Eugene High School - Eugenean Yearbook (Eugene, OR)

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ui'-Ignflffgfvs .-If E P ' -,feip-.e-14 fu- vq 'cr -'Q fi -El' ' V ' I , ., 1. , - Q. ', I I .- ... A fe ,VI 3 , -ig 'LE 3 w ig, N in f . . .L ' .. V. -q a ,L ., ,. ,Q . .J V, ,J ,L -- a 3 EM 1- -E Ati? -z if : 521: nav... fix -'F-.1 :' I? ,!YiiE cm 'If 1 WM 'di'-17 fm: i - g . . ,I ind 9 A' I y , , .- - i Oregon Tttcfnty sewn dered where I had seen that revolver before. In a flash it came to me. Yesterday afternoon while passing through the street on my way to my office I had seen a cowboy struggling with an officer. At the policeman's foot was the self-same six-shooter. I now had the man placed, a marked man at that. with a nasty cut across his lip causing sev- eral teeth to show. I figured it out this way: The man had come to St. Louis for the ex- press purpose of robbing Rev. Smith who, it was rumored, was a miser. Arriving at night he had picked the locks and ransacked the house, at the same time making enough noise to awaken the rector who had come up behind him and knocked the revolver out of his handi I got no further. The door of my office was thrown open and a man of perhaps fifty years of age with perfectly white hair, entered. He had a hunted look about him and with a feeble voice began, almost with a whisper. You are Alfred Boxer, Notary Public, I be- lievef' Yes I replied, and glad to make your acquaintance. I You won't be though when you know me, he piped. I want to make an affidavit. I was astonished. This was to be one of my first affidavits, yet I kept my wits, picked up a short hand pad and commenced to write what he dictated. s'1i.-wit or oREooN, 5 jss. COUNTY OF ST. LOUIS. j I, Richard Day, being duly sworn. depose and say, that I am either wholly or partially respon- sible for the death of the late Rev. Smith. You persons who hear this read will understand better the events of last night, the tenth of March, 1908, if I give you an account of Rev. Smith's past history. Ten years ago Smith and I went to the same training school. XVe two friends were both try- ing to become preachers. During that term of 1898 a young lady, the sheriff's daughter, re- turned from college. Wfe both loved her the first moment we saw her and each of us being of jealous disposition began to hate the other. He won the girl and became a rector, while I went into an active business life. My career was unsuccessful for the simple reason that I fell in with bad company and became mixed up in some fraud and embezzlement cases. I then wrote a letter to the leader of the gang, I told him all about my plans and how I had worked them out. In some way or other Rev. Smith got hold of the letter and has extracted money from me ever since to keep from making the matter public. All these last eight years, I have lived on pins and needles until the last year being unable to raise the money, I resolved to destroy the paper. I had no revolver so I procured one last night from a cowboy and went on my way. A little before midnight I crept up, picked the lock to the front door, then the one to his room and began to search for the paper. I had just begun to look for secret places when I was startled by the Rev. Smith knocking the revolver from my hand. I shook him off and ran at full speed down the steps and out doors. For some reason never to be known I lingered. In about fifteen or twenty minutes, I saw some- body clothed in black rise from the room and walk along the edge of it to the gable window, pry it open and put something white in, then start to return. About half way back the Rev. Smith gave a muffled cry and pitched down headlong onto a stone bench. I, as you probably have guessed. ran for a doctor but was caught by a policeman who took me to the station. I was released this morning, because my reputation was good, and allowed to return home. I, as you can plainly see, will not live long. My senses are weakening and my strength is feeble. The paper will never be found for the reason that the house, God knows why, went up in flames this afternoon. At my trial this paper is to be read, for I am now going to surrender myself to the police and serve the term which is destined to be mine and which I pray will be a short one. RICHARD DAY, Subscribed and sworn to before me, and in 1ny presence, this elevtenth day of March, 1908. Alfred Boxer, Notary Public. Pk X wk :if PF af :lf if At the trial Richard Day was sentenced for burglary to one year and one day imprisonment in the state penitentiary, ten month of which he never served and never will. IV. L. S., 315.

