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+Project Gutenberg's The Case of Summerfield, by William Henry Rhodes
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Case of Summerfield
+
+Author: William Henry Rhodes
+
+Release Date: February, 2004  [EBook #5191]
+Posting Date: March 25, 2009
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David A. Schwan
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD
+
+By William Henry Rhodes
+
+
+With an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner
+
+
+
+
+THE INTRODUCTION
+
+
+
+The greatest master of the short story our country has known found his
+inspiration and produced his best work in California. It is now nearly
+forty years since "The Luck of Roaring Camp" appeared, and a line of
+successors, more or less worthy, have been following along the
+trail blazed by Bret Harte. They have given us matter of many kinds,
+realistic, romantic, tragic, humorous, weird. In this mass of material
+much that was good has been lost. The columns of newspapers swallowed
+some; weeklies, that lived for a brief day, carried others to the grave
+with them. Now and then chance or design interposed, and some fragment
+of value was not allowed to perish. It is matter for congratulation that
+the story in this volume was one of those saved from oblivion.
+
+In 1871 a San Francisco paper published a tale entitled The Case of
+Summerfield. The author concealed himself under the name of "Caxton," a
+pseudonym unknown at the time. The story made an immediate impression,
+and the remote little world by the Golden Gate was shaken into startled
+and enquiring astonishment. Wherever people met, The Case of Summerfield
+was on men's tongues. Was Caxton's contention possible? Was it true
+that, by the use of potassium, water could be set on fire, and that
+any one possessing this baneful secret could destroy the world? The
+plausibility with which the idea was presented, the bare directness
+of the style, added to its convincing power. It sounded too real to be
+invention, was told with too frank a simplicity to be all imagination.
+People could not decide where truth and fiction blended, and the name of
+Caxton leaped into local fame.
+
+The author of the tale was a lawyer, W. H. Rhodes, a man of standing and
+ability, interested in scientific research. He had written little; what
+time he had been able to spare from his work, had been given to studies
+in chemistry whence he had drawn the inspiration for such stories as The
+Case of Summerfield. With him the writing of fiction was a pastime, not
+a profession. He wrote because he wanted to, from the urgence of an idea
+pressing for utterance, not from the more imperious necessity of keeping
+the pot boiling and of there being a roof against the rain. Literary
+creation was to him a rest, a matter of holiday in the daily round of a
+man's labor to provide for his own.
+
+His output was small. One slender volume contains all he wrote: a few
+poems, half a dozen stories. In all of these we can feel the spell
+exercised over him by the uncanny, the terrible, the weirdly grotesque.
+His imagination played round those subjects of fantastic horror which
+had so potent an attraction for Fitz James O'Brien, the writer whom he
+most resembles. There was something of Poe's cold pleasure in
+dissecting the abnormally horrible in "The Story of John Pollexfen,"
+the photographer, who, in order to discover a certain kind of lens,
+experimented with living eyes. His cat and dog each lost an eye, and
+finally a young girl was found willing to sell one of hers that she
+might have money to help her lover. But none of the other stories shows
+the originality and impressively realistic tone which distinguish The
+Case of Summerfield. In this he achieved the successful combination of
+audacity of theme with a fitting incisiveness of style. It alone rises
+above the level of the merely ingenious and clever; it alone of his work
+was worth preserving.
+
+Scattered through the ranks of writers, part of whose profession is a
+continuous, unflagging output, are these "one story men," who, in some
+propitious moment, when the powers of brain and heart are intensified by
+a rare and happy alchemy, produce a single masterpiece. The vision
+and the dream have once been theirs, and, though they may never again
+return, the product of the glowing moment is ours to rejoice in and
+wonder at. Unfortunately the value of these accidental triumphs is not
+always seen. They go their way and are submerged in the flood of fiction
+that the presses pour upon a defenseless country. Now and then one
+unexpectedly hears of them, their unfamiliar titles rise to the surface
+when writers gather round the table. An investigator in the forgotten
+files of magazinedom has found one, and tells of his treasure trove as
+the diver of his newly discovered pearl. Then comes a publisher, who,
+diligent and patient, draws them from their hiding-places, shakes off
+the dust, and gives them to a public which once applauded and has since
+forgotten.
+
+Such has been the fate of The Case of Summerfield. Thirty-five years
+ago, in the town that clustered along the edge of San Francisco Bay, it
+had its brief award of attention. But the San Francisco of that day
+was very distant--a gleam on the horizon against the blue line of the
+Pacific. It took a mighty impetus to carry its decisions and opinions
+across the wall of the Sierra and over the desert to the East. Fame and
+reputation, unless the greatest, had not vitality for so long a flight.
+So the strange and fantastic story should come as a discovery, the one
+remarkable achievement of an unknown author, who, unfortunately, is no
+longer here to enjoy an Indian summer of popularity.
+
+Geraldine Bonner.
