Читать книгу Vigilante Days and Ways. The pioneers of the Rockies; the makers and making of Montana and Idaho онлайн

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Such was the melancholy fate of Patrick Ford,—a man long to be remembered as the friend of law and order,—the first, indeed, in the northern mines who dared to urge the extermination of the robbers, as the only remedy for their depredations. He literally sealed his principles with his life’s blood.

Ridgely’s wounds disabled him for service. He was taken by his companions to a ranche near the town, and as well cared for as circumstances would admit. Leaving him there, the other members of the band, fearful of the friends of Ford, seldom ventured beyond the limits of their camp.

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A new candidate for bloody laurels now appears in the person of Charley Harper. He arrived in Walla Walla in the Fall of 1861. A young man of twenty-five, of medium size, of erect carriage, clear, florid complexion, and profuse auburn hair, he could, but for the leer in his small inexpressive gray eye, have passed in any society for a gentleman. His previous life is a sealed book;—but the readiness with which he engaged in crime showed that he was not without experience. He told his landlord that he had no money, but that partners were coming who would relieve his necessities. The second night after his arrival, several hundred dollars in gold coin was stolen from a lodger who occupied the room adjoining his. While intoxicated the next day, he exhibited by the handful eagles which he said were borrowed from an acquaintance. No one doubted that he had stolen them; but where officers were believed to wink at crime, prosecution was useless. Charley was not even arrested upon suspicion. The money he had obtained introduced him to the society of the roughs, with whom he became so popular that he aspired to be their leader. This honor was disputed by Ridgely, whom we left wounded in the last chapter, and by Cherokee Bob, both of whom claimed precedence from longer residence and greater familiarity with the opportunities for distinction.