The Pawnee Dispatch. (Pawnee, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, August 9, 1895 Page: 1 of 8
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The
Pawnee Dispatch.
VOL 1.
PAWNEE, OKLAHOMA, F
STAYING A DEATH.
WAS living tn *e-
clualon In a small
town about thirty*
live miles north of
London. I was writ-
ing a novel.
So engrossed was
I with my task that
I had no time even to
read the newspaper
and was quite igno-
rant of what was
going on in the
world. It was a little after 8 o'clock
one evening in* April that I finished the
second volume of my work. It was with
great satisfaction that I wrote, and
with considerable flourish, too, the
Words, “End of Volume the Second."
It was useless doing any more that
night, so I put on my hat and coat
and started off for an evening stroll.
I had no sooner stepped into the street
than a boy accosted me with a bundle
of papers under his aim and the re-
quest. “Buy an evening paper, sir?" I
bought one, put It in my pocket, and
resumed my walk.
My landlady had brought in my sup-
per, and, as my walk had given me an
appetite, it was with no small pleasure
that I viewed a goodly Joint of cold beef
awaiting my attack.
I had laid the newspaper on the table
when entering the room, intending to
read It during supper. butTt was not till
I bad lit a pipe and subsided into a coxy
armchair by the Are that I unfolded the
sheet of printed matter.
Therefore I looked at the “leader.”
Something about a new “Greek loan."
That didn't interest me. I skipped
through the little items of news and
hurried Jottings and summaries pecul-
iar to our evening papers. Presently
my eye was caught with the following
paragraph heading:
“Impending Execution of the Cltnfold
Murderer.
“The murderer of the unfortunate
James Renfrew will be hanged tomor-
row morning at 8 oclock. The wretched
man, whose name—Charles Fenthurst—
is now in everybody's mouth, still per-
sists in hts plea of Innocence."
The name of Fenthurst was most fa-
miliar to me. I had formed a deep
friendship with a man of that name.
He was a good fifteen years my senior
and had died about two years previous-
ly. I knew he had a son named Charles,
a young fellow, who had emigrated to
south Africa early in life. Could this
be the same man? I read on:
“It will be remembered that at the
trial the strongest circumstantial evi-
dence was brought to bear upon Fent-
burst. The murder tcok place In a
house on the outskirts of the small town
•f Cltnfold.
“It was proved that Fenthurst was in
the habit of frequenting Renfrew’s
premises and that, apparently, he was
expected there on the evening in ques-
tion. He was seen near the place soon
after the crime was committed and sev-
eral other proofs of a strongly condem-
natory character were also laid against
him. .
“He has persisted from the first, how-
ever, In maintaining that he was absent
from Cltnfold at the very time the mur-
der took place. This was about 7 o’clock
in the evening. At that hour he says
he was returning from London, where
**OHI YOU'VE COMB TO. HAVB
YOU?"
he had been spending part of the day.
Only one witness, he says, could prove
this, and thlr is an individual who trav-
eled with him as far as P- and en-
tered Into conversation with him. Ad-
vertisements have been Inserted tn all
the papers by Fenthurst’s legal advis-
ers, but as no answer has been forth-
coming, It Is generally believed that the
whole story is a myth. The murder was
committed on February t Since his
condemnation the prisoner has been
confined in Sllkmlnster Jail, where his
execution will take plade.”
Astonishment and dismay confronted
me as I laid the paper down. I was the
missing witness they had so vainly
sought.
I had entered Into conversation on the
return Journey with the only other oc-
cupant of my compartment, a young
man with a small black bag, on which
were painted the letters "C. F.” I re-
membered all this blstlnctly. In order
to make sure I snatched up my dairy
aad quickly turned to the date of the
murder. February 8. There was the
entry.
The horror of the situation now
flashed upon me. A man’s life—the life
of my old friend's son—depended upon
me.
Z looked at my watch. It was Just 11
o’clock. Hurriedly I dragged on my
boots, thinking the while what I should
do.
