A picture of pioneer times in California, illustrated with anecdotes and stores taken from real life, Part 49

Author: White, William Francis, 1829-1891?
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: San Francisco, Printed by W. M. Hinton & co.
Number of Pages: 698


USA > California > A picture of pioneer times in California, illustrated with anecdotes and stores taken from real life > Part 49


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


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" Go on, Mr. Justice," said Strutt, "and I will soon get your work set aside by the Court above."


The District Attorney reminded Mr. Strutt that this proceed- ing was only an examination preliminary to committing the prisoners for trial, but Strutt persisted in objecting to everything, always turning around towards the crowd and throwing up his little red face as he exclaimed:


" All right, Mr. Justice; I will have all this work set aside by the Court above."


The murmurs and expressions that now and then broke from the audience showed that they were enduring Mr. Strutt's con- duct with great impatience; but the more impatient the crowd appeared, the greater were Mr. Strutt's efforts to thwart the proceeding, seeming to think that this was a fine opportunity to advertise his talents and ability, and that he must improve it to the utmost. The increasing murmurings of dissatisfaction *


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were suddenly hushed, and all eyes were turned to the doorway, where the crowd were opening, in obedience to a loud demand from the Deputy-Sheriff. Then, as the crowd parted, Walter advanced, with Minnie leaning on one arm, while the other rested in a sling. Then came the tall form of Colonel Eaton with Mrs. Eaton. Then the manly form of James De Forest, with Fanny on his arm. It is impossible, my young readers, to de- scribe the effect of this sight on that crowd of stalwart California miners. It was such as could only be produced by the peculiar circumstances and the times in which the scene transpired. To look at this crowd as they stood there in that house, with their unshaven faces, blue and red miners' shirts, Chinese red silk sashes around their waists, every one with his revolver and bowie-knife adjusted in his belt, they appeared like one vast band of robbers and outlaws. But was it so? No; in that crowd stood the representatives of a thousand worthy families living in a thousand different places in the old States of the Union, nine-tenths of them honoring and loving their old fire- sides and all the sweet associations of their homes with un- changed love, only intensified by long absence from them and the almost total deprivation of the charms of ladies' society, such as they had there always enjoyed. At the sight now before them of a beautiful girl leaning on her wounded brother's arm, fol- lowed by the well-known and highly respected wife of Colonel Eaton and her charming daughter, the excitement became ter- rible; but not a movement was made nor a sound heard but the light tread of the advancing party. Breathing seemed suspended, so still was that vast assembly. When the Justice asked Minnie to raise up her hand to be sworn, the oath was repeated to her and she bowed in assent, lowered her hand, and took her seat between Walter and Mrs. Eaton. The District Attorney then asked her to tell the Court the circumstances of her capture at Colonel Eaton's residence, and if she recognized as here present the persons who committed the act. Then Minnie's musical, clear voice, though a little tremulous, was heard distinctly by every individual in the whole building, relating the treacherous way in which she had been captured, and of her subsequent rescue by Walter and James De Forest. Not an intonation of her voice escaped the hungry ears of the excited assembly.


As Minnie concluded by saying, " I recognize those two men seated near you, Judge, as the men who caught me and put me


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on that man's horse," pointing to Wild as she spoke-the effect was beyond the greatest imagination. No one yet moved, but strong men trembled, while tears ran down thelr sunburnt cheeks. Oh, it was that Minnie's sweet, innocent, woman's voice took them back in feeling and memory to boyhood and early manhood, where a mother, a wife, a daughter, a sister, or it may be a sweetheart, rose up before them in beauty; such as in dreams the imagination decks the loved ones of the past, swell- ing their hearts with wild devotion to the good and the pure of the whole sex. They realized at that moment, perhaps, how dark and dismal would be our journey through life, if God, in his goodness, had not sent us woman to cheer us on by strewing the rugged parts of our path with alluring flowers, and by light- ing up our way with the bright sunshine of her smiles, when sometimes obscured by terribly dark clouds of fortune. Under the influence of these overpowering feelings, the miners regarded the prisoners before them as monsters, whose instant destruction could alone atone for their daring attempt against all they held dear in woman. While Minnie was speaking, even Strutt forgot his own importance, and remained fascinated, with his eyes on her face. Now, recovering himself, he jumped to his feet, and began :


" Mr. Justice, I totally object-"


He proceeded no further, because an iron grasp was on his throat, and another low down on his back, and in an instant he felt himself high in the air, while the powerful fellow who held him aloft, called out :


" Boys, what shall we do with the scalawag ?"