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.FHM ave r . M ., o .3 . 6 - ,,s-.,,1,:u-.r.,, :.:.,,,,v.v- 1- -- it 1- .- . Eltgene Y 1-L ,?5. ,fq41r1k.. W - ..'-Ju, . t s-5 .rw si-'hgfigp 5, -ja.: j :A 15: -jg. .V L. 4 .. --- , r , . ' 1 5 ' f 4 5' V ...3 3 V. .J i 8 K.. , qhfig, h ,VZ ,s ,.:,,, 4 L4 ,Ab 4- ,.,-.L P . I - Q 1' my .5255 I .j-1 555- L-ri ' 54 ' ,:l:,'i-K I ffm 'Mn W1 I I xi. f 7 ' 1 E . ' , Ttc 611 fy-Six D ' ' Qreggn scream. They forgot it was perfectly useless to try to make themselves heard above the roar of the ocean. My! there he is now-Oh! Just coming right in the window! Oh! Ohlw-for there, right in the window, in full view appeared the head--of a horse! VVith one supreme effort, the terrified girls pulled their scattered wits together and laughed. Oh, that horrid old horse, grinned the somewhat shakey Edith. D. Dunn, ,I5. he Mystery of the ureli Yard -l,ii EV. Smith, rector of Episcopal church, - murdered. Found dead in churchyard with his head crushed. My interest was at once aroused by the news of the crime. I had plenty of time at my dis- posal having but recently been admitted to the bar and, with my inquisitive turn of mind it was na- tural for me to investigate the matter further. The neswaper account of the affair was as fol- lows: Soon after midnight a man was seen running along Ferry street, He was promptly arrested by an officer. The man who is a prominent citi- zen of this section of the city, upon inquiry said he was going for a doctor and that somebody was hurt. No amount of questioning could draw any further information from him. H.-Xfter a lengthy search it was found that Rev. Smith lay in the churchyard next to his church. His skull had been crushed causing instantaneous death. Vtfhat perplexed the cor- oner's jury was how any ordinary person could inflict such a wound. The especially peculiar part of the mystery is that Rev. Smith had the robes of the church over his night clothes. The rector's room was in con- fusion as if a burglar had rifled it. On the floor the police found an old style revolver, probably a cowboyls. 'KEarly this morning the arrseted man was released. The police are at a loss to determine how such a crime could be committed seemingly under their very noses. This promises to be the most interesting case that has occurred for several yearsu My mind was now fully made up. I would see the 'very place where the crime had been com- mitted and offer my assistance to the officers. As my case at court was set for ten and it was now eight, I had two hours to look over the grounds of the old Episcopal church and I determined to use the time well. The church was built on the corner of Ferry street and Edward's avenue, even with the side- walk. Next to it the rector lived in an L shaped house, the short leg of which was horizontal with the street. The long side on the back pointed to- wards the church. On the long wing of the house opened a small window from the gable. The rector slept in the short wing just over the street. Between the two buildings was an open court which was bounded on two sides by a tall iron picket fence and on the others by the church and house respectively. VValks were laid out and stone benches placed under the old shade trees. Gnly two doors led into this inclosure, one from each of the buildings. Being known by all the officers, I readily obtained permission to enter the house. I ex- amined first the doors and the room. All showed that some persons new at the art had been at work. The lock to the door on the street had been picked. The room was turned topsy-turvey as if one had searched for something. The re- volver was found on the floor where it had fallen. VVhen the police came, the door to the room was found locked on the inside with the key in the lock. The place and position where the body had fallen were marked out in chalk, for the police of this town take every possible precaution. Blood was all over the stone bench and had trickled down forming a minature pool underneath. Wliile still in the room of the rector, I won-

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if mHwI iii' - iw-'iii '+Wi f-1:w+ f.Pf4 w. - Page 'ffl ' ' Eugene Twcfzfy-czgltt ' Oregon he Goo oo Pig AS suh! I wuz in the army in the twenty- second cavalry and more 'n that I wuz on the line of battle in the Philippines. Didn' yuh even hear about the tim I wuz near being court martialed, jesse James, our new black cook continued. XVell, them sure were exciting times. I was a boy livin' in the south, a big fellah, but I was jest sixteen. Them nigger soldiers at the recruit- ing post looked mighty good to me, and me mam- mie had beaten me head the day before. I thinks now, Jessie James wouldn't it be nice to enlist. But yuh know suh, they makes you have some one swear, how old yuh are, an' I had no one to swear for nie. I Bout that time I got to talking to an old nigger and I talked around about enlistin, till he says: For our country's sake I'll stan' up foh youf' So up we goes and he swears I am his son Jessie James by legal marriage and that Ijni eighteen years old. The colored sergeant looked kind of doubhtful but let me in. Iit was all by luck suh, and still more, I got into the only company with a colored captain. But the nightia'fore there was a new moon and I had looked at it over my right shoulder. mAh! Yas, suh! 'Bout the court martial. XVell as I said, I wasn't court martialed, but, suh, I came most awfully nigh it. It was like this: One regiment had been sent to the Philippines on a big boat and then hurried to the front. Against them Gringoes, suh. That was sure some sight, we the niggers of the old south upholding the flag of this our nation 'gainst those dirty brown fel- lahsf' 'fW'ell, suh, one night I was on guard duty, after we had been there about three months, marching back and forth, back and forth, 'long the water front clos' to some big warehouses. That was a bad part of the city, them natives had picked several men off right roun' in there. As I marched along I heard a great grunt. Now I knew what was making that noise. There was a little goo goo pig that had lived 'roun' them warehouses, a good juicy lookin' little porkerf' Now them natives over theer was rather kind to us soldiers, most specially the wimmen folks, and natu'ally I had noticed them. Yas, suh, them wimmen over there were mighty fine and they knew ynough to honor and respec' a United States soldier. But there was one natu'ally nicer 'n the rest, Tankla was her name. Big black eyes, white teeth and the stiffest black hair. Yas, suh, 'bout the court martial. Thinks I, that pig would make most awfully fine eating, roasted with garlic and tomatoes, for Tankla, her folks and me. But thinks I, how can I get it. I can't ketch it an' I can't shoot it foh I would have the whole regiment out on top 0' me. I takes after it with my bayonet. Sah, yuh can't think how handy it was to kill one of them little goo goo pigs. I almost got it then away it goes right through my fingers almos', me after it and then I got it right through the shoulder. But sah what did I heah! VVhat did I head, suh! Private James -Private James, where are you? It was change of guards, and I was off my beat in the time of wah! Yes suh! I was liable to death according to the sixty-second article of wah! Lawd! how I begged of those fellahs not to take me to the guard house. But I says nothing 'bout Mr. Goo Goo Pig. But suhl they marched me straight foh the guard house, all cause of a goo goo pig. Scared? if yuh eve' saw a scared nigger, I was one. My knees trembled and my teeth chattered. Yas suh, I always thought I was not scared to die, but I guess even a soldier loves life. All night long in the guard house I thought of Tankla, the goo goo pig and how it would end with a shot the next day. In the night sure as I live, I saw the Angel Gabriel, the preacher used to tell 'bout. W'ell, next morning I got up and soon I was taken to the captain. Captain Young, the only colored commissioned officer in the army. He -,nd his staff was there. Lawd but I was scared when Captain Young says: Private James, yuh are accused of breaking the sixty-second article of wah. Private James, are these charges true. Yash suhf' says I, they are true.