+
+
+
+
+THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD
+
+
+
+The following manuscript was found among the effects of the late
+Leonidas Parker, in relation to one Gregory Summerfield, or, as he was
+called at the time those singular events first attracted public notice,
+"The Man with a Secret." Parker was an eminent lawyer, a man of firm
+will, fond of dabbling in the occult sciences, but never allowing this
+tendency to interfere with the earnest practice of his profession. This
+astounding narrative is prefaced by the annexed clipping from the Auburn
+Messenger of November 1, 1870:
+
+A few days since, we called public attention to the singular conduct of
+James G. Wilkins, justice of the peace for the "Cape Horn" district, in
+this county, in discharging without trial a man named Parker, who was,
+as we still think, seriously implicated in the mysterious death of an
+old man named Summerfield, who, our readers will probably remember, met
+so tragical an end on the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, in the
+month of October last. We have now to record another bold outrage on
+public justice, in connection with the same affair. The grand jury of
+Placer County has just adjourned, without finding any bill against the
+person named above. Not only did they refuse to find a true bill, or
+to make any presentment, but they went one step further toward the
+exoneration of the offender; they specially ignored the indictment which
+our district attorney deemed it his duty to present. The main facts in
+relation to the arrest and subsequent discharge of Parker may be summed
+up in few words:
+
+It appears that, about the last of October, one Gregory Summerfield,
+an old man nearly seventy years of age, in company with Parker, took
+passage for Chicago, via the Pacific Railroad, and about the middle of
+the afternoon reached the neighborhood of Cape Horn, in this county.
+Nothing of any special importance seems to have attracted the attention
+of any of the passengers toward these persons until a few moments before
+passing the dangerous curve in the track, overlooking the North Fork of
+the American River, at the place called Cape Horn. As our readers
+are aware, the road at this point skirts a precipice, with rocky
+perpendicular sides, extending to the bed of the stream, nearly
+seventeen hundred feet below. Before passing the curve, Parker was heard
+to comment upon the sublimity of the scenery they were approaching, and
+finally requested the old man to leave the car and stand upon the open
+platform, in order to obtain a better view of the tremendous chasm
+and the mountains just beyond. The two men left the car, and a moment
+afterward a cry of horror was heard by all the passengers, and the
+old man was observed to fall at least one thousand feet upon the crags
+below. The train was stopped for a few moments, but, fearful of a
+collision if any considerable length of time should be lost in an
+unavailing search for the mangled remains, it soon moved on again,
+and proceeded as swiftly as possible to the next station. There the
+miscreant Parker was arrested, and conveyed to the office of the nearest
+justice of the peace for examination. We understand that he refused to
+give any detailed account of the transaction, only that "the deceased
+either fell or was thrown from the moving train."
+
+The examination was postponed until the arrival of Parker's counsel,
+O'Connell & Kilpatrick, of Grass Valley, and after they reached Cape
+Horn not a single word could be extracted from the prisoner. It is said
+that the inquisition was a mere farce; there being no witnesses present
+except one lady passenger, who, with commendable spirit, volunteered to
+lay over one day, to give in her testimony. We also learn that, after
+the trial, the justice, together with the prisoner and his counsel, were
+closeted in secret session for more than two hours; at the expiration of
+which time the judge resumed his seat upon the bench, and discharged the
+prisoner!
+
+Now, we have no desire to do injustice toward any of the parties to
+this singular transaction, much less to arm public sentiment against
+an innocent man. But we do affirm that there is, there must be, some
+profound mystery at the bottom of this affair, and we shall do our
+utmost to fathom the secret.
+
+Yes, there is a secret and mystery connected with the disappearance of
+Summerfield, and the sole object of this communication is to clear it
+up, and place myself right in the public estimation. But, in order to
+do so, it becomes essentially necessary to relate all the circumstances
+connected with my first and subsequent acquaintance with Summerfield. To
+do this intelligibly, I shall have to go back twenty-two years.
+
+It is well known amongst my intimate friends that I resided in the late
+Republic of Texas for many years antecedent to my immigration to this
+State. During the year 1847, whilst but a boy, and residing on the
+sea-beach some three or four miles from the city of Galveston, Judge
+Wheeler, at that time Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, paid
+us a visit, and brought with him a gentleman, whom he had known several
+years previously on the Sabine River, in the eastern part of that State.
+This gentleman was introduced to us by the name of Summerfield. At
+that time he was past the prime of life, slightly gray, and inclined to
+corpulency. He was of medium height, and walked proudly erect, as though
+conscious of superior mental attainments. His face was one of those
+which, once seen, can never be forgotten. The forehead was broad, high,
+and protuberant. It was, besides, deeply graven with wrinkles, and
+altogether was the most intellectual that I had ever seen. It bore some
+resemblance to that of Sir Isaac Newton, but still more to Humboldt or
+Webster. The eyes were large, deep-set, and lustrous with a light that
+seemed kindled in their own depths. In color they were gray, and whilst
+in conversation absolutely blazed with intellect. His mouth was large,
+but cut with all the precision of a sculptor's chiseling. He was rather
+pale, but, when excited, his complexion lit up with a sudden rush of
+ruddy flushes, that added something like beauty to his half-sad and
+half-sardonic expression. A word and a glance told me at once, this is a
+most extraordinary man.