My first Impulse was to rush to the
telegraph office. Then, with dismay, I
remembered that It was shut for the
night after 8 o’clock and that the post-
master took the 8:30 train to a l§rge
town about five miles off, leavlng the
office for the night In the charge of a
caretaker, and Returning by an early
train the next morning.
Then I thought of going to the po-
lice (there were Just two constables and
a sergeant In our little town), but what
could they do more than I?
Madly I threw on my hat and rushed
out. I ran In a mechanical way to the
post-office.
Then I started for the railway sta-
tion. This was about half a mile from
town. As I hurried along. I thought,
with fresh dismay, that this would also
prove a fruitless errand, for the last
train to Sllkmlnster was the 8:30 p. m.
Should I wait 1111 the morning and
telegraph? I remembered that the of-
fice did not open till 8 o'clock.
I had. by this time, reached the
station. Of course It was all shut up
and all the lights were out except those
In the signal 'amps for the night ex-
press. It is now 11:30. Was there no
hope? Yes!
At this moment my eye caught a
light In the signal box. about a quarter
of a mile up the line. I could see the
signalman In his box, the outline of
his figure standing out against the light
within.
I looked at my watch: the down ex-
press from London was almost due. I
would make a rush for that signal box,
and compel the occupant to put the
signal against it and stop it.
Even as I reached the rails, a sema-
phore signal that was near ma let fall
its arm. and the red light changed into
a brilliant green. Would there be
time?
It was very dark, and I stumbled
over and over again. I had cleared
about half the distance, when I heard
the ominous roar ahead, and In a few
seconds could distinguish the distant
glitter of the engine's lamp-head bear-
ing towards me.
At that Instant my eye fell upon a
ghastly-looking structure by the side
of the track, looming grimly through
the darkness. It resembled a one-arm
gallows with a man dangling from It!
This strange looking apparition was
none other than a mall bag suspended
from a post—In fact, part of the ap-
paratus by which a train going at full
speed picks up the malls.
A mad and desperate Idea took pos-
session of me The train that was
bearlnsr down. and that would reach me
in one minute, should pick me up with
the malls. If I could hang on to that
bag so that it came between me and
the net. It would break the force of
the shock, and the net would receive
me as well as the bag.
The bag hung Just over my head. I
Jumped at It, seized It, drew myself
up parallel with It. held it firmly at
the top% where It swung by a nook, and
drew my legs up so as to present as
small a compass as possible.
Then l waited. It was but a few
seconds, but It seemed hours. I heard
the roar of the approaching* train. Then
the engine dashed past me. «.
I shall never forget the row of
lighted carriages passing about a foot
away from me—closer even than that,
I suppose—and I hanging and waiting
for the crash to come.
And It came. There was a dull thud
—a whirr and a rush, and all was dark.
When I came to my senses I was
lying on the floor of the postal van.
Two men In their shirt sleeves were
busily engaged In sorting letters at a
rack. I felt bruised and stiff all over,
and I found that my left arm was
bound In a sling, made out of a hand-
kerchief.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“Oh. you've come to. have you?” said
one of them. “Now. perhaps you'll
give an account of yourself. It's
precious lucky you're here at all, let me
tell you, for If you had been a taller
man we should only have got a part
of you in the net. As it is, you’ve got
your collar bone broken. Now, par-
baps, you'll speak out; and look here.
If we find you've been dodging the po-
lice. don't you go thinking you’ll give
’em the slip any further. The mall van
Isn't a refuge of that sort."
They would not believe me at first.
Luckily, though, I had put the evening
paper and my dairy In my pocket, so
I showed them the paragraph and the
entry. They were civil enough then.
“Well, sir, we shall be In Bllkmtn-
ster about 3, or a little later. I hope
you’ll be able to save the poor beggar.
You must excuse our turning to work
again, and the best thing for you will
be to rest yourself."
Before he went to work again the
other one said:
“What a pity you never thought of
a better way out of the difficulty than
coming In here so sudden like.”
“What was that?”
“Why. you should have got the sig-
nalman to telegraph tc Sllkmlnster: he
could have done It ah right.”
What an Idiot I had been after alt!
However. I should be In time to stop
the execution.
