The Granite Enterprise. (Granite, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, July 8, 1910 Page: 3 of 10
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ARMY
TRAGEDY
Joy JOHN BR
*>>—^ eopyaioHT TUB- AUTM-O
HE Stars and Stripes id a dirty
rag," said Gambler Hunt.
"Apologize for that," de-
manded the chevroned ser-
geant.
"No," said Hunt.
Sergeant Hoeg leaned for-
ward and Blapped 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.
Sergeant Hoeg was taken
to the hospital at Fort Willa-
mette, a mile away. Gambler Hunt was placed
in the new 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 to and
from the fort across the dusty flat. The Twen-
tieth United States cavalry deserted the town
and attended strictly to its own affairs on the
military reservation.
Stillness hung over the town, the tense still-
ness that spells danger and walti for an event.
No crowds gathered. Citizens talked of the shoot-
ing with an unspoken question In their eyes as
they looked out toward the fort. The sheriff was
uneasy. "If that man Hoeg dies—" he 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 not a hint of It. The post commander,
•who was also colonel of the Twentieth, eyed
them proudly. "They are taking It well," he
said to his officers. "I know them. They are
veterans, and obey orders. The law will take
rare of that man Hunt." The officers 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 be done. The men meant
no mischief, but suppose they did? The strongest
pruard wculd be a rope of sand around the cluster
of frame buildings called "fort." The one only
■way to prevent any possible trouble would be
to take the troops out on a "hike"—practise
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 doctors 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. He knew his
men. They were 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. V'That Hoeg man's
dead. I don't like this busiry^ss a heap," he told
the prosecutor. J
"What's the matter? Tne town's quiet."
"So's the fort. Too plenty much quiet. If the
Roldiers was buckln' round In town, or even out
at the fort there, 1 wouldn't mind. But they're
quiet—fightin' quiet. They're keepin' away
from town, and when they do come—" The sher-
iff wagged his head dismally.
"Very well," said the prosecuting attorney.
"We'll go out to see the post commander and ask
Mm 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. He had been a sol-
dier himself, had studied law while wearing a
blue uniform at this same Fort Willamette. For
civil authority to give or suggest orders to an
officer in the regular army Is to invite flat snub-
bing. He should have known, but he bustled con-
fidently out to the fort. The sheriff followed, pro-
testing. "We're goin' to the snubbln' post," he
said.
The old fort smiled peacefully In the after-
noon sun. Blue-shirted troopers lounged In the
shade of barrack porches and corrals. The
guard dozed on the benches In the guardhouse
sallyport. A casual officer 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?" he
Asked.
"We are afraid your men will ljrtich Hunt."
"My mtn 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 sheriff felt that he knew the situation
better than did the colonel. The Tweutleth cav-
alry had not been stationed long at Fort Willa-
mette. They had come fresh from scouting and
Indian chasing in the southwest in joyous antici-
pation of the comforts of a quiet post and of a
civilized "sure enough," renl town, not a group
of 'dobe shucks In a desert. The enlisted men
found a state of things they weren't used to and
didn't like. Willamette hail long since forgotten
the days when the fort was a protection, and
looked on It mainly as a source of revenue, while
the enlisted men were merely more or less of a
nuisance. Kike all other western townB In the
'80's and '90's Willamette was "wide open."
O.amblers and gambling were a strong element In
Its life. From the suave and solid man of fam-
ily who owned his home and business property,
and dealt parental discipline by day and faro at
night, to the casual "tin horn," the sporting fra-
ternity was always In evidence. The Eighteenth
cavalry, which had preceded the Twentieth at
BANDIT A POOR 1."
Excelsior Springs Boomers Decry
Nearness of James Home.
-WW
7Vj4cTS£, state-
c?/X
Story of Jesse's Death Told by C. E.
Flinders Who Sent First Mes-
sage of Ford's Act
to World.