+
+Judge Wheeler knew but little of the antecedents of Summerfield. He was
+of Northern birth, but of what State it is impossible to say definitely.
+Early in life he removed to the frontier of Arkansas, and pursued for
+some years the avocation of village schoolmaster. It was the suggestion
+of Judge Wheeler that induced him to read law. In six months' time he
+had mastered Story's Equity, and gained an important suit, based upon
+one of its most recondite principles. But his heart was not in the
+legal profession, and he made almost constant sallies into the fields of
+science, literature and art. He was a natural mathematician and was the
+most profound and original arithmetician in the Southwest. He frequently
+computed the astronomical tables for the almanacs of New Orleans,
+Pensacola and Mobile, and calculated eclipse, transit and observations
+with ease and perfect accuracy. He was also deeply read in metaphysics,
+and wrote and published, in the old Democratic Review for 1846, an
+article on the "Natural Proof of the Existence of a Deity," that for
+beauty of language, depth of reasoning, versatility of illustration, and
+compactness of logic, has never been equaled. The only other publication
+which at that period he had made, was a book that astonished all of his
+friends, both in title and execution. It was called "The Desperadoes of
+the West," and purported to give minute details of the lives of some of
+the most noted duelists and bloodstained villains in the Western States.
+But the book belied its title. It is full of splendid description and
+original thought. No volume in the language contains so many eloquent
+passages and such gorgeous imagery, in the same space. His plea for
+immortality, on beholding the execution of one of the most noted
+culprits of Arkansas, has no parallel in any living language for beauty
+of diction and power of thought. As my sole object in this communication
+is to defend myself, some acquaintance with the mental resources of
+Summerfield is absolutely indispensable; for his death was the immediate
+consequence of his splendid attainments. Of chemistry he was a complete
+master. He describes it in his article on a Deity, above alluded to, as
+the "Youngest Daughter of the Sciences, born amid flames, and cradled
+in rollers of fire." If there were any one science to which he was more
+specially devoted than to any and all others, it was chemistry. But he
+really seemed an adept in all, and shone about everywhere with equal
+lustre.
+
+Many of these characteristics were mentioned by Judge Wheeler at the
+time of Summerfield's visit to Galveston, but others subsequently came
+to my knowledge, after his retreat to Brownsville, on the banks of the
+Rio Grande. There he filled the position of Judge of the District Court,
+and such was his position just previous to his arrival in this city in
+the month of September of the past year.
+
+One day, toward the close of last September, an old man rapped at my
+office door, and on invitation came in, and advancing, called me by
+name. Perceiving that I did not at first recognize him, he introduced
+himself as Gregory Summerfield. After inviting him to a seat, I
+scrutinized his features more closely, and quickly identified him as
+the same person whom I had met twenty-two years before. He was greatly
+altered in appearance, but the lofty forehead and the gray eye were
+still there, unchanged and unchangeable. He was not quite so stout,
+but more ruddy in complexion, and exhibited some symptoms, as I then
+thought, of intemperate drinking. Still there was the old charm of
+intellectual superiority in his conversation, and I welcomed him to
+California as an important addition to her mental wealth.
+
+It was not many minutes before he requested a private interview. He
+followed me into my back office, carefully closed the door after him and
+locked it. We had scarcely seated ourselves before he inquired of me
+if I had noticed any recent articles in the newspapers respecting the
+discovery of the art of decomposing water so as to fit it for use as a
+fuel for ordinary purposes?
+
+I replied that I had observed nothing new upon that subject since
+the experiments of Agassiz and Professor Henry, and added that, in my
+opinion, the expensive mode of reduction would always prevent its use.
+
+In a few words he then informed me that he had made the discovery
+that the art was extremely simple, and the expense attending the
+decomposition so slight as to be insignificant.
+
+Presuming then that the object of his visit to me was to procure the
+necessary forms to get out a patent for the right, I congratulated him
+upon his good fortune, and was about to branch forth with a description
+of some of the great benefits that must ensue to the community, when he
+suddenly and somewhat uncivilly requested me to "be silent," and listen
+to what he had to say.
+
+He began with some general remarks about the inequality of fortune
+amongst mankind, and instanced himself as a striking example of the fate
+of those men, who, according to all the rules of right, ought to be near
+the top, instead of at the foot of the ladder of fortune. "But," said
+he, springing to his feet with impulsive energy, "I have now the means
+at my command of rising superior to fate, or of inflicting incalculable
+ills upon the whole human race."
+
+Looking at him more closely, I thought I could detect in his eye
+the gleam of madness; but I remained silent and awaited further
+developments. But my scrutiny, stolen as it was, had been detected, and
+he replied at once to the expression of my face: "No, sir; I am neither
+drunk nor a maniac; I am in deep earnest in all that I say; and I am
+fully prepared, by actual experiment, to demonstrate beyond all doubt
+the truth of all I claim."
