Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, July 14, 1910, Image 9
HE Stars and Striper U a rag , " said Gambler Hunt. "Apologize for that. " de manded the chovroncd ser geant. "No , " said Hunt Sorgcant Hoog leaned for ward and slapped the gam bler's face. There was a flash , the sharp crack of a "six-gun , " and the sergeant lay a crumpled heap on the barroom floor. Sorgtvuit Hoog was taken to the hospital at Fort Willa mette , a mile away. Gambler Hunt was placed In the now county Jail under the courthouse on the plaza , In charge of the county sheriff. And the town of Willamette went Its way , but with a difference. No gamblers sunned themselves and trimmed their finger nails In front of the Main street saloons. No soldiers traveled Jo and from the fort across the dusty flat. The Twen tieth United States cavalry deserted the town and atteude < f strictly to Us own affairs on the military reservation. Stillness hung over the town , the tense still ness that spells danger and waits for an event. No crowds gathered. Citizens talked of the shoot- tog with an unspoken question In their eyes as they looked lout toward the fort The sheriff was uneasy. "If that man Hoeg dies " ho said , and shook his head. Out at the fort military routine ground along without a ripple stables , guardmount , drill , pa rade and If the men were dangerously angry they gave n'ot a hint of it. The post commander , who was also colonel of the Twentieth , eyed them proudly. "They are taking it well , " ho said to his officers. "I know them. They are veterans , and obey orders. The law will take care of that man Hunt. " The ofllcors agreed. Not a threatening or angry murmur reached offi cers' row from the barracks. As a matter of pre caution all passes were stopped and orders issued that no enlisted man should leave the reservation except on duty. ' It was all that could bo done. The men meant no mischief , but suppose they did ? The strongest guard would bo a rope of sand around the cluster of frame buildings called "fort. " The ono only way to prevent any possible trouble would bo to take the troops out on a "hike" practlso march , it was called then somewhere away from the place for a time. But the colonel would have had to ask orders from the war department to do this. And when the war department heard the reason for the request it would have thrown an official fit , and probably have convened a board of doctera to inquire into the sanity of the post commander at Fort Willamette. It Is \ not probable , however , that such a thought en tered the veteran colonel's head. Ho know his men. They wore veterans , proud of the flag they served and the cloth they wore. Next day word came to the town that Ser geant Hoeg was dead. The sheriff went to see the prosecuting attorney. "That Hoes man's dead. I don't like this business a heap , " he told the prosecutor. "What's the matter ? The town's quiet. " "So's the fort Too plenty much quiet If the soldiers was buckln * round In town , or oven out at the fort there , I wouldn't mind. But they're quiet flghtin * quiet. They're keopln' away from town , and when they do come " The sher iff wagged hfo head dismally. "Very well , " said the prosecuting attorney. "We'll go out to see the post commander nnd ask bun to put an extra guard on and keep his men away from the town until things quiet down. " The prosecuting attorney was young , but he should have known better. Ho had been a sol dier himself , had studied law while wearing a blue uniform nt this same Fort Willamette. For civil authority to give or suggest orders to an officer In the regular army is to Invite flat criub- blng. He should have known , but ho bustled con fidently out to the fort. The sheriff followed , pro testing. "Wo'ro ' the snubbln' " goin'.to post , ho said. The old fort smiled peacefully In the after noon sun. Blue-shlrtcd troopers lounged in the shade of barrack porches and corrals. The guard dozed'on the benches in the guardhouse sallyport A casual ofllcor sauntered along the board walk down officers' row. The canteen was deserted. "Too plenty much quiet , " commented the sheriff. At headquarters the colonel received them courteously. "What can I do for you , gentlemen ? " ho asked. "We are afraid your men will lynch Hunt" "My men have been forbidden to leave the reservation until further orders. They obey or ders. " "We have heard rumors. You must put a strong guard around " ' 'I command this post , gentlemen. Good after noon. " Civil authority went back to town In a hurry , the prosecutor angry , the sheriff apprehensive. For the sUeriff felt that ho know the situation better than did the colonel. Tl e Twentieth cav alry had not been stationed long at Fort Willa mette. They hod como fresh from scouting and Indian clinging in the southwest In joyous antici pation of the comforts of a quiet post and of a civilized "euro enough , " real town , not a group of 'dobe uliacks in a desert The enlisted men found a state of things they weren't used to nnd didn't llkij. Willamette had long since forgotten the days when the fort was n protection , and