The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, October 09, 1908, Image 7

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    Joe's
By Edith
(Copyright, by
fpS!?0 m ""I" o08 n .p,c,Vlrei,qU0
El n ? " SnuK"B I "sa- n1'
mougn tno townspeople wore not
ttrnnlt.. In ...1.1. ..
. i V,1 "VOB u VM" 11,0 i"aiiu stuo
um mnn s cnarncter. To them
U was an old story, once both com I
cat and pathetic, but now grown stnlo
irom rrequont reading,
liver since tho founding of Snuuer's.
Old Joo had figured In tho history of
mo iiuio mountain sottlotnent, nt llrst
as a pioneer owner of tho llrst stamp
nun, anti ancrward, through tho sharp
vicissitudes of a miner's life, ho had
slipped down to his prosont position
of the forlorn but ovci-hopoful fortuno
seeker, his solo possessions a lanky
mule, a rllle and a meager prospecting
outfit. With this stock in trade, he
was wont to ?ot out on his expeditions
through Siskiyou county, often travel
lng as far south as Itoddlng, and
sometimes washing out two or three
dollars a wcok In gold, on tho banks
of tho Sacramento, whore It rushos
through the narrow mountain canyons.
As It happoned this year Old Joo
Cunnlll had varied his usual program
by remaining all winter and well into
tho sumnler In Sanger's, and It wns
not until ono morning In July that ho
and his mulo woro scon In marching
order, slowly making their way down
tho country road toward tho south.
Threo mon sitting on tho vernnda
of the Shasta house, woro discussing n
now mining boom.
Suddenly one of them slapped his
knee, and brought his chair down with
a thud on the floor.
"Say, boys, I'vo got an Idea that'll
give us some fun and set up tho nn
clont prospector In tho highest heaven
of joy. Lot's grubstake him!"
An hour later, tho bewildered old
man plodded, In a daze, besldo his
pack mule, with tho pleasant rocollcc-
"She Jest Cried, She Was So Glad to
See Me."
tlon of a hearty meal, and the amaz
ing reality of three brilliant twenty
dollar gold pieces clanking their shin
ing sides against each other in his
pocket.
Tho grubstake was kopt a secret bo
tweon tho threo partners of Old Joo,
who amused themselves by mysterious
allusions to a wondorfully rich now
syndicate, but no amount of nrgument
could persuade them to reveal moro
than this. The rumor grew that tho
mill owner, tho storekeeper and tho
hotel man had had a qulot tip on a
big thing, and tho town wns prepared
for tho announcement Unit tho syndi
cate had bought out tho place, or that
monster Improvements woro to bo In
troduced at Sanger's. Uut they woro
totally unprepared for tho announco
niont which burst upon tho llttlo town
toward tho Inst of October.
Tho postmaster received word from
his brother-in-law, Charley Mason,
who lnrmcd between Shasta nud Red
ding, that old Joo Cunnlll had struck
"pay dirt!" Tho portion of tlto let
tor concerning Joo's fortunes ran as
follows:
. . . Big ploco of news for SRiiRcr's!
Kpruml It around. Old Joe liun miulu ig
strlko ut lust. He's In It tills time, huto;
got another feller'a cIhIiii cheap. Didn't
wnlt for tlio iismiy, lint experts say It'H
tlio suro thing. Hotter nmliu a llttlo
fuss over tlio old feller. "weleoiilM
home," ete. It wan nil quite maiden. Let
mo know how ho jtot home. I'm koIiik
down to 8. F. to-morrow.
'orot to ttuy Jo leaves on the 11:40
trnln Thurmlay inoinliiK.
Yonrn, CHAItLUV.
Tho nows spread Hko wildfire
through Sanger's, and, in less than an
hour aftor the lottor was road, every
body know the story of tho threo don
bio eagles and their sequel. The threo
mon who had grubstaltod the success
ful miner woro tho most surprised of
nil. A reception committee was ap
pointed to welcome tho lucky minor.