" Hang him !" " Choke him !" "Throw him out doors !" shouted everybody. And then came the additional cry : "Drag out those Sydney ducks ! We will give them all the law they want ! Drag them out ! Drag them out !" then burst from the whole assembly, while revolvers leaped into view all around.


Minnie, Mrs. Eaton and Fannie stood close together, with Colonel Eaton, De Forest and Walter standing with their backs to them, and their faces towards the now wild crowd. The Sheriff and his deputies stood with their revolvers in hand; but, feeling themselves utterly powerless, remained inactive, uncer- what to do. Justice Howard leaped on a chair, and, calling out in a clear, commanding voice, such as even a mob will some- times listen to :


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" Californians, do you forget that ladies are present ? If you are the men I take you for, in respect to the presence of those ladies, you will at once put up your weapons and remain quiet."


" That is right ! That is right !" sang out a hundred voices at once. And in an instant more a general quiet reigned through- out the building. Poor little Strutt, finding his throat released, squirmed his way through the crowd to the door, and made the shortest time on record, in a foot-race, to the nearest saloon, where he poured all sorts of drinks down his throat. "Just to see," he said, " that, though sore on the outside, it was all right on the inside." He complained, too, of soreness on the back part of his person, where some one had given him a terrible pro- peller with his boot, as he was making his exit from the building. " It felt," he said, " as if he had been sitting on a red-hot stove."


The Justice remained standing on the chair, with his eyes fas- tened on the crowd, as if with their power he charmed them into good order. But he himself well knew the talisman whose power had done the work, and he now continued :


"Thank you, fellow-citizens, in the name of the ladies here present, for restoring order, and I now wish to say to you, that I will forthwith commit the prisoners for trial without further ex- amination; and, in the name of the ladies, I will ask you to retire from the building without any disturbance, so that they may have a free passage, and the Sheriff an opportunity to do his duty and take the prisoners to jail. Without a word of objection, all turned to leave the building. During all the time these scenes were en- acting in the building, Captain Ward remained outside, moving about among the mass of people who could not get in, appar- ently in a heated excitement of indignation at the villainy of the prisoners.


" What is the use, boys," he would say, " of going through the forms of law with these Sydney villains ? No; let us have a wagon ready to pitch the rascals into as soon as the Sheriff brings them out, and let us take them to the nearest tree and up with them. Yes; we must protect the few ladies among us at all hazards."


His auditors were but too well inclined to agree with him. While he was talking to a crowd in this way, a boy pushed his way up to him, saying:


" Is your name Captain Ward, sir ?"


" Yes, boy; what do you want ?" 34


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The boy motioned him to follow a little way, and then handed him a note, saying:


" Mr. Strutt told me to bring him an answer, sir; and that he would give me an ounce for it."


Without speaking, Ward read the note. It was written on a half-sheet of foolscap. The hand-writing was evidently that of a person who usually wrote a good hand, but who now wrote under great excitement, and in a tremulous, unsteady manner. It was as follows:


LUSK :- I am not to be trifled with. You have not come near me, though I have repeatedly sent for you. If you do not instantly come, and explain, to our full satisfaction, how you are going to save us from this fix, I will, just as soon as I get back to the jail, make a full confession of everything I know. You know I can prove to the authorities all I will tell them, and that this will swing you, and save my own life. So, you now see, I am not to be fooled with. No letters or promises sent by others will do; so, now, you know what to expect, and who you are dealing with.


WILD.


As Ward finished reading, a bitter, sarcastic smile curled his lip, and he said, half-aloud: " The trouble is that you don't know who you are dealing with. Yes; when you get back to the jail. Yes; then you can do as you like; that is all."


Then aloud, to the boy, he spoke: " Wait a moment, boy, and I will give you the answer; and be sure you make that fellow give you the ounce before you give him the note."


" All right, Captain; I will do that."


Ward remained in thought for a moment, and then walked into a grocery store near by, got a sheet of paper and wrote in the center of it: "I will see you as requested." And, without signing it, folded the paper, put it in an envelope, and gave it to the boy. The crowd now came rushing out of the building, and, parting into two bodies, one at each side of the door-way, as if by preconcerted action, until at last came the Sheriff with his prisoners. Then arose a terrific shout, then a rush, and, in a mo- ment more, the prisoners were flung into the large spring-wagon Ward had just driven up. The crowd now fell into silence like that of a funeral, and, without an apparent direction from any one, or a visible leader, made off to a well-known tree, with spreading limbs, in the outskirts of the city, near the river. The wagon halts beneath the beautiful spreading shade of the tree, that is all unconscious of the bloody work it is to be used for. The ropes necessary are found all prepared in the wagon, with