Y, AUGUST 9, 1895.
NO 35.
A little after 3 we di
minster station,
man on the platform. i
my story taf him, the
we drove around to tl
ed upon seeing the go’
Of course, he was dee]
what I had to tell hit
made arrangements to
tlon. The home ■<
munlcated with by
wire. Fortunately he
in town, and after a
anxious suspense, a r.*]
celved from him.
Little remains to be hid. I soon
Identified the condemr ed man as the
person whom I had met la the train.
He also turned out to be the son of my
old friend, as I had fully expected.
After the due formalities he was dis-
charged, and about a fortnight after-
ward the real murderer was discovered
and captured. \
ELECTRICITY AT 8EA.
up at Bilk-
was a police-
I at once told
t being that
>1 and insist*
rnor.
interested In
and at once
top the execu-
was com-
of special
pened to be
pie of hours
ve was re-
The White Light Is Proved to Bo the
One the Easiest aad Beet Seen.
Some interesting experiments have
been made on the visibility of the elec-
tric light at sea by the government of
the United States, Germany and the
Netherlands. The word “visible” In
the report on the tests means visible
on a dark night with a clear atmos-
phere. The result of the experience of
the German committee was that a
white light of one candle power was
visible 1.4 miles on a dark, clear night,
and one mile on a rainy night. The
American tests resulted as follows: Tn
very clear weather a light of one candle
power was plainly visible at one nauti-
cal mile; one of three candle power at
two miles; one of ten candle power was
seen by the aid of a binocular at four
miles; one of twenty-nine candle pow-
er faintly at five miles, and one of thir-
ty-three candle power plainly at five
miles. On an exceptionally clear night
a white light of 3.2 candle power was
readily distinguished at three miles;
one of 5.6 candle power at four miles
and one of 17.2 candle power at five
miles. In the Dutch experiments the
results were almost similar, but a 16
candle power light was plainly visible
at live miles. For a green light the
power required was two for one mile,
fifteen'for two miles, fifty-one for those
miles and 106 for four mllefe. Th« re-
sult of tests with a red light were al-
most identical with those with green,
but it was conclusively proved that a
white light was by far the most easily
seen.
ADVICE TO WIVES.
The President a as Traget.
One of the most disgraceful features
in our modern style of Journalism is
that the President of the United States,
whose very station should command
respect for him, is made a constant
target for disrespect, writes Edward
W. Bok in the Ladies’ Home Journal.
It makes not the slightest difference
whether we admire or do not admire
the man who occupies the Presidential
chair. He is placed there by the ex-
pressed suffrage of the people, and
when he is so placed and is the occu-
pant of the high office, he has a right
to the respect of the people of the coun-
try over which he presides. But this
is denied our President. The decent
respect which we mete out to ordinary
men is refused him. We excuse this
by saying that he was not our choice,
or that he holds the position by acci-
dent. No man elected to the office of
President of the United States can be
an accident. He Is placed there because
of hia fitness for that office. And al-
though we may not agree always that
he is as able as some other man, it is
only pure justice that we give him
the benefit of the doubt.
A Cariosity In Colhk
“The general prevalence of slight
colds,” said a well-known lawyer at the
Continental Hotel last evening, “re-
minds me of the sad case of an inti-
mate friend of mine who suffers very
much from annoying colds. His first
wife was a robust woman, who had a
wealth of fiery red hair, which, accord-
ing to his notion, must have kept him
comfortably warm at nlgbta Be that
as it may, when she died my friend
married a dark-haired woman, and,
strange to relate, from the very first
night of the honeymoon he was afflicted
with a pestering cold. He had a sus-
picion that the lack of that red hair
accounted for his affliction, ao, by way
of a test, be sent his nee wife to the
seashore and, strange to s«^, he enjoyed
Immunity from the cold during her ab-
sence.”
Pound ■ Petrified Pish.
A prisoner on the stone-pile broke
open a big limestone and < olled out a
perfectly petrified fish at Portsmouth,
Ohio, the other day. The specimen is
complete, and Is now at the mayor’s
office. It Is said by experts to be a
salmon.