looked on It mainly as a source of revenue , while the enlisted men were merely more or less of a nuisance. Like all other western towns In the ' 80's anil WB Willamette was "wide open. " Gamblers and gambling were a strong element in Its life. From the suave and solid man of fam ily who owned his homo and business property , and dealt parental discipline by day and faro nt night , to the casual "tin horn , " the sporting fra ternity fas always in evidence. The Eighteenth cavalxywhich had preceded the Twentieth at the fort , had learned to let the gamblers alone. Whenever a row occurred between the sport and the soldier the town marshal grabbed the soldier first and last generally. Thep the unlucky sol dier was whlpsawed fine and jail in town guardhouse and court-martial when he went back to the post. "Fighting B" nnd "Drunken G" and "Crazy 1" troops of the old Eighteenth grow dis creet if not wise. They avoided trouble and the gamblers grew to think they owned the town. The Twentieth knew nothing of this nnd Its en listed men were neither discreet nor wise. The result of several clashes with the town "tin horns" and sports had already made them feel that they were not getting an even break. More over , had not a man just been pardoned by the governor after receiving a 20-year sentence for a deliberate , foul and unprovoked murder ? The case was an offense to justice still rankling in the minds of soldiers and civilians alike. Everyone ono said it was safer to kill a man than steal a cow. The sheriff knew all this and feared that this murder of Sergeant Hoeg , ono of the best- liked men in the regiment , would bo more than they would stand. On his return from the post ho deputized twelve good men and placed them as guards In the Jail. Gamblers eagerly volun teered , but ho would have none of them. The town buzzed now. Soldiers were going to attack the Jail , It was said. J3ut not a blue uniform was seen on the streets. When taps had sounded across the flat , the fort was silent , with only the sentries pacing back and forth in the moonlight. Just the same , Sheriff McFarland posted his men In the Jail and waited. Near mid night a whisper went round the saloons : "They're coming. " The walks around the plaza filled with an expectant crowd. The Jail in the basement of the courthouse was dark , but everyone know that behind it was Hunt , guarded by the sheriff and twelve determined , men with Winchesters. An attempt was made to notify the fort , but wires were cut and messengers were fill too slow. Across Poverty flat , down Main street , Into the plaza swung a body of men , In army over coats turned wrong side out , campaign hats , car bine at shoulder , Colt's forty-five at hip. It was the army-trained machine in action , swift , silent , certain. It circled the plaza in column of fours. Sentries took post at n curt word of command. The crowds fell back before threatening carbine muzzles. Up the broad stone walk , "Right front into lino. Halt , " and a grim platoon faced the Jail door with carbines at the ready. The leader stepped out briskly and hammered with a pistol butt. "What do you want ? " asked the sheriff from Inside the door. "Wo wont Hunt" "Now , boys , you don't " began the eheriff. But the lender's voice cut in , clear , determined. "No talk , Eheriff. Open that door or we dy namite it. " Dynamite ! The sheriff weakened. Ho looked up at his men standing with ready Winchesters at the head of the corridor stepe , where they could have held back a regiment "They've got dynamite. I guess we'll have to lot 'em In , boya. Don't bhoot , " eald ho , and opoaod the door. What followed was short , eharp and terrible. Throe men took Hunt from his cell and marched him to front and center of the waiting platoon. "Have you anything to eay ? " the leader aokcd. "No. " "Do you want to pray ? " "Ho. " He was given a shove forward. The men who hold him stepped back to the xanka. r " " "Flro ! Thirty United States carbines barked ' and Gambler Hunt fell to the walk a crumpled heap , as Sergeant Hoog had fallen to the barroom floor two days before. There was no need for a % necond volley. Not a bullet wont wild. The platoon looked for a moment at the riddled body , then moved fours right across the plaza , picked up Its sentries and vanished at the end of Main street. The second act of the trag edy was over. It had been staged and played In a very few minutes. To thinking men it hold dis quieting significance. If trained flghtlng men could steal away from their offlcorsi defy law and add murder to murder , the community was in peril. The town wasted no sympathy on Hunt , but condemned the lynching. They blamed the officers at the fort for having , as they put It , allowed the outbreak to occur. The gambling contingent hold it only proved the army no good , anyhow. The soldiers wore loafers , too lazy to work. They did nothing but eat up the money of the taxpayers , said the hardworking experts of the fnro and monte tables. The post commander could have prevented the lynching if he had done what the sheriff told him to do. Then the prosecuting