+
+For the first time I noticed that he carried a small portmanteau in his
+hand; this he placed upon the table, unlocked it, and took out two
+or three small volumes, a pamphlet or two, and a small, square,
+wide-mouthed vial, hermetically sealed.
+
+I watched him with profound curiosity, and took note of his slightest
+movements. Having arranged his books to suit him, and placed the vial in
+a conspicuous position, he drew up his chair very closely to my own, and
+uttered in a half-hissing tone: "I demand one million dollars for the
+contents of that bottle; and you must raise it for me in the city of
+San Francisco within one month, or scenes too terrible even for the
+imagination to conceive, will surely be witnessed by every living human
+being on the face of the globe."
+
+The tone, the manner, and the absurd extravagance of the demand, excited
+a faint smile upon my lips, which he observed, but disdained to notice.
+
+My mind was fully made up that I had a maniac to deal with, and I
+prepared to act accordingly. But I ascertained at once that my inmost
+thoughts were read by the remarkable man before me, and seemed to be
+anticipated by him in advance of their expression.
+
+"Perhaps," said I, "Mr. Summerfield, you would oblige me by informing me
+fully of the grounds of your claim, and the nature of your discovery."
+
+"That is the object of my visit," he replied. "I claim to have
+discovered the key which unlocks the constituent gases of water, and
+frees each from the embrace of the other, at a single touch."
+
+"You mean to assert," I rejoined, "that you can make water burn itself
+up?"
+
+"Nothing more nor less," he responded, "except this: to insist upon the
+consequences of the secret, if my demand be not at once complied with."
+
+Then, without pausing for a moment to allow me to make a suggestion, as
+I once or twice attempted to do, he proceeded in a clear and deliberate
+manner, in these words: "I need not inform you, sir, that when this
+earth was created, it consisted almost wholly of vapor, which, by
+condensation, finally became water. The oceans now occupy more than
+two-thirds of the entire surface of the globe. The continents are mere
+islands in the midst of the seas. They are everywhere oceanbound, and
+the hyperborean north is hemmed in by open polar seas. Such is my first
+proposition. My second embraces the constituent elements of water. What
+is that thing which we call water? Chemistry, that royal queen of all
+the sciences, answers readily: 'Water is but the combination of two
+gases, oxygen and hydrogen, and in the proportion of eight to one.' In
+other words, in order to form water, take eight parts of oxygen and one
+of hydrogen, mix them together, and the result or product is water.
+You smile, sir, because, as you very properly think, these are the
+elementary principles of science, and are familiar to the minds of every
+schoolboy twelve years of age. Yes! but what next? Suppose you take
+these same gases and mix them in any other proportion, I care not what,
+and the instantaneous result is heat, flame, combustion of the intensest
+description. The famous Drummond Light, that a few years ago astonished
+Europe what is that but the ignited flame of a mixture of oxygen and
+hydrogen projected against a small piece of lime? What was harmless as
+water, becomes the most destructive of all known objects when decomposed
+and mixed in any other proportion.
+
+"Now, suppose I fling the contents of this small vial into the Pacific
+Ocean, what would be the result? Dare you contemplate it for an instant?
+I do not assert that the entire surface of the sea would instantaneously
+bubble up into insufferable flames; no, but from the nucleus of a
+circle, of which this vial would be the center, lurid radii of flames
+would gradually shoot outward, until the blazing circumference would
+roll in vast billows of fire, upon the uttermost shores. Not all the
+dripping clouds of the deluge could extinguish it. Not all the tears of
+saints and angels could for an instant check its progress. On and onward
+it would sweep, with the steady gait of destiny, until the continents
+would melt with fervent heat, the atmosphere glare with the ominous
+conflagration, and all living creatures, in land and sea and air, perish
+in one universal catastrophe."
+
+Then suddenly starting to his feet, he drew himself up to his full
+height, and murmured solemnly, "I feel like a God! and I recognize my
+fellow-men but as pygmies that I spurn beneath my feet."
+
+"Summerfield," said I calmly, "there must be some strange error in all
+this. You are self-deluded. The weapon which you claim to wield is one
+that a good God and a beneficent Creator would never intrust to the
+keeping of a mere creature. What, sir! create a world as grand and
+beautiful as this, and hide within its bosom a principle that at any
+moment might inwrap it in flames, and sink all life in death? I'll not
+believe it; 't were blasphemy to entertain the thought!"