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small ones to pinion the arms. In a moment more, the prison- ers are compelled to mount the high seat of the wagon, and stand erect on it, and, while yet handcuffed together, as the Sheriff had them, their arms are fastened, and the fatal ropes adjusted around their necks; then drawn over a limb and fastened to the butt of the tree. The horses are impatiently champing on their bits, so that the driver has all he can do to hold them until he receives the signal to let them go, which will plunge the two miserable men into eternity. In this last moment of time, all hope of rescue by Ward's assistance leaves Wild, and he now calls out:


" Only spare my life for five minutes, and I will give you infor- mation that will be most valuable to you, and the truth of which I can prove to your full satisfaction."


" Hear him!" " Hear him!" cried out a hundred voices.


As Wild spoke, he glanced all around the crowd, and his eyes at last rested on the tall form of Ward, standing near the horses' heads.


" There, " said Wild, "is the very man I want to tell you about. He is the Captain of all the Sydney thieves in the State."


All eyes were turned in the direction Wild indicated by his look only, for his hands were pinioned down, and each one, in that part of the crowd, looked at his neighbor with suspicion.


" What man do you mean ?" called out Ward, boldly, while, as if jumping forward to hear the answer, he pressed against the horses' heads, and, dextrously using his knife, severed the reins. In an instant, the impatient animals were plunging forward, reck- less of everything. Ward took care to be one of those struck to the ground in the confusion. Then the two wretched men swung backwards and forwards, writhing in the last agonies of a fearful death, while the crowd looked on in profound silence, with uncovered heads, which made the scene as solemn as it was terrible. As Ward arose from the ground, his first expression was:


" Oh, what a pity that fellow did not get a chance to finish what he had begun to tell us ! But, however," he continued, "it is of no consequence, as I suppose the rascal was only trying to gain time."


Then, looking up to the two swinging, lifeless bodies, a demo- niac smile played around his wolfish eyes, as he said to himself:


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" I managed this business well. That fellow Wild was the only man in my whole gang I feared; but he will never again write me threatening letters or interfere with my plans in regard to this proud beauty, who is to be my future wife, which, if he had lived, he might have attempted. That fellow McPherson was a sort of useful dog to have about, but I could not save him, and get Wild hung; so I had to let them both swing."


When the crowd rushed from the building after the examina- tion, Minnie and Walter and their friends followed slowly, and, on reaching the sidewalk, they found the street completely de- serted.


" Why! Where is the immense crowd gone ?" exclaimed the ladies, in surprise.


No one could tell, and, without pressing the inquiry, the whole party proceeded to the hotel and ordered refreshments. A little before sunset, Jerry Brady called to ask if his carriage was wanted to take the ladies back to Colonel Eaton's. Yes; it was wanted, of course.


"Well, Mr. De Forest," said Jerry, " it came out just as I told you it would; that sun we see just setting, is shining on the dead bodies of those two Sydney villains, hanging on the big tree, down close to the river, all alone, without a friend to bury them."


The sudden disappearance of the crowd was now explained, and when the ladies were informed of what had happened a sen- sation of sickening horror completely overcame them. Califor- nia, however, was not then the place to brood over the events past, and that could not be recalled. No; the present and the future were always demanding our time and energy; for on, on, . we were rushing, always pressing a month's work into a day's time. Colonel and Mrs. Eaton insisted on Minnie, Walter and De Forest returning with them that evening, and they yielded, as they found it hard to part with friends who had, even on so short an acquaintance, become so very dear to them. Then Wal- ter was feverish, and half-sick from his wound, and Mrs. Eaton urged the necessity of absolute repose and quiet, such as he could only have at her house. So Jerry Brady once more dashed over the road, and, early in the evening of that anxious day, deposited them all in safety at Colonel Eaton's hospitable residence.


3


CHAPTER XIII.


A VISIT FROM CAPTAIN WARD-SOMBER THOUGHTS.


The morning after the execution of Wild and McPherson, Walter found himself so much worse, that it was deemed ad- visable to send for medical advice. Dr. White, who came from Sacramento in answer to the call, examined the wound and found it very much inflamed, and the symptoms pointed to the possible danger from erysipelas. The Doctor privately informed Colonel Eaton and James De Forest of his apprehensions, and of the necessity of using the most active remedies to ward off the disease. He also counseled the most careful nursing. This state of things induced De Forest to defer his departure for a day or two longer; for, although Walter had of course the best possi- ble nurses in Minnie and Mrs. Eaton, yet his anxiety for his friend's safety would not permit his leaving until he should feel assured of his safety. In the course of the morning of that same day, Captain Ward called to pay his respects to the ladies, and inquire for his friend Walter. The ladies were all very polite to him, and Minnie, after informing him of the Doctor's general in- junction against visitors being permitted to see Walter, said:


" But my brother thinks so much of you, Captain, that I think it would do him more good than harm if he were to see you for a few minutes."