attorney did a most ama zing thing and the last act of the tragedy began. Though not a soldier was to bo seen about the town , ho telegraphed to Washington : "Town in the hands of a military mob from the fort. Send help at onco. " The message struck the national capital llko a Kansas cyclone. Thunder and light ning from the war department followed. Orders for arrests , boards of Inquiry , courtmnrtlals galore - lore , chased each other after the first stuttering inquiries over the wires from stanch old officers who couldn't bellevo their military ears and eyes. The court of Inquiry developed llttlo not already known. Hoeg was dead.1 Hunt had been killed by soldiers. But who were they ? As witnesses the enlisted men were a frost. They stuck together and were either volubly ignorant or sullenly close mouthed. Courtmartials were convened. A few a very few men wore punished , moro or less. Several deserted when things grow warm. And last of all happened a thing which must have caused the county officials who failed to protect their pris oner much satisfaction. No hint was dropped of the sheriff's failure to do his sworn duty. But the war department had to save face somehow. Its action reminds ono of the Chinese emperor , who when bis army mutinied always beheaded the gen eral. The post commander of Fort Willamette was court-martialed for neglect of duty. Ho was al ready broken IH spirit , weighed down by the stain on the honor of his regiment , but ho was convicted , and sentenced to confinement to reser vation limits and loss of pay for a year. The sen tence didn't count for much ; it was the stain on his record that must have most deeply wounded him. him.The The murder of Sorgcant Hoeg "Just happened. " The lynching ot Gambler Hunt might have been prevented if the army had not been tied hard and fast in red tape , or if among the officers , civil and military , on the spot there had been ono big enough to meet the crisis. ' As for the punishment of the enlisted men who were the real offenders , well all this happened 20 years ago. There was no "big stick" In the White House then. FIREWORKS TO PROTECT CROPS. The great grain fields of the Saudborn ranch in Shasta county , Cal. , ore Ingeniously protected at night from the vast flocks of wild geese and other aquatic fowl that do immense damage to crops by means of a display of fireworks. Skyrockoto and Hainan candles were bought In large quantities by the management of the ranch and men are stationed at various points. Whenever a flock is heard honking in the distance several skyrockets or a shower of colored bulls from a roman candle are sent npward and as a result the birds give the ranch a wide berth. HARD T PLEASE. "You have loat two .tooks this week , haven't you ? " "Yes ; ono loft becauw my husband flirted with her , and the other loft tecuuso ho didn't. " Houu- ton Dally Post TOO MUCH FOR EASTERNER Pilgrim Wan Looking for Iron Springs , Out That Story Waa Moro Than Ho Could Stand. Ho wan a weary , thin nnd sallow- looking American , who had never boon so far west before , nnd when ho struck Carson City ho hailed the first native ho mot. "Can you toll mo , nlr , It there are any mineral springs about hero ? " "From the cast ? " asked the west- crnor. "Yes. " "Como hero for ycr health ? " "YCH. " "Tried everything , I suppose ? " "Yes. " "Tried Ktirphur springs ? " "YOB. Didn't help mo n bit. " "Been to Arkansas ? ' * "Yes , nnd everywhere also. " "What kind of water nro you look- lug for now ? " "Woll , no kind in particular. I wno told , though , that I'd find 11 variety of springs out hero. " "Going to locate ? " "That depends. " "Well , stranger I have got Just what you want. A'vacant ' lot In the best part of the city. Finest Iron springs In Iho country. Go and BOO for your self. " "But how do you know it's Iron ? " queried the customer. "Woll , pardner , I Urovo my horne through it nnd ho came out with iron shoes on his feet. And that nln't all. I drove seine pigs down there to drink. They turned Into pig Iron , nnd 1 sold them to the iron foundry. Just what you want. For sale , cheap. Why , halloa ! What's the matter ? " The weary easterner had turned abruptly and was walking off up the road. Son Francisco Chronicle. Why England Believes In a King. The great majority of Englishmen of all grades and opinions do undoubt edly bollovo in n king , and think they have some fairly good reasons for do ing so.