Excelsior Springs, Mo.—Officers ol
the Commercial club, who are desir-
ous of making Excelsior Springs a wa-
tering resort rivaling the pretentious
ones of Europe, are not particularly
pleased with the proximity of the old
Jesse James home, because of which
they find their city associated with
outlaw exploits In the minds of thou-
sands of persons in all parts of the
country. And this impression was
helped along, they say. by the widely
Home of James' Mother,
reported visit of six Chicago aldermen
to the bandit stronghold several weeks
ago. Though Excelsior Springs is a
bustling, up-to-date city, It is In tha
heart of the Missouri "cracker" coun-
try and aboiids in the old-time types.
A story which Mrs. Zurulda Samuel,
mother of the James boys, tells to
many visitors to her farm near here Is
the shooting of Jesse James by his
cousin, "Bob" Ford. An Interesting
description of that occurrence is given
by C. E. Flanders, one of the leading
merchants of the town.
At the time of the shooting Mr.
Flanders was a young man and the
only telegraph operator in St. Joe,
Mo., where It occurred. He sent the
flrst message to the outside world, tell-
ing of the occurrence. Jesse James,
with his wife and two traitor cousins,
"Bob" and Charley Ford, were living
| there. A reward of $6,000 had been of-
: fered by the governor for the outlaw,
1 dead or alive. The story of how
; James when asked that fatal morning
by his wife to hang a picture in the
Get After the Fl!e«.
With the warm days flies multiply
amazingly. Now is the time to at-
tack them and prevent the breeding
of millions from the few hundreds that
already exist.
Perhaps the most effective method
of destroying flies is by burning
pyrethrum In each room. This stuns
the flies and they can b« swept up and
burned.
Flies are dangerous carriers of dis-
ease and an enemy of humankind. Do
your part toward keeping down the
pest and improving the health of your
community.
A Hibernian Verdict.
A New Yorker is the happy employ-
er of an aged Irishman, who grow*
eloquent over the woes of the Em-
erald Isle. Said the boss: "Pat, the
king of England Is dead."
The old man was silent for a mo-
ment. Then he took off his hat.
"Well," he said slowly, "as a man
he was a fine bit of a boy. As Eng-
lishmen go, he was as good as yez
can make them. As a king, there was
nobody on earth as could beat him.
But still, I'll keep me e~ e on George."
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
flrst—and last generally. Then the unlucky sol-
dier was whlpsawed—fine and jail In town—
guardhouse and court-martial when he went back
to the post. "Fighting B" and "Drunken G" and
"Crazy I" troops of the old Eighteenth grew dis-
creet If not wise. They avoided trouble and the
gamblers grew to think they owned the town.
The Twentieth knew nothing of this and 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 \ 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. Every
one said It was safer to kill a man than steal a
cow. The sheriff knew ail this and feared that
this murder of Sergeant Hoeg, one of the best-
liked men In the regiment, would be more than
they would stand. On his return from the post
he deputized twelve good men and placed them
as guards In the Jail. Gamblers eagerly volun-
teered, but he would have none of them.
The town buzzed now. Soldiers were going
to attack the jail, It was said. But 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 knew 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 all too slow.
Across Poverty fiat, 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 a curt word of command.
The crowds fell back before threatening carbine
muzzles. Up the broad stone walk, "Right front
into line. 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.
"We want Hunt."
"Now, boys, you don't—" began the sheriff.
But the leader's voice cut In, clear, determined.
"No talk, sheriff. Open that door or we dy-
namite It."
Dynamite! The sheriff weakened. He looked
up nt his men standing with ready Winchesters
at the head of the corridor steps, where they
could have held back a regiment. "They've got
dynamite. I guess we'll have to let 'em In.
boys. Don't shoot," said he, and opened the door.
What followed was short, sharp—and terrible.
Throe men took Hunt from hlB cell and marched
him to front and center of the waiting platoon.
"Have you anything to Bay!" the leader asked.
"No."
"Do you want to pray?"
"No."