GIVE YOUR HUSBAND A HOLI-
DAY AND AVOID BOREDOM.
Renewal of the Honeymoon Always
Possible at the Homecoming—Philoso-
phy la Bins Dimity—Oss Doty of
Wives. k V
HERB WERE
three women and
one man sitting on
the gallery In the
duak.
“Really,” Bald
the woman In the
shirt waist, “if one
wasn’t going sway
there would bo
nothing to talk
about. Conversation
would be demonetised.”
“Yea,” agreed the man, "the ratio Is
16 to 1 in favor of tbs free coinage of
passes to the summer resorts.”
“The queer part,” observed the wom-
an in white duck, “is that we all say
we would rather stay at home and ws
are only going for the benefit of the
children. By the way, did you over
think what an admirable excuse chil-
dren are for everything? All that you
do or leave undone you can lay on
them. ”
“For my part,” said the woman la
thq blue dimity, “I always make It a
rule to travel every now and than for
my husband’s health.”
“Eh, how Is that?” inquired the man
who does not always find It assy to
keep up with the subtleties of feminine
logic.
“Well,” responded the bine dimity,
“you know he can’t get away from his
business but very seldom. After I have
been at home for a good while I find
we are boring each other dreadfully.
We are both polite and wo suppress our
feelings as well as we can, but the fact
remains that we know Just the same
things. I have heard all his atorles.
He la a gentleman to the death, but I
can detect by the artificial ring In his
laugh that he doesn’t think my jokes
aa funny as he did the second or third
time he beard them. Then I know It
is time for me to take a trip some-
where.”
“Dear me,” murmured the woman in
white, and the man absently lit him-
self another cigarette.
“Yes,” went on the blue dimity, “and
when I come back I have a new lot of
atorles and fresh jokes, and we are bo
glad to see each other we positively en-
core our honeymoon.”
“How very odd,” gasper* the woman
In the shirt waist.
“Not a bit,” good-naturedly replied
the blue dimity. “Did you never,” she
asked curiously, “suspect that your
husband got tired of you and the chil-
dren and the whole domestic parapher-
nalia?”
“Good gracious, no,” was the re-
sponse. “Why, he’s the beat man In
the world. He puts the children to
bed and does the marketing, and
doesn’t seem to mind now—though he
used to—getting up to look under the
bed for robbers and putting the cat
out.”
“Exactly.” aaid the blue dimity, “and
don’t you know there aro times when
he is tired and worn out and nervous,
when he wishes he could go back to
hla bachelor days; when he would like
to eat what he likes without anybody
reminding him that It will disagree
with him, when he would like to smoke
as many cigars aa he wants to, and to
feel that he can come home at any hour
In the morning without a reproachful
figure asking in a freeslng vole#, ’Is
that you, John?* “
“Were you ever a man?” asked he
of the cigarette, with deep feeling In
hla voice.
“No, I never was,” said the blue
dimity; “and I am not an imitation
man In bloomera, either. Furthermore
I am not speaking for the fellows who
neglect their wlvea and play up to the
limit at the cl,ub. I am talking of the
good, domesticated Darbies, who never
get an evening out without being
chaperoned by their wives or children.
In my opinion Its every woman’s duty
to give her husband a holiday now and
then. ”
The women looked at the blue dimity
In silence a moment, then they said:
“But our huabanda writs us how
lonesome they are when we are gone!”
“Pooh!” aald the blue dimity, “would
you discourage politeness? After a
woman lo 20 she should take her com-
pliments at their face value.”
“You are very odd,” they repeated
again, but the man prosesd her hand
as hs bid her good-night
“Would you mind repeating this to
my wife?” he asked.
AT THB BIO HOTEL CAFES
Plenty te DHak If lss Ordered • Bite
Whlck Cute Free.