Ward looked delighted at this speech from Minnie, as he said:


" Oh, well; the dear fellow and I have become very much at- tached to each other; but I feared that my nose was out of joint now that his sweet sister was here to stay by him ; for the fact is, I believe, I made my way to his friendship and heart by talking so much of you, Miss Minnie, which I could not help do- ing after I saw your likeness and heard his description of you, which I find, after all, only told a little of the truth."


To stop these sort of broad compliments, which no woman of sense relishes, for she knows that they generally come from hol- low heads and hollow hearts, Minnie arose and said :


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" I will lead the way to my brother's room, Captain, if you wish."


James De Forest, who was seated by Walter's bed, recognized Ward's voice, as he followed Minnie up the stairway, and, not wishing to have any conversation with him, arose to go, intend- ing only to bow to the Captain as he passed him ; but Ward stopped short, directly in front of him, and reached out his hand, exclaiming :


" My dear fellow, how are you after the excitement of yester- day ? I am glad to see you looking so well. Well, we fixed those Sydney rascals nicely. I was out there and saw their last kick. The villains died hard, I can tell you ; but die they had to. Now Miss Minnie here has her revenge. I kept up the steam among the boys while the examination was going on, so the whole thing went off like a charm." And Ward, as he stopped speak- ing, chuckled out what he intended for a laugh.


De Forest withdrew his hand with a feeling of indescribable loathing, while he dropped his eyes on Ward's face, then down his whole person to his feet, and withdrew them, and, without speaking a word, passed quickly down the stairs. Ward was, of course, disconcerted; for there is no man on earth, be he ever so bold in impudence, so callous to contemptuous treatment, who can stand that sort of a review of his person unflinchingly. Re- covering himself, however, he said to Minnie :


" What is the matter with our friend, De Forest ? He has a strange way of acting." Then, assuming a pleasant voice, and dropping his head very close to Minnie's face, he continued : " Oh, Miss Minnie, I see the poor fellow is jealous, so I forgive him. Yes ; he cannot help it; so, as I said, I forgive him ; for I know how I should feel if any good-looking man should suc- cessfully get himself between me and your smiles, Miss Minnie."


Minnie felt her face burn, while every word the Captain said added to her disgust of the man. Ward continued, with a sort of knowing smile:


" Oh, how I should like to have been in De Forest's place the night before last, to get that reward I saw yon give him for saving you. Oh, Miss Minnie," and here he lowered his voice and tried to give it a love-sick tone, " can I ever hope to deserve such a reward ? It was to win my way with you I worked so hard yesterday in getting those men properly disposed of."


Minnie's horror was now equal to her disgust, and she would


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have answered Ward in a way that would have satisfied him that he had made a great blunder in this first attempt to win favor with her; but they were now by Walter's bed, and she only said, as she turned to leave the room:


" I am surprised, Captain Ward, how you could for a moment suppose that I, or my brother, approved that horrid proceeding of yesterday."


Ward bit his lips, as his eyes followed Minnie's retiring figure down the stairway, and then, turning to Walter, he began to express himself as greatly concerned for him.


" Oh; do not be alarmed, dear friend; the Doctor says that all I want is quiet and good nursing, both of which I am sure of here."


Then Ward asked Walter if he would not wish him to stay and help to nurse him.


" Nothing would suit me better, Captain; but I have all the nurses that I want, and I dare not trespass on the hospitality of this good family by encouraging any more persons remaining near me, and particularly when they can do no good."


" When does De Forest return to Oregon ?" asked Ward, in a careless tone.


" To-morrow, or the day after at farthest. My sister will be all the nurse I shall want."


" And Miss Fannie ?" added Ward, with a knowing smile.


" Oh, yes, Captain; and Miss Fannie, as you say; for it will surely do me no harm to know that so sweet a girl is helping Minnie."


"Not a bit of it! And I don't blame you, my dear fellow, for being a little soft in that direction. I might have been so my- self if all my attention was not absorbed in another direction."


" Oh, indeed," said Walter, not appearing to understand to whom the Captain alluded; " I did not suppose a man like you, who had seen all the beautiful women of the world, you may say, would be easily thrown off his guard, or yield to that sort of feelings."