He was given a shove forward. The men
who bald htm stepped back to the ranks.
"Fire!"
Thirty United States carbines barked
and Gambler Hunt fell to the walk a
crumpled heais as Sergeant Hoeg had
fallen to the barroom floor two days before.
There was no need for a second volley.
Not a bullet went 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 held dis-
quieting significance. If trained fighting
men could steal away from their officers,
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 held
It only proved the army no good, anyhow. The
soldiers were loafers, too lazy to work. They did
nothing but eat up the money of the taxpayers,
said the hardworking experts of the faro 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 be seen about the
town, he telegraphed to Washington: "Town in
the hands of a military mob from the fort. Send
help at once." The message struck the national
capital like a Kansas cyclone. Thunder and light-
ning from the war department followed. Orders
for arrests, boards of Inquiry, courtmartlals ga-
lore, chased each other after the first stuttering
Inquiries over the wires from stanch old officers
who couldn't believe their military ears and eyes.
The court of inquiry developed little not already
known. Hoeg was dead. 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.
Courtmartlals were convened. A few—a very
few—men were punished, more or less. Several
deserted when things grew 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 one of the Chinese emperor, who
when his army mutinied always beheaded the gen-
eral. The post commander of Fort Willamette was
court-martialed for neglect of duty. He was al-
ready broken In spirit, weighed down by the
stain on the honor of his regiment, but he 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.
The murder of Sergeant Hoeg "just happened."
The lynching ol 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 one 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.
TEI.LOW CLOTHES ABE USSICHTtT.
Keep them white with Red Cross Ball Blue.
▲11 grocer* sell large 2 oz. package, 5 cents.
You never heard of salary seeking
the man. did you?
Dr. Pleree's pleasant Pellets cure constipation.
Gomtlp&tlon Is the cause of many diseases. Cars
Um cans* and jou cure tbe disease. Easy to Utke.
A man Is never so easily deceived
as when he is trying to deceive others.
Lewis' Single Binder, the famous
straight 5c cigar—annual sale 9,500,000.
Some men are like eggs—too full
of themselves for anything else.
Guars'1
FIREWORKS TO PROTECT CROPS.
The ereat grain fields of the Sandborn ranch
In Shasta county, Cal., are 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.
Skyrockets and Roman 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 balls from a
roman candle are sent upward and as a result
the birds give the ranch a wide berth.
HARD TO PLEASE.
parlor unstrapped and laid aside his
two revolvers for the flrst time in
months and Ford, entering the room,
shot him through the back of the head
Is well known.
"The first we knew of the killing
was a report which spread around
town that Jesse James was dead," said
Mr. Flanders. "For months reports
had been coming in almost daily that
he had been killed or captured in this
or that part of the country, but we
paid little attention to them. I
stepped to the front door and looked
at the big house on the bluff where
the man we had known as 'Mr. How-
ard' had lived. The hill looked like
an anthill with men swarming up its
sides from all directions.
"Before I could start for the scene
two men came Into the telegraph of-
fice. They were the Ford boys. Charley
kept nervously pacing up and down,
pulling his little black mustache, while
'Bob' started laboriously filling out a
blank. He was having considerable
trouble with it and I said to him:
"'Shall I write it for you?'
" 'I can write It myself, all right,'
he growled.
"He wrote out two telegrams. One
was addresed to the governor and
simply said: 'We've got our man.' The
other was to the chief of police of
Kansas City and said: 'We've got our
man; will bring the body.'
"As I took them 'Bob' Ford pulled
out a revolver at least eighteen Inches
long, broke It and dropped out an
empty shell on the floor. The bullet
from It had killed Jesse James. I was
young then and Inquisitive and deter-
mined to find out who was shot.
" 'Have some trouble, up on the
hill?' I said.
" 'Yes,' he vouchsafed.
"'Anybody hurt?" I Insisted.
" 'Killed a man, that's all,' he re-
plied.
"By that time Charley had nerv-
ously edged 'Bob' as far as the front
door.