If a man’s clothing was decent and
hla conduct that of a gentleman he
found no difficulty In getting a drink
of any sort at almost any of the better
New York hotels last Sunday, In aplto
of the rigid enforcement of the law:
At the cafes of Delmonlco’a, the Gllsey
house, the Holland house, the Imperial,
the Hoffman house, ihti tfrrwewleh Ike
Marlborough, the St. Jamoa, the Met-
ropole, the Windsor, the Savoy, the
Plasm, the Grand, and the Grand Unlos
it was only necessary to take a seat and
be served, while at other hotels there
wore rooms, well known to patrons,
wore Intoxicants could be had by any-
body who had half an acquaintance and
an open eye. In every place it was nec-
eesary to order something to eaL The
patrons of a cafe were offered a little
card on which was printed a list of
things to oat at 5 cents each. Ths list
included sandwiches, crackers, eheeee,
cookies, cakes, etc. Once his order was
given from the 5-cent btll-of-fare he
had, according to the hotel men’s In-
terpretation of the law, ordered a meal,
for drinks can be served in hotels with
meals. He could order as much to
drink with hia meal as he pleased, and
when he got his check or bill tor whst
he owed he would almost Invariably
find it short just the amount that
should have been charged for what he
had ordered to eat One sandwich
served to each of a party of throe or
four drinkers would be deemed a meal
sufficient to warrant any amount of
washing down. The Waldorf was the
only hotel where this subterfuge was
not restortod to.
SUNSET AT PROBBER.
Is ths Bontlhl Month mi May the Bs>
qaaat Editor Bo— It at Its B—t.
From the Prosser American: Over-
looking the falls, ths little town of
Prosser lies beneath the shadow of the
hills; around it in the month of May
the brown fields show that the farmer
has done his work well. Studded hero
and there, like oases in the desert, are
patches of green, upon which the eye
instlnetiveir rests—then the my of
vision extends on and on toward the
western horizon, where, like two grim
sentinels, stand Rainlsr and Adame—
their summits towering far up into ths
heavens—almost touching the clouds.
Surely God will rebuke such presump-
tion! But, no; these are only creaturos
of His hand. As they stand unchange-
able, grand, inspiring, they seem to
say: “Oh, man, in thy conceit, think
thee on the power of the Almighty!
We are Hia children—with one wave
of His hand we disappear from the face
of the earth. Think ye and tremble at
Hla power!” And as If to emphasise
the reflection, the peaks are lighted
with an unearthly glow. A flash like
that of ton thousand cannon; a blind-
Inc glare—ths red miat hmin above
them, and a radiance descends and set-
tles upon the everlasting snow. Ths
domes of those monarchs of the range
stand out In boldest silhoustts—back ol
them Old Sol In all his glory. Low
down In the horizon the orb descends
slowly, yet more slowly, until, with
one last expiring blase, the ball of fin
sinks to root beneath the waves of ths
Pacific. And as the twilight stasis o’sr
the scene there Is heard nothing but
the resounding roar of the waters. This
is sunset at Prosser In the beautiful
month of May.
Oiwlat’l FanereL
A sad-eyed schoolboy approached ths
master and begged leave of absence for
ths afternoon. In ordsr to run ths er-
rands of his slok grandmother. The
master, pitying the helplessness of the
Infirm old woman, granted his request
Bom# time after the boy again askod
permission to bo absent, as his grand-
mother was dying, and, nesdloss to say,
his petition was s second time granted.
A few days later the poor boy, with
tears In his eyes, begged leave to at-
tend hls grandmother’s funeral, and for
tbs third time he was excused attend-
ance at school. About 6 p. m. the same
day an irate female viciously rang the
door-boll and indignantly demanded of
the schoolmaster why the boy was de-
tained at school every afteraeon. “My
deer woman,” exclaimed the astonished
pedagogue, “I thought you were dead
aad burled. Your graadsoa has gone
to your funeral!"
She OM a Safety.
The Mankato girl that worked three
weeks selling baking powder to get a
safety that a Chicago firm advertised
to give anyone soiling three oaaa of
their stuff, was hot enough to warp her
clothes when she got a big pin, such aa
is used to ksop ths baby's bloomers on
with.
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Peter, Will H. The Pawnee Dispatch. (Pawnee, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, August 9, 1895, newspaper, August 9, 1895; (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc907492/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.