
and heap the berries on top of this.
If you wish you can line the bottom
of the .dish with split lady fingers.
Strawberry Charlotte. -Mash a
quart of ripe berries and strew
them with sugar. Let them stand
for ten minutes and then put
through a vegetable press. Whip
the whites of four eggs to a stiff
froth and then beat in by degrees
the berries you pressed through'
the sieve. Cut sponge cake into
thin slices, line a glass ,dish with,
this, heap the whipped berries on
top of it, sprinkle with sugar, and -.
arrange ripe berries on it here and
there:
Strawberry Jelly.—Soak a pack-
age of gelatin in a cup of cold water
for an hour, unless you use the in-
stantaneous gelatin, in which case
a shorter time is required. Crush
two cups of rips berries and set
diemaside for a quarter of an hour
With a cup .of granulated sugar
stirred , into . them. ' Dissolve,'Osgelatin in a pint of boiling wter;
add the sugar and mashed berries,
and strain through a -fine sieve or
a coarse cloth. Set aside to get
cold.' When this stage is reached,
whip the whites of five eggs to a
stiff froth and beat the partially
foraned jelly into it, a little at . a
time. Turn into a mold,let it stand
on the ice until thoroughly chilled,
and serve with whipped cream.
Strawberry Trifle.—Line the bot-
tom glass dish with slices of sponge
cake or with split lady fingers.
Moisten with a little strawberry
juice mixed with as much 'cream.
Cover the layer of cake with one of
berries which have been crushed
lightly with the back of a spoon,
not .mashed to a pulp. Over these.
placeanother layer of cake and an-
other of the berries. Continue un-
til the dish is about three-quarters
full, then pour over all a custard
made by cooking together the yolks
of three eggs, two tablespoons of
sugar, and a pint of milk. This
should be ice cold before itis pour-
ed over the berries. It is better
to make it early in the morning or
even the day before. Whip the
whites left from the custard to a
stiff froth with a little powdered
sugar, heap this over the dish after
the custard has been poured in,
decorate, if you wish, with a. few
whole berries, ancT serve. Should
you prefer a simpler dish, omit the
custard and cover the cake and
fruit with whipped cream.
Worth Knowing.
Chloride of lime in a weak solu-
tion will take out peach- stains.
When .cooling figs, add half a
lemon and 'a small stick of cinna-
mon.
Pure alcohol: is an excellent thing,
to clean black Spanish or Chantilly
lace.
Washing a fountain pen every
few months will prolong its life
many years,
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