+
+"And yet," cried he passionately, "your Bible prophesies the same
+irreverence. Look at your text in 2d Peter, third chapter, seventh and
+twelfth verses. Are not the elements to melt with fervent heat? Are not
+the 'heavens to be folded together like a scroll?' Are not 'the rocks to
+melt, the stars to fall, and the moon to be turned into blood?' Is not
+fire the next grand cyclic consummation of all things here below? But I
+come fully prepared to answer such objections. Your argument betrays a
+narrow mind, circumscribed in its orbit, and shallow in its depth. 'Tis
+the common thought of mediocrity. You have read books too much, and
+studied nature too little. Let me give you a lesson today in the
+workshop of Omnipotence. Take a stroll with me into the limitless
+confines of space, and let us observe together some of the scenes
+transpiring at this very instant around us. A moment ago you spoke of
+the moon: what is she but an extinguished world? You spoke of the sun:
+what is he but a globe of flame? But here is the Cosmos of Humboldt.
+Read this paragraph."
+
+As he said this he placed before me the Cosmos of Humboldt, and I read
+as follows:
+
+Nor do the Heavens themselves teach unchangeable permanency in the works
+of creation. Change is observable there quite as rapid and complete as
+in the confines of our solar system. In the year 1752, one of the small
+stars in the constellation Cassiopeia blazed up suddenly into an orb
+of the first magnitude, gradually decreased in brilliancy, and finally
+disappeared from the skies. Nor has it ever been visible since that
+period for a single moment, either to the eye or to the telescope. It
+burned up and was lost in space.
+
+"Humboldt," he added, "has not told us who set that world on fire!"
+
+"But," resumed he, "I have still clearer proofs."
+
+Saying this, he thrust into my hands the last London Quarterly, and on
+opening the book at an article headed "The Language of Light," I read
+with a feeling akin to awe, the following passage:
+
+Further, some stars exhibit changes of complexion in themselves. Sirius,
+as before stated, was once a ruddy, or rather a fiery-faced orb, but has
+now forgotten to blush, and looks down upon us with a pure, brilliant
+smile, in which there is no trace either of anger or of shame. On the
+countenances of others, still more varied traits have rippled, within a
+much briefer period of time. May not these be due to some physiological
+revolutions, general or convulsive, which are in progress in the
+particular orb, and which, by affecting the constitution of its
+atmosphere, compel the absorption or promote the transmission of
+particular rays? The supposition appears by no means improbable,
+especially if we call to mind the hydrogen volcanoes which have been
+discovered on the photosphere of the sun. Indeed, there are a few small
+stars which afford a spectrum of bright lines instead of dark ones, and
+this we know denotes a gaseous or vaporized state of things, from which
+it maybe inferred that such orbs are in a different condition from most
+of their relations.
+
+And, as if for the very purpose of throwing light upon this interesting
+question, an event of the most striking character occurred in the
+heavens, almost as soon as the spectroscopists were prepared to
+interpret it correctly.
+
+On the 12th of May, 1866, a great conflagration, infinitely larger than
+that of London or Moscow, was announced. To use the expression of a
+distinguished astronomer, a world was found to be on fire! A star, which
+till then had shone weakly and unobtrusively in the corona borealis,
+suddenly blazed up into a luminary of the second magnitude. In the
+course of three days from its discovery in this new character, by
+Birmingham, at Tuam, it had declined to the third or fourth order of
+brilliancy. In twelve days, dating from its first apparition in the
+Irish heavens, it had sunk to the eighth rank, and it went on waning
+until the 26th of June, when it ceased to be discernible except through
+the medium of the telescope. This was a remarkable, though certainly
+not an unprecedented proceeding on the part of a star; but one singular
+circumstance in its behavior was that, after the lapse of nearly two
+months, it began to blaze up again, though not with equal ardor, and
+after maintaining its glow for a few weeks, and passing through sundry
+phases of color, it gradually paled its fires, and returned to its
+former insignificance. How many years had elapsed since this awful
+conflagration actually took place, it would be presumptuous to guess;
+but it must be remembered that news from the heavens, though carried by
+the fleetest of messengers, light, reaches us long after the event has
+transpired, and that the same celestial carrier is still dropping the
+tidings at each station it reaches in space, until it sinks exhausted by
+the length of its flight.
+
+As the star had suddenly flamed up, was it not a natural supposition
+that it had become inwrapped in burning hydrogen, which in consequence
+of some great convulsion had been liberated in prodigious quantities,
+and then combining with other elements, had set this hapless world on
+fire? In such a fierce conflagration, the combustible gas would soon be
+consumed, and the glow would therefore begin to decline, subject, as in
+this case, to a second eruption, which occasioned the renewed outburst
+of light on the 20th of August.
+
+By such a catastrophe, it is not wholly impossible that our own globe
+may some time be ravaged; for if a word from the Almighty were to
+unloose for a few moments the bonds of affinity which unite the elements
+of water, a single spark would bring them together with a fury that
+would kindle the funeral pyre of the human race, and be fatal to the
+planet and all the works that are thereon.
+
+"Your argument," he then instantly added, "is by no means a good one.