On Thursday morning Sanger's rose
oarly and decorated tho buildings on
Mnln street with garlands of spruco
and fir, and cotton Hags left over from
tho last Fourth of July celebration.
Half an hour before train time, the
platform of tho llttlo railway station
was crowded with expectant Sanger-
itos. All tho Jokos of the past six i
months wore rovivod to wille away
tho long niotnontH before tho train whs
duo, but no Joke wan an jtotent to
Using a laugh as tho Idea of tho im-
Old
1 Ufa
Gruhsiak
e
King Latham
Bhortstory Pub. Co.)
! t,ro town of Sanger's Pns3 turning
out to honor the arrival of Old Joo
Oiinnlll
.. v" ulum uviuiu,
tno very dogs hnd not considered
tho very dogs had not
worth a bark.
An echoing whlstlo from far down
tho canyon nt last brought silence, nnd
tho crowd mndo way for tho reeop
Hon committee to step closo to the
track. With a warning screech from
tho englno and a clanging of tho bell,
tho train swept around n curvo, rum
bled over tho brldgo, and stopped, puff
ing impatiently. Sanger's hold its
Drouth.
At last a familiar flguro wns seen
to descend from tho high steps. "All
aboard!" shouted tho conductor, sig
naling tho engineer.
As tho englno began to gather mo
mentum slowly, In puffy jerks, for tho
upgrade run, there was spilled from
tho second day coach an nccumulatlon
of females of assorted sizes, which
piled up In a heap on tho clndory path
besldo tho track, thon rose, ono by
ono, nnd meekly tagged tho steps of
Joseph Cunnlll, capitalist.
Tho train crept out of sight around
tho curvo, but Sanger's did not know
it. Tho brass band was sllont, nnd tho
reception committee stood stock still,
and stared stupidly. Tho committee,
nt last, regained its presenco of mind,
and stopped up to Old Joe, but Suu
ger's guest of honor wns timidly ma
king for tho trail behind tho station,
which was tho short cut to tho town.
Isanc Pendleton stopped him. "Hero,
Joo, old follow, you ain't goln' to give
us the cold shoulder, tiro you? What
you in such a hurry for?"
"Ask ask her she'll toll yo," ho
stammered, pointing behind him. Tho
gazo of tho crowd was transferred to
the aggregation of females, which ro
sonted a shrinking front to the pub
lic oye. Tho oldest, of about 15 sum
mers, unkempt and forlorn-oycd, gath
ered tho youngest, aged two, to hor
breast, grouped nround hor tho ro
nmlnlng seven, ranging from IS down,
and cast her eyes on tho ground In
frightened confusion. Tho old miner
braced himself, and turned bravely
toward tho crowd. "Well, yo seo, Mr.
Pendleton," ho said, keeping his eye
on the mild-faced storekeeper, "It was
somothln' like this. I was prospect
In" a smllo went tho rounds of tho
crowd "an' that night tho mulo died,
an' I was poggln along afoot, kinder
lotJcsomo, nn' I como across, down the
creek, a woman and eight kids what
their husband and father had died a
week botore, and she'd been doln' odd
Jobs 'round tho dlggln's and was clean
heat out an lonoly-llko. Woll, when
I come nlong, bIio jest cried, sho was
so glad to seo mo, 'causo I looked Hko
her old dad, an' the children called
mo grnndpnp. An' sho was goln' to
pull up stakes an make tracks for tho
poor farm. So I sqz: 'Como nlong
with mo to tho parson's, tho ono what
peddles his gospel talk through ho
mlnlii' country,' sez I, becauso thoro
didn't seem to bo nothln' else to do,
ser.ln's how sho didn't havo no per
tcctor. An' I thought mobbo yo
wouldn't bo tcrrlblo put out, gentle
men, if I used tho rest of tho money
to como back to Sanger's an' set up
Moly an' tho children."
Tho crowd wns vory quiet.
"Uut what about your pllo, Joo?"
asked Spandllng aftor a moment.
"How much, and whero did you mako
tho strlko?"