- The great reason , of course , in that on the whole the system works , or seems to work , fairly well. It IB very costly. Everything included , It prob ably costs ton times as much as the average man thinks ; and If a rate were levied for the purpose on him , ho might feel it nnd begin to grumble. But the money is derived from the duchies , or voted from thc taxen , nnd nobody fccla the pinch or oven knows the difference. It is n rallying point for all kinds ot senseless anachro nisms mid abuses. But In an old coun try many things have a better chance of continued existence by being old than by being good , and an nhuso comes to bo'esteemed almost when Its hairs are gray nnd Its yearn many. It promotes snobbery and creates snobs , though it will not bo supposed to bo unpopular on that account The Congrcgatlonnllst To Save Alcott Homo. Efforts are being mndo to Inaugu rate a movement for the preservation of the old Alcott homestead in Con cord , Mass. , whore Bronson Alcott lived nnd died and where Louisa Al cott created the Immortal children that run through the pages of "Little Men" and "Llttlo Women. " The place at present Is fast falling into hopeless decay and action must ho started soon if It Is to bo preserved at all. "Per haps If Miss Alcott had been dead two centuries Instead of only about 30 years her former homo would not bo in such a dangerous plight as It is to day , " said n Now York woman who is trying to Interest others in its pres ervation. "But by and by Miss Alcott will have been dead 200 years nnd If Orchnrd house la not saved now American soil In future generations will be the poorer for our neglect Wo never shall raise n harvest of ancient associations for our land unless wo take earn of the associations whllo they Bllll are comparatively modern. " A Different Sort of Doctor. Dr. Charles Ilarrlss , the well-known Canadian musician and composer , tolls nn amusing story about himself. Whllo ho was on his way to South Africa , ho desired to keep hlo identity n Bccret. During the voyage ono of the passengers managed to got into conversation with the musician , and asked him If ho would medically ex amine his little girl who was with him on the boat. "My dear sir , " replied Dr. Ilarrlss , 'I have never examined a child In my life. " Ten minutes later , ho overheard the passenger say , In the smoking-room : "There you are ; didn't I Bay that man was a fraud ? " The Girl Grad. Mark Twain was a firm believer In the higher education of woman , but Hartford still remembers a speech ho made one Juno to a platform of Hart ford girl graduates. This speech , a humorous attack on the collcso girl , ended : "Go forth. Fall In love. Marry. Set up housekeeping. And then , when your husband wants u shirt Ironed , send out for a gridiron to do it with. " Metaphorically Speaking. "What do you think of these now palaces I have been rearing ? " asked Mr. Dustln Slax. 'Magnificent , " roplldd the cynic. Yet , " ho proceeded with n visible effort to bo modest , "this earthly pomp reminds that all the mo world in t stage. " "Right And the modern tendency Is to make up with the fine ecenc y for bad actlnn. " UNDEFEATED CHAMPION OF THE NORTHWEST. T. A. Ireland , Rlflo Shot , of Colfax , Wash. , Telia a Story. Mr. Ireland la the holder of four world records nnd has yet to lone hla first match says ho : "Kidney trouble GO affected my vision no to Inter- fcro with ray ohoot- Inff. I bornrao no nervous I could hard ly hold n gun. Thcra was Bovcro pain In ray back nnd Load i nnd my kldnoyo wora terribly disordered. Doan's Kidney Pills cured mo after I had doctored nnd taken nearly every remedy imaginable without relief. I will glvo further details of my cose to nnyouo enclosing stamp. " Remember the nnmo Donn'n. For sale by all dealers. CO ccnta a box. ' Foator-Mllburn Co. , Buffalo , N. Y. Wrong Anglo. "There's a bright side to every. thing. " "A bright side ! Baut" "Well , there is. " "Do you mean to toll mo , doctor , that thcro Is a bright side to my hav Ing had my leg amputated' ? " "Indeed , there is ; nnd ! f you could put yourself In my place you could really BOO It" Important to Mothers Examine carefully every bottle of CASTORIA , a safe and euro remedy for infants and children , nnd sea that it Bonro the Signature In Use For Over OO Years. The Kind You Have Always Bought. ' HIS HOPES. Jinks Do yoiTexpoct to move thin nprlng ? Fickle I expect to , yea ; lint hopn my wife may decide to grant mo u reprieve. Up to Data Milking Scene. "What's going on around hare ? " asked the surprised visitor. "Is this a hospital ? " "Oh , no"answered the tall man in. the silk hat ; "this is the otago Getting for a Now England farm drntnn. Tha next act will bo the milking acono. " "But I thought the young lady In the antiseptic apron was a trained nurse ? " "Oh , no ; she Is the milkmaid. The young man in the rubber glovea that you thought was a doctor la the farm boy. As soon as they bring In the ster ilized stool nnd the pasteurized palls nnd find the cow'n tooth brush the milking Bccno will begin. " The Secret "Miss Bright , " whispered Mlsa GaiiBsip , "can you keep a cocret ? " "Yes , " replied Miss Bright , also whlsnerlng , "I can keep ono as well as you can. " " * * A "Corner In Comfort For those who know the pleasure and satisfaction there is in a glass of ICED Make it as usual , dark and rich boil it thoroughly to bring out the distinctive flavour and food value. Cool with cracked ice , and add sugar and lemon ; also a little crtfam if desired. Postum is really a food-drink with the nutritive elements of the field grains. Ice it , and you have a pleasant , safe , cooling drink for summer days an agreeable surprise for those who ? have never tried it. "There's a Reason" for POSTUM Poslurn Cereal Co. , Limited , Battle Creek , Mich.