+What do we know of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, or of his
+designs? He builds up worlds, and he pulls them down; he kindles suns
+and he extinguishes them. He inflames the comet, in one portion of its
+orbit, with a heat that no human imagination can conceive of; and in
+another, subjects the same blazing orb to a cold intenser than that
+which invests forever the antarctic pole. All that we know of Him we
+gather through His works. I have shown you that He burns other worlds,
+why not this? The habitable parts of our globe are surrounded by water,
+and water you know is fire in possibility."
+
+"But all this," I rejoined, "is pure, baseless, profitless speculation."
+
+"Not so fast," he answered. And then rising, he seized the small vial,
+and handing it to me, requested me to open it.
+
+I confess I did so with some trepidation.
+
+"Now smell it."
+
+I did so.
+
+"What odor do you perceive?"
+
+"Potassium," I replied.
+
+"Of course," he added, "you are familiar with the chief characteristic
+of that substance. It ignites instantly when brought in contact with
+water. Within that little globule of potassium, I have imbedded a pill
+of my own composition and discovery. The moment it is liberated from the
+potassium, it commences the work of decomposing the fluid on which it
+floats. The potassium at once ignites the liberated oxygen, and the
+conflagration of this mighty globe is begun."
+
+"Yes," said I, "begun, if you please, but your little pill soon
+evaporates or sinks, or melts in the surrounding seas, and your
+conflagration ends just where it began."
+
+"My reply to that suggestion could be made at once by simply testing
+the experiment on a small scale, or a large one, either. But I prefer
+at present to refute your proposition by an argument drawn from nature
+herself. If you correctly remember, the first time I had the pleasure
+of seeing you was on the island of Galveston, many years ago. Do you
+remember relating to me at that time an incident concerning the effects
+of a prairie on fire, that you had yourself witnessed but a few days
+previously, near the town of Matagorde? If I recollect correctly, you
+stated that on your return journey from that place, you passed on the
+way the charred remains of two wagon-loads of cotton, and three human
+beings, that the night before had perished in the flames; that three
+slaves, the property of a Mr. Horton, had started a few days before to
+carry to market a shipment of cotton; that a norther overtook them on
+a treeless prairie, and a few minutes afterward they were surprised by
+beholding a line of rushing fire, surging, roaring and advancing like
+the resistless billows of an ocean swept by a gale; that there was no
+time for escape, and they perished terribly in fighting the devouring
+element?"
+
+"Yes; I recollect the event."
+
+"Now, then, I wish a reply to the simple question: Did the single spark,
+that kindled the conflagration, consume the negroes and their charge?
+No? But what did? You reply, of course, that the spark set the entire
+prairie on fire; that each spear of grass added fuel to the flame, and
+kindled by degrees a conflagration that continued to burn so long as
+it could feed on fresh material. The pilule in that vial is the little
+spark, the oceans are the prairies, and the oxygen the fuel upon which
+the fire is to feed until the globe perishes in inextinguishable flames.
+The elementary substances in that small vial recreate themselves; they
+are self-generating, and when once fairly under way must necessarily
+sweep onward, until the waters in all the seas are exhausted. There is,
+however, one great difference between the burning of a prairie and the
+combustion of an ocean: the fire in the first spreads slowly, for the
+fuel is difficult to ignite; in the last, it flies with the rapidity
+of the wind, for the substance consumed is oxygen, the most inflammable
+agent in nature."
+
+Rising from my seat, I went to the washstand in the corner of the
+apartment, and drawing a bowl half full of Spring Valley water, I turned
+to Summerfield, and remarked, "Words are empty, theories are ideal--but
+facts are things."
+
+"I take you at your word." So saying, he approached the bowl, emptied
+it of nine-tenths of its contents, and silently dropped the
+potassium-coated pill into the liquid. The potassium danced around the
+edges of the vessel, fuming, hissing, and blazing, as it always does,
+and seemed on the point of expiring--when, to my astonishment and alarm,
+a sharp explosion took place, and in a second of time the water was
+blazing in a red, lurid column, half way to the ceiling.
+
+"For God's sake," I cried, "extinguish the flames, or we shall set the
+building on fire!"
+
+"Had I dropped the potassium into the bowl as you prepared it," he
+quietly remarked, "the building would indeed have been consumed."
+
+Lower and lower fell the flickering flames, paler and paler grew the
+blaze, until finally the fire went out, and I rushed up to see the
+effects of the combustion.
+
+Not a drop of water remained in the vessel! Astonished beyond measure at
+what I had witnessed, and terrified almost to the verge of insanity, I
+approached Summerfield, and tremblingly inquired, "To whom, sir, is
+this tremendous secret known?" "To myself alone," he responded; "and now
+answer me a question: is it worth the money?"
+
+
+
+* * * * *
+
+
+
+It is entirely unnecessary to relate in detail the subsequent events
+connected with this transaction. I will only add a general statement,
+showing the results of my negotiations. Having fully satisfied myself
+that Summerfield actually held in his hands the fate of the whole world,
+with its millions of human beings, and by experiment having tested the
+combustion of sea-water, with equal facility as fresh, I next deemed
+it my duty to call the attention of a few of the principal men in San
+Francisco to the extreme importance of Summerfield's discovery.