"Strlko?" repented Joo In bowlldor
ment. "I didn't make nono this time,
'less Mely's tho strlko."
A groan ran through tho multitude,
disappointment was pictured on a
hundred faces, somo looked fairly men
acing. It was not often that Sanger's
bestirred Itself as It had for this oc
casion which had ended so absurdly.
Thoy would bo a butt, for tho ridicule
of tho wholo county. I
Suddenly, the hotel mnn stopped up
to tho woman nnd spoko to her In u
low tone. Then lie faced tho crowd.
"Floys, you're scarln' tho poor crlt
turn to death, with tho tender fcollii'
for Charley Mason glnrln' out of your
eyes. The reception commltteo will
bo responBlblo for tho drawln' up of
a testimonial to that gentleman: you
leave ihat to us. Hut wo'ro u pack of
fools, Just tho same, not to seo that
this Is tho biggest joko In California,
blggor than tho Uarnoses' strlko. If
Old Joo didn't bring back nlno times
more than wo expected, then I'm
crazy. Whoovor heard of a claim that
panned out such uuggots as these
hore?" pointing to tho olght young
women. "I find," ho continued, "that ,
this estimable lady, Mrs. Joseph Cun
nlll. Is n pnst master nt the wash tub.
What do you say to sotting hor up In
'The Oruhstnko Laundry,' and re
questing that heathen clothosdostroy
or, Chin Leo, to seek nnother sheep
range?" Sauger's gavo a lusty roar. Clark
had touched a vnlnernblo spot. Kvpry
man who woro a collar clutched at Its
ragged edges with ono hand, and
throw his hat In tho air with tho
other.
Tho 'bus was filled with Saugor's
guests on Its way to town, and tho Im
ported band was not wasted. It was
not oquul to tho "Woddlug March,"
but Old Joo and his wjfo and hor
piojjony rodo In stato to supper nt tlto
Shasta house qulto it bllssrully to
tho tuno of "A Hot T'no in tho Old
Tow u To-NIght."
DOCTOR RIDICULES
INSANITY
EXCUSE FOR MURDER
I'M, MEt V'Wj
' 9 i v m . wv: : I
IB
DR. ALLAN M'LANE HAMILTON.
Noted Alienist Who Lays Epidemic of Crime to Modern Modes of Living.
UW YOKK. Dr. Allan Me
Lano Hamilton is the dean
of American nllculsts. Ho
has perhaps of all men In
.this country had the lar
gest experlenco In the
courts, nnd hns been con
cerned In more Important cases In
courts than any other American physi
cian. Hht experlenco extends over n
period of nearly 40 years. Ho was
ono of the chief government exports
who wns chosen to testify In tho case
of Gulteau, who killed President Gnr
field, and ho was sent for from Buffalo
to examine Czolgolz, tho Insnno assas
sin of President McKlnley, nnd ngaln
his name is found connected with
tho Schneider proceeding, which was
undertaken In tho District of Colum
bia to dotormlno tho responsibility of
this Interesting murder. His Indepen
dent nttltudo In tho Thaw caso Is
generally known and commended, and
although ho had testified vigorously
against tho doctors of Christian Sci
ence in tho llrush will caso, ho was
sent Tor by tho counsel of Mrs. Uddy
and consulted as an expert who was
eminently fair nnd likely to glvo good
advice.
Ridicules Emotional Insanity.
Dr. Hamilton referred to tho many
Importnnt cases that hnvo occurred
during tho Inst 50 years In Now York,
whero so-called "emotlonnl lusnnlty"
had been ndvanced as an excuso for
crlmo generally, and wns disposed to
rldlculo this form of subterfuge "As
most of us know, tho Sickles-Key caso
was ono or tho earliest American
cause celobro, nnd oven In those early
days made the judicious grieve. Gen.
Daniel Sickles, a popular veteran of
tho civil war and an eminently sano
miMi, after having watched Key, fol
lowed and shot him down In the
stroet, and nftorward pleaded emo
tional Insanity so successfully that ho
was .acquitted, although It does not ap
pear that ho afterward suffered any
Incapacity or showed any sign of men
tal weakness, living to a good old ago
and pursuing tho oven nnd Bnno tonor
of his way.
