OCR Text |
Show TARANTULA IN WHISKY. 1 M Indian's Novel Scheme to Poison a, f iH H Cowboy Ended hi a Box Car I fS H Tragedy. I ,'JHj H O T l'lske, an actor. Just arrived tn f j B New Orleans, and Imoked to appear at Jl H the Orpheum tomorrow night has been i Z B served with a fmelgn Mtbporni to np- I li B peur In the I'nlted Slates District court i1l H of Okliiliumi, an a witness In clearing liH iiH up the estate ot an Indian murderer, 13' B HKV who met his deith while nttemptlnig F? iwAb one of the most novel methods ot irlmo it K HBH that has ever ctctit Into print t'W HHb lu l.'W the natives ot Vlnltn t T., JKI H weie startled nt the sulden dlsippear- i I H aner of Jim HMckblrd, n half-brre 1 h I H Cherokee Indian whose dead bods was iut I1 HK found a week Inter In nn empts freight 1.1 t K carat Springfield, Mo The Indian Vid jt It S B evidently been shot, for there were y it HBV three bullets in his bods ' but no ono i. f .& HKV could be found lo Identity the dead l B hods and the msstery has remaliud . A HKV unsolved unlll Just within the past few V H weeks The aulhniltles at Springfield '' ' b BBS burled the unknown bods In the pot- t , i HKJ ters' field In the meantime Illai k- V HHJ bird s famlls walled mouth after month LlM BBS for his reappearance, nnd tlnally, de- j ll HKV elding that he must be dead proceeded iii flVJ to divide his estate. As there wns no ijflr H actual proof of his death tho settle- It jr. HBS meiit of the estate lus been postponed rH!r from time tn time, owing to the legil I I If BVJ complications that aroso in consc bl 1 que me r.Ml BhI Actor l'lske, while plu)tng out West t ftl BH n few weeks ago, lead ot the matter, &B H and decided tn disclose to the proper V jml HVJ authorities the Involuntnry share he HWil hVJ had In Ihe death of the Indian, which II tPlWJ HB1 share consisted In his being the only I'jX BB1 witness to the death of lllaclcblrd Th ffW BVJ statement which l'lske tecently msds iron H to William A Jones chief of tho laud H HBl dltlslou of the United Stales Indian of- U ' -"ce, Is os follows. j'i'l ' 1 did not see Hlirkblrd killed, for j&! Hfl It was done lu the dark, hut 1 wns Wt'i HJ there when It happened I hud Just ljir HH left a stranded theatrical company In TS H HI I'asn, Tex I expressed my trunk jvl HBl lo St Wmls, C O 1), and. ns 1 was Jf dead broke I determined tn try tn Wl H beat my was 'line In n freight car. fil BHj I hid tn tramp It a good bit of tho 4n HBb way and It was S oclock nt night be- Si HBV fore I found u freight train standing nt n way stillnu in the Indian Nnllon. im BHI As I crawled Into an empty lumber car 'T'lH HBj 1 happened In step on the face of a Will BHI man who was Islng down He sprang ilin) J to his feet with an octh, but 1 soon VW J explained matters, and lit it lonvcrsu- 'ItjR BHI Hon that followed I found that my new MB acquaintance was a cnwbny who hnd J V H Just received his wages nfler a tattln lim iikH round-up lu Northern Texas and, with 'M nn Instinctive dislike to parting with m any of his money for railroad fare, was Lltit H beating his way to St Iiuls as I was, vM HB1 onl) he had the price nt a ticket ami ik'H HBj I hadn't llo carried his money In a ?pra H belt under his clothing nnd had a re- Irffi HHi volvrr strapped onto his side, Tho f .la freight train stalled and I fell asleep, i Ml HB ami nnly awakened when they stopped t 'IB nt it small station for water. All nt J ,fl " once the cur door was stealthily opened I jn and a man climbed In It was too F, M dark lo distinguish the features, hut K M he gave a peiullar giunt as he climbed J JB In. "1 hat's nn Indian," whispered tho JB row bo), nud then, In tho Cherokee Ian- J 9a guage ho spoke to the newcomer, who 5 Jp H told us he wns a half-breed Indian if' lit going only to the next Mopping place. t V I never liked Indians, so I let the cow f ) bo) do all the talking 'Havo )ou a 1 ff bottle'" asked the cattleman. The In- I Han grunted n 'Yes' In reply I be- 1 gun to gropo for the liquor, nnd had ! HfB Just taken tho bottle In my hand when I ,; I fill It wrested from me nnd then a, ! J inn I ill wns stiuck all of a sudden, and I ( ! by Ihe gleam I Saw Ihe row hoy gazing k. j Intently nt the buttle of liquor Ills I HJB rate was as pale aa death and his lips t j qulveied I wus dumfounded In a i, seennd the car was In dirknens agiln. f J and then three shots rang out, which. f by the flash, I knew were aimed at , Ihe Indian, I thought the cowboy I , must surely be an escaped lunatic, and ;' I commenced to grope on my hands f. ; and knees, preparing for a fight tn J Ihe death for the revolver, for 1 knew- 1 I thire were two more cartridges left, J J and I expected every minute thnt ho , J inteniled to put ma out of the way as . i he hud the lndlun The cow boy hurled E I me to the lloor nnd whispered In my f ear lo keep quiet ir I valued my life J. " 'Don't kill me" I cried IT ,j ' 'I don't Intend tn, hut the Indian j 1 IBfJ will If ho alit t dead yet,1 he answered. Eli! Never, as long as llfo lasts, will I forget gJ those hours that I las on the floor of rf that car, in Ihe extreme- daiknesa, tho Jj. cowboy filling mi me with revolver In J j, IH hand, neither of us knowing whether ' i IKt. the Indian was only shamming or was . ll leilly dead l'lnally we both heard n ill ll shun gutleral sound l f "'All right.1 said the cow boy 'that's 1 1 li flll the half-breed's death rattle Ho can't IIJ 1-tB work his game any mine and he inn- j IH ceeded lo light a inntch sun as It ;f) iH nured up, I saw the Indian lying on l bis buck, his eyes fixed and glassy III ' ' a few minutes the train slopped at 1,1 IH Neosho Mo. and we hnth sprang out. IKtB leaving the dead body In the car Thn r 1 l-H cowbo) placed one hand on my shnul- I ItVI der and said Haa "'Now young fellow I don t want no B trouble with me, so all snu'te got to 4 B do Is to Htlck liy me and lay low I , W BB don't piopnto to tuke any chances on IH )our gltlng me uwa) Ml tieut sou t 1 IH white hut If you make n break to get laB awas I'll land a bullet In sour biek ' - We miiile mil was to the village .'1 H saloon and ns we walked along I f.l H plucked up courage to ask my com- It l H I union why he had shot the Indian A H '"You never can trust an Indian,' (', H he mid 'When I saw the half breed j j nB was genemus enough tn clvr us a ,! IH elrlnk I thought there must bo some- f' 1 BB thing wrong, so I grabbed the bottle ' H fiom S"U und struck u m itch, and by f i, H the light I saw u turantula or Texas j (I H spider In thu whisky, which made It I H poison Had we diunk that stuff the .. H Indian would have been robbing our ' HV dead bodies.1 .ii HHl 'Ihe train had gone Its way, curry- fB Ing tho dead Indluu with It We went I J H to the hotel where a room was as- & H signed us The cowlioy neter let me J out or his sight. We ociupled the ( ill HB same bed that night and he made me K VM sleep on the side next tn the wall. .,4 Ht When I nwoko In the morning my com- J5 HH punlon was gone, and on tho bureau V, was n ten-dollar gold piece, also a ,8 H snap of paper on which was snawled: -.(' H " 'flood-bs s nunc man Neter trust .il H u redikln ' Jj" H "It was not until recently, when I a H rend of the trouble In tho lourt and R H of Illackblrd's misterlous disappeur- J H ame, thnt I put two i nd two together .if? H and realized that t alone could solvit AM H the nuiinei of bia death" KA H flake states that thu shock ot that A 5") awful night wus so great that he never jA t! eferred tn the murder before, but, i J H lenllzlng that his testimony would un- m H uivel nil the legnl compllcatlnnu that jjf H had arisen sliur, he determined to riU. jf H close tho teal fails. New Oi leans rio li H $ J |