Ward now assumed a more serious manner and tone, as he said:


" Nor am I easily moved, friend Wagner, I can assure you. I have, as you say, seen many charming women, and, though warm and ardent in my temperament, I assure you, as we are both here alone, and feeling sure you will not doubt your friend's


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word, that my heart was never touched until within the last few days."


This was too plain a speech for Walter to be able to pretend to wholly misunderstand ; so he just said :


" I see, Captain, you are new in these matters, sure enough; or you would know that these sudden fancies are never lasting." Ward was going to reply, when Walter added : "But let us change the subject, Captain. When do you go down to the bay ?"


" Oh, I will go in this evening's boat, as I cannot be of any use to you here." And, as he drew out his watch, he added : "By Jove! I have not a moment to lose." And, rising, he took Wal- ter's hand and shook it furiously, saying : "Good bye, my dear friend. Write to me just as soon and as often as you can. Direct your letters to the care of McConroy & Co., in San Francisco. They did all my shipping business, and are first-rate men. Be sure to let me know as soon as you get back to Downieville, as I have a business proposition to make to you. So, again, good- by, my dear fellow." Then, pausing a second, and lowering his voice, he added : " You will one day find, friend Walter, that you did me injustice in supposing that the feeling I alluded to, just a minute ago, can ever change. No ; my life has now a new object, and an object that will spur me on to any sacrifice to at- tain it. Be my friend, Walter, in this matter, and you will never regret it; depend on that."


Ward was gone before Walter could say a word in the way of an answer. On descending to the sitting-room, he found Mrs. Eaton and Fannie there alone, and, in answer to his inquiries, Mrs. Eaton told him that Minnie and De Forest had gone out to walk with Colonel Eaton. She asked the Captain to take a seat and wait for their return, but he said it was impossible for him to do so, as he had to go to San Francisco that evening, and he feared missing the boat. In a minute more he was urging his horse towards Sacramento. As he rode, he talked to himself thus :


" The confounded little hussy does not yield a bit. When she is standing near that fellow De Forest, she looks as soft and gen- tle as a child of five years, and when he speaks she looks at him with a smile that must bewitch the fellow, and it makes me hate him. Yes; you can see that she believes all he tells her to be true; but when she is near me, there is something about her


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whole bearing and manner that says to me, so that I can't mis- understand it: 'I understand you, sir. I have read all about you in your own eyes, and your compliments are disgusting to me. Take them to the silly women you are accustomed to, who are such fools as to be pleased with them.' Yes; Brown must be right. This Yankee girl has read me right through; but I will not give her up, for there was more truth than I believe I spoke in twenty years in what I told Wagner to-day, as to this girl being the only woman who ever touched my feelings. I see I will have a difficult task to trap her. Yes; Brown was right. My villainous father's game was nothing to this that I will have to play. But I will triumph, for I will stop at nothing to effect my purpose. Surely the wolf and the lion together ought to be a match for anything that could come from this cool, calculating Yankee stock. The emblem of the Yankee is the great eagle, that soars so high above all earthly things, that when he gazes at it, away above the dark clouds, he forgets or half despises the natural business of life, which is for every man to outwit his neighbor to the utmost of his ability, and he foolishly begins to think of all that is noble, generous and great. And those sort of ideas tend to produce such girls as this Minnie Wagner, to the annoyance of all dashing, liberal-minded fellows like myself. No; give me the lion, with the wolf mixed in, as an emblem to inspire my actions. They live in dark caves and treacherous jungles, where villainy always has a home; and they, like me, devour the good and the bad, without mercy, for their own gratification. 'Might,' not 'Right,' is the motto of monarchs; and I am a monarch in my way, for I acknowledge no superior power. What chance is there, then, Miss Minnie Wag- ner, for you to balk my appetite ? I have sworn to marry women that I fancied, and hunted them down to their ruin; but when I swore that, I knew I was lying; but this girl has, in fact, got some unaccountable hold on me. I love and hate her both. The idea that I should love anything, living or dead, is an absurdity; but I suppose the wolf part of me hates her, and the lion part of me loves her. Yes; it is strange. She comes to me in my dreams, looking so proud and beautiful; and then it appears to me I am a man like other men, and I love her truly and wildly, and I go on my knees to swear that I will be faithful to her; and when I look up, she is gone, and in her place stands a hideous demon, laugh- ing at me. Or sometimes it is Harry West, the boy I murdered that Sunday morning in the canal, when I was only a boy myself.




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