+
+A leading banker, a bishop, a chemist, two State university professors,
+a physician, a judge, and two Protestant divines, were selected by me
+to witness the experiment on a large scale. This was done at a small
+sand-hill lake, near the seashore, but separated from it by a ridge of
+lofty mountains, distant not more than ten miles from San Francisco.
+Every single drop of water in the pool was burnt up in less than fifteen
+minutes. We next did all that we could to pacify Summerfield, and
+endeavored to induce him to lower his price and bring it within the
+bounds of a reasonable possibility. But without avail. He began to grow
+urgent in his demands, and his brow would cloud like a tempest-ridden
+sky whenever we approached him on the subject. Finally, ascertaining
+that no persuasion could soften his heart or touch his feelings, a
+sub-committee was appointed, to endeavor, if possible, to raise the
+money by subscription. Before taking that step, however, we ascertained
+beyond all question that Summerfield was the sole custodian of his
+dread secret, and that he kept no written memorial of the formula of his
+prescription. He even went so far as to offer us a penal bond that his
+secret should perish with him in case we complied with his demands.
+
+The sub-committee soon commenced work amongst the wealthiest citizens
+of San Francisco, and by appealing to the terrors of a few, and the
+sympathies of all, succeeded in raising one-half the amount within
+the prescribed period. I shall never forget the woe-begone faces of
+California Street during the month of October. The outside world and
+the newspapers spoke most learnedly of a money panic--a pressure in
+business, and the disturbances in the New York gold-room. But to the
+initiated, there was an easier solution of the enigma. The pale spectre
+of Death looked down upon them all, and pointed with its bony finger
+to the fiery tomb of the whole race, already looming up in the distance
+before them. Day after day, I could see the dreadful ravages of this
+secret horror; doubly terrible, since they dared not divulge it. Still,
+do all that we could, the money could not be obtained. The day preceding
+the last one given, Summerfield was summoned before the committee, and
+full information given him of the state of affairs. Obdurate, hard and
+cruel, he still continued. Finally, a proposition was started, that an
+attempt should be made to raise the other half of the money in the city
+of New York. To this proposal Summerfield ultimately yielded, but with
+extreme reluctance. It was agreed in committee that I should accompany
+him thither, and take with me, in my own possession, evidences of the
+sums subscribed here; that a proper appeal should be made to the leading
+capitalists, scholars and clergymen of that metropolis, and that, when
+the whole amount was raised, it should be paid over to Summerfield, and
+a bond taken from him never to divulge his awful secret to any human
+being.
+
+With this, he seemed to be satisfied, and left us to prepare for his
+going the next morning.
+
+As soon as he left the apartment, the bishop rose, and deprecated the
+action that had been taken, and characterized it as childish and absurd.
+He declared that no man was safe one moment whilst "that diabolical
+wretch" still lived; that the only security for us all was in his
+immediate extirpation from the face of the earth, and that no amount of
+money could seal his lips, or close his hands. It would be no crime,
+he said, to deprive him of the means of assassinating the whole human
+family, and that as for himself he was for dooming him to immediate
+death.
+
+With a unanimity that was extraordinary, the entire committee coincided.
+
+A great many plans were proposed, discussed and rejected, having in view
+the extermination of Summerfield. In them all there was the want of
+that proper caution which would lull the apprehensions of an enemy;
+for should he for an instant suspect treachery, we knew his nature well
+enough to be satisfied, that he would waive all ceremonies and carry his
+threats into immediate execution.
+
+It was finally resolved that the trip to New York should not be
+abandoned, apparently. But that we were to start out in accordance with
+the original program; that during the journey, some proper means should
+be resorted to by me to carry out the final intentions of the committee,
+and that whatever I did would be sanctioned by them all, and full
+protection, both in law and conscience, afforded me in any stage of the
+proceeding.
+
+Nothing was wanting but my own consent; but this was difficult to
+secure.
+
+At the first view, it seemed to be a most horrible and unwarrantable
+crime to deprive a fellow-being of life, under any circumstances; but
+especially so where, in meeting his fate, no opportunity was to be
+afforded him for preparation or repentance. It was a long time before
+I could disassociate, in my mind, the two ideas of act and intent. My
+studies had long ago made me perfectly familiar with the doctrine of the
+civil law, that in order to constitute guilt, there must be a union
+of action and intention. Taking the property of another is not theft,
+unless, as the lawyers term it, there is the animus furandi. So, in
+homicide, life may be lawfully taken in some instances, whilst the deed
+may be excused in others. The sheriff hangs the felon and deprives him
+of existence; yet nobody thinks of accusing the officer of murder. The
+soldier slays his enemy, still the act is considered heroical. It does
+not therefore follow that human life is too sacred to be taken away
+under all circumstances. The point to be considered was thus narrowed
+down into one grand inquiry, whether Summerfield was properly to be
+regarded as hostis humani generis, the enemy of the human race, or not.