"In this stnte," said Dr. Ilnmllton.
"the Colo-Hlscock murder wns another
of the samo kind, nnd wns tried la Al
bany. N. Y.. In 1808, Mnj. Gon. Georgo
W. Colo having murdered Harris Ills
cock In front of Stnnwlx hall on tho
evening of Juno I, 1807. while ho wnH
tnlklng with two friends. Colo sought
out Hlscock, who had been lntlmato
with his wife, and, placing u pistol
within a row Inches of his head, fired,
killing him Instantly. In this case,
like many others, the doronso was
emotional Insanity, and tho defendant
owed his escape from tho gallows to
tho oloquonco of a Mr. Iladley and to
tho lato James T. Urndy, for thoro was
nothing to provo Insanity except nn
arrny of ridiculous testimony. As nn
ovldenco of his mental condition It
was nlloged that while In tho army ho
had constantly whittled lockets, rings
and other perishable ornaments, that
ho had nose-bleed, and that ho was
inolancholy, while a number of reiki
bio witnesses testified as to his excel
lent mental health at all times.
"About this time und until 1875
thoro woro a number of murders or
tho samo kind. Judge Parker, In tho
Colo ease, Instuncod no loss than eight
examples of men who had tukon tho
law into their own hands, und who
PLEA AS
had been acquitted under Hko clrcuni
si mice's.
Subterfuge for Lawyers.
"In thla city I was connected in a
minor capacity with two early Impor
tant cases of this kind, ono or which
was tho trial of McFarland for tho
murder or Richardson, which created
much attention at the tlmo, und which
resulted qulto Improperly In McFnr
lnnd's acquittal. Tho term 'emotlonnl
Insanity,' ns understood by tho public.
Is not recognized by self-respecting
nllonlsts, becauso It Is dlfllcult to ima
glno how a man can bo sane ono mo
ment, insnno tho noxt nnd sano nftor
tho commission of the crime, us Is usu
ally alleged; and I think It Is tho dis
position nowadays lo consider this de
fense us tho veriest excuse for Im
pulsive bud tompor, cruelty nud tho
disposition to tnko tho law Into ono'n
hands. As litis been said, 'It Is a term
Invented by unscrupulous lawyers to
afford tho Jury a safo brldgo upon
which to pass from tho dlsngrooablo
technical duty to tho accomplishment
or their desires, when tho nccused
has killed somo ono who, nccordlng to
the consonsus or opinion, ought to
hnvo been killed.'
"It Is really a legal compromise with
tho truth. So-called 'emotional Insan-'
Ity' has been one or the most frequent
devices solected to arouse falso sym
pathy with criminal violence. Peoplo
have been led to bollovo that thoro Is
such u thing as a sudden frenzy of
passion, a reeling which has lod u man
to shoot another suddenly, und which
absolves him from all responsibility.
That Is one of tho absurdities adopted
by certain desporato lawyers, who, In
I ho name ot science, attempt to mystl
ry hysterical juries. It Is hard to con
reivo or any form of Insanity which
has not been of regular development,
although tho manirestatlons which
precede tho explosion are sometimes
with dlflloulty recognized. In this
connection I may refer to tho danger
ous precedont that, has been recently
adopted of letting the outraged wife of
the defendant toll the story of hor
wiong with tho Idea or showing how
readily It might have Inflamed nn In
Jurt'd man and produced an Insanity
which rendered him Irresponsible.
"One genuine caso has been made to
do duly as a basis ror all tho others,
ami this decision was utilized In tho
Thaw caso. Tho caso to which roror
enco Is made Is that of a man who
wns really Insane, and whoso wife
within a wcok of tho time or tho sex
ual assault or which she was tho vic
tim, communicated tho fuel to him,
when ho took tho law Into his own
hands and killed the paramour. It
was properly alleged that his net was
nn Insnno ono. That Is a vory dlffor
enl thing from tho Instnncos whero In
dividuals, after receiving such Infor
mation, wait weeks and months, going
about their business and holding or
dinary relations with tho woman, or
oven Indulging In litigation.