"'Who was it?' 1 shouted.
" 'A horse thief who got gay,'
growled 'Bob.' 'If any answer comes
I to the telegram send It to us. We'll
be uptown.'
| "I was too excited to get any more
definite address than 'Uptown,' and
I the two went out and gave themselves
j up to the police. They told their story
and an undertaker went up the hill
j and took the body to his shop. At 4
p. m.. when It was laid out In state
| and he opened the doors, everybody
for miles around was waiting to pass
through and see it.
"That was the last seen of the Ford
I boys around there. They took the re-
ward and went west, where 'Bob' was
[ aliot In a dance hall, possibly by some
! revengeful member of the old gang,
' and Cbariey committed suicide, both
I a few months later."
LIVE STOCK AND
MISCELLANEOUS
Electrotypes
IN GREAT VARIETY
FORj SALE tAT THE
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WESTERN NEWSPAPER UNION
Kansas City, Missouri
W* M ■■ V* Send postal for
rKr p Free
I II Lbof Paxtiiie.
Better and more economical
Ulan liquid antiseptics
FOB ALL TOILET USES.
TOILET ANTISEPTIC
Gives one a sweet breath; clean, white,
germ-free teeth—antiaeptically clean
mouth and throat—purifies the breath
after smoking—dispels all disagreeable
perspiration and body odors—much ap-
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remedy for sore eyes and catarrh.
A little Psxtine powder dis-
solved in a glut of hot water
make* s delightful antiseptic so-
lution, possessing extraordinary
cleansing, germicidal and heal-
ing power, sad absolutely harm-
less. Try a Sample. 50c. a
Urge box at druggiAs or by maiL
-THE Paxton Toilet Co., Bo«to«. Mass.
*OC OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT IT. It s »
cunty seat In center of Hlo Grande Valley and lrrl-
cation; railroad, canals, conrt house. bank, school,
brick business houses. People needed lo build lta
st resources. richenouffb to make j on rich. Writ#
booklet 1, quick. tka»U TbwbbIU I#., Ckafte. Tu.
C
Oklahoma Directory
YQUALS DEERE IMPLEMENTS
and VELIE VEHICLES
Ask your dealer, o*
JOHN DEERE PLOW CO., OklahomaCit)
PILES
UNTIL CURED
lie rage Book ot Rectal Dl«-
eaaea FKEK.
CHA8. P. VICKER8. M. O., Baaaatt Bids.
113 1-2 N. Broadway, Oklahoma City
TENTS AND AWNINGS
STACK COVERS
Water Proof Paulina, or ®ny kind of Cinru
Gooda. Full weight Goods. First class
construction. Prices Right.
BATES MANUFACTURING COMPANY
BILLIARD TABLES
POOL TABLES
LOWEST PRICKS EASY PAYMENTS
You cannot afford to experiment with
cntried goods sold by commissioii
agents. Catalogues free.
THE BRUNSWICK-BALKE-COLLENDE* CO.
M W. Main Street. Dent. B. Oklahoma City. Okla.
"You have lost two cooks this week, haven't
you?"
"Yes; one left because my huBvand flirted with
her, and the other left because he didn't."—Hous-
ton Dally Post.
Burbank Produces Two Blooms.
San Francisco.—Luther Burbank,
"plant wizard" of Santa Rosa, an-
nounces the perfection of "an immenBs
poppy—a combination of the shirley,
the tulip poppy, and a species found
In the mountains of North Africa, and
an evening primrose, white, Ave Inches
In diameter."
MAKE MONEY WITH
MOVING PICTURES
Moving picture machinesand supplies. Wa
make a specialty of equipping road showv
OKLAHOMA FILM EXCHANQC
India Tempi* Bids., Oklahoma City, OklSk
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Charles E. Hill and Sons. The Granite Enterprise. (Granite, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, July 8, 1910, newspaper, July 8, 1910; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc403056/m1/3/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.