Cowardice of Murderers,
"There Is something rather Interest
ing about tho meutnl attitude of an
Individual under such clrcumstnucos
as to his conception of his social
rights. I have often noticed that
there Is u singular lack of sincere in
Jury and consistency In the husband's
motive for revenge, nud there Is usu
ally a groat deal moro behind tho
facts us thuy llrst burst upon tho com
munity than nro known. Tho husbnnd
who kills n pnrnmour too often doos
It In n cowardly fashion, clthor shoot
ing htm in tho back from behind n
wnll or in tho dark. There Is too npt
to bo an elomont of cowardice In tho
way it Is dono that robs It of tho fine
frenzy of feeling with which It Is col
ored by the lawyers for tho dofonso.
Frequently tho causes that lead up to
these tragedies nro known by tho
husbnnd long beforo, nud oven some
tltuos condoned, My Impression Is
that thoro oxIbIu n sort of Inexplicable
vanity, nn exaggerated egotism, that
Inspires tho scml-herolc nttltudo of In
jured vlrluo nssumod by tho husband
who shoots nnothor man on his wlfo's
nccount.
"Thoro is another strnngo evolution
of modernism, qulto as romnrkahlo nnd
twisted In Its way as tho husband's
motives ror killing. Tho community,
going hack to tho laws or barbarism,
adopts tho husband's assumed propor
ty rights In tho wiro to bo tho moral
solution or a rnr more complicated
problem thnn they realize. Public sym
pathy with thoso enses depends upon
the dramatic skill with which tho hus
band presents his story, tho mannor in
which ho porrorms his suprenlo act or
egotism. Ho may so blunder In tho
rrenzy of his nttempt to Impress upon
tho public his chagrin nud rago that
they dlscovor an element of tho ludic
rous In tho vory honrt of an actual
tragedy.
Decr.dent Public Opinion.
"Such a mnn may often neglect his
wife, subject hor to extraordinary
cruelty, within tho law, however, or
completely Ignoro her tastes and In
clinations, und suddenly ho Is sur
prised that sho runs uwny with somo
ono else After brooding over his lost
property, nnd fearing tho criticism of
the community, ho makes ono final ef
fort to bo slncoro, nnd kills tho other
mnn, usually In somo melodramatic
fashion, taking euro to save his own
skin. While my arraignment Is not
sweeping, thoro is certainly to-day a
large number or Individuals whoso do
velopment takes place In n community
whero public opinion Is deendont and
there mny bo a ralso standard of duty
nnd heroism. Theso peoplo nro qulto
npt to do foolish things, or to dlsro
gnrd tho advantages and avallablo help
afforded by tho law.
"While It may seem nn extreme
thing to Bay, I do not think nnyono
can help hut deploro a certain vlHlblo
decadence which finds Its expression
In lovo or sonsntlonallsm, In tho un
healthy tone or certain parts of tho
public press, by tho appotllo for a do
gonornto literary pabulum In tho way
or commonplace novels, which nro rull
or cheap sentiment nnd mock hero
ism; nnd by u very Irregular nnd tin
stnblo social Institution which exists
to-dny. Thoso or us who hnvo watched
tho drift must rogrot tho growing
tendency to disregard the traditions of
50, and oven 25 years ago, but wo aro
poworloss to antagonize tho Intellec
tual erethism which homotlmos even
under the guise of scientific progress
leads people to do foolish and Incon
siderate things.
"You may ask what all this has to
do with 'emotional Insanity' and tho
commlsHlou or murder, nud my reply
must be that whero thoro is nn exist
ence which reeds upon sensation and
separates Itself from sanity und u cool
exorcise or Judgment, wo may expect
more or less mornl decline
Dangers In Mode of l-lvlny.
"Time nnd space do not permit mo
to dniw lossous which must bo uppur
out to thoso who live lu this era of
oxtiavaganco and luxury, especially In
big cllles, whore homo fooling Is got-
4
ting to bo moro nnd moro ft thing of
tho pnst. Tho llfo in hoarding housos,
flats and restaurants breeds unrest and
dlscontont, nnd nffords opportunity
for mornl Inches which can only htiTO
ono tendency.
"It Is to bo hopcH that tho nttltudo
of the courtn In rognrd to tho defenss
of 'emotlonnl lnsnnlty' will be much
moro stringent and unrolcntlng thntt
It hns hitherto been, nnd It is to he
hoped that tho public will be spared
long nnd expensive trials, with tho
exposuro of tho disgusting dotnlls nnd
pseudo-sclentlllo forms or defense.
Lawyers Bhonld not ho permitted, with
tho nh! of dlsroptunhlo members ot
my own profession, to Invent spurious
forms of Insanity nnd to Inject Improb
nblo drnnmtlc elements In cases which
havo dono yeomnn service In tho sen
sational fiction of nil ngos, nnd cor
tnlnly, ir possible, tho nlloged lnsnnlty
or a dorondnnt should bo settled by n.
commission or alienists and not ha
passed upon by nn ordlnnry Jury, who
are only human, uftor nil, nnd who
nro utterly unnhlo to drnw flue dla
tlnctlons or to toll who Is lying.
Advocates Commission of Alienists.
"A wise procedure, llrst Inaugurated
by tho United Stntes, District of Col
umbia, In tho Schneider caso somo
yoars ngo, nud lately moro porfectly
brought about by tho Hon. Justice
Wnrron W. Fostor, or tho general ses
sions, provides ror tho appointment of
n. commission of nllonlsts, who should
recelvo testimony nnd give nn opinion
us to tho nlloged Insanity of a defend
ant nt tho tlmo of tho commission or
tho net, ns woll nu at (ho prosont tlmo,
nud report. Tho decision of this com
mission may send tho Individual to n
penal Institution of tho Insane, or ho
may bo put on trial should tho claim
of alleged lnsnnlty bo unfounded. Hy
this method tho community would not
only be saved from disgusting dctnlls.
Bitch as were poured out In tho Thaw
and other cases, but nu Immenso
nmount of money could bo saved tho
taxpayers. As It Is, Jury trials aro
notoriously unfair, no mntter how
conscientious nnd Intelligent may bo
tho trlbunnl. Within tho last yoar I
havo had experience with two cnsoB
which Illustrate what I mean.
"In ono n hnbens corpus wbb
brought for a chronic lunatic, whoso
actions woro so glnrlng that hor own
counsel admitted hor lnsnnlty nud
could find no export to testify In hor
behalf. Tho proceedings woro hold lu
a courtroom which at other times
served ns tho meeting place of tho
Grand Army of tho llopuhllc. Inciden
tally, It nppenrod In tho testimony
that during tho war sho hud given coN
feo nnd sandwiches to the soldlors,
und a point wns mndo of this by hor
Ingenious nnd resourceful lawyer. To
tho surprise of ovoryono tho Jury,
which was recruited largely from tho
old soldiers who made tho room n
7U MKKrftW
lounging place, gavo her hor freedom
and declarod hor sano 'becauso sho
had always been good to tho soldiers
"In another caso tho membors of a,
supposedly Intelligent Jury, who had
been sworn to express the opinion
whether an nlloged Incompetent ws
sano or Insnno, found that ho was com
petent chiefly 'becauso thoy did not
llko tho looks of hla brothor,' who was
tho npxt frlond, and who had brought
the action to hnvo a committee ap
pointed for his clearly Insane relative.
These two cases aro examples of acts
of Injustice which can only bo reme
died by putting the wholo mnttor In
tho hands or capublo and decent nllon
lats, whoso position is so good that
thoy aro sure to bo scrupulously ft'Jr
and to servo not only tho Intercuts of
tho poi son, hut tho community ns woU,"