+If he should justly be so considered, then it would not only be not a
+crime to kill him, but an act worthy of the highest commendation. Who
+blamed McKenzie for hanging Spencer to the yard-arm? Yet in his case,
+the lives of only a small ship's crew were in jeopardy. Who condemned
+Pompey for exterminating the pirates from the Adriatic? Yet, in
+his case, only a small portion of the Roman Republic was liable to
+devastation. Who accuses Charlotte Corday of assassination for stabbing
+Marat in his bath? Still, her arm only saved the lives of a few
+thousands of revolutionary Frenchmen. And to come down to our own times,
+who heaps accusation upon the heads of Lincoln, Thomas or Sheridan, or
+even Grant, though in marching to victory over a crushed rebellion, they
+deemed it necessary to wade through seas of human gore? If society has
+the right to defend itself from the assaults of criminals, who, at best,
+can only destroy a few of its members, why should I hesitate when it was
+apparent that the destiny of the globe itself hung in the balance? If
+Summerfield should live and carry out his threats, the whole world would
+feel the shock; his death was the only path to perfect safety.
+
+I asked the privilege of meditation for one hour, at the hands of the
+committee, before I would render a decision either way. During that
+recess the above argumentation occupied my thoughts. The time expired,
+and I again presented myself before them. I did not deem it requisite
+to state the grounds of my decision; I briefly signified my assent, and
+made instant preparation to carry the plan into execution.
+
+Having passed on the line of the Pacific Railway more than once, I was
+perfectly familiar with all of its windings, gorges and precipices.
+
+I selected Cape Horn as the best adapted to the purpose, and... the
+public knows the rest.
+
+Having been fully acquitted by two tribunals of the law, I make
+this final appeal to my fellowmen throughout the State, and ask them
+confidently not to reverse the judgments already pronounced.
+
+I am conscious of no guilt; I feel no remorse; I need no repentance.
+For me justice has no terrors, and conscience no sting. Let me be judged
+solely by the motives which actuated me, and the importance of the end
+accomplished, and I shall pass, unscathed, both temporal and eternal
+tribunals.
+
+Leonidas Parker.
+
+
+
+Additional Particulars
+
+
+
+The following additional particulars, as sequel to the Summerfield
+homicide, have been furnished by an Auburn correspondent:
+
+Mr. Editor: The remarkable confession of the late Leonidas Parker, which
+appeared in your issue of the 13th ultimo, has given rise to a series
+of disturbances in this neighborhood, which, for romantic interest and
+downright depravity, have seldom been surpassed, even in California.
+Before proceeding to relate in detail the late transactions, allow me
+to remark that the wonderful narrative of Parker excited throughout this
+county sentiments of the most profound and contradictory character.
+I, for one, halted between two opinions--horror and incredulity; and
+nothing but subsequent events could have fully satisfied me of the
+unquestionable veracity of your San Francisco correspondent, and the
+scientific authenticity of the facts related.
+
+The doubt with which the story was at first received in this
+community--and which found utterance in a burlesque article in an
+obscure country journal, the Stars and Stripes, of Auburn--has finally
+been dispelled, and we find ourselves forced to admit that we stand even
+now in the presence of the most alarming fate. Too much credit cannot be
+awarded to our worthy coroner for the promptitude of his action, and we
+trust that the Governor of the State will not be less efficient in the
+discharge of his duty.
+
+[Since the above letter was written the following proclamation has been
+issued.--P. J.]
+
+Proclamation of the Governor.
+
+$10,000 Reward.
+
+Department of State.
+
+By virtue of the authority in me vested, I do hereby offer the above
+reward of ten thousand dollars, in gold coin of the United States, for
+the arrest of Bartholomew Graham, familiarly known as "Black Bart." Said
+Graham is accused of the murder of C. P. Gillson, late of Auburn, county
+of Placer, on the 14th ultimo. He is five feet ten inches and a half in
+height, thick set, has a mustache sprinkled with gray, grizzled hair,
+clear blue eyes, walks stooping, and served in the late civil war, under
+Price and Quantrell, in the Confederate army. He may be lurking in some
+of the mining-camps near the foot-hills, as he was a Washoe teamster
+during the Comstock excitement. The above reward will be paid for him,
+dead or alive, as he possessed himself of an important secret by robbing
+the body of the late Gregory Summerfield.
+
+By the Governor: H. G. Nicholson,
+
+Secretary of State.
+
+Given at Sacramento, this the fifth day of June, 1871.
+
+Our correspondent continues:
+
+I am sorry to say that Sheriff Higgins has not been so active in the
+discharge of his duty as the urgency of the case required, but he is
+perhaps excusable on account of the criminal interference of the editor
+above alluded to. But I am detaining you from more important matters.
+Your Saturday's paper reached here at 4 o'clock Saturday,13th May, and,
+as it now appears from the evidence taken before the coroner, several
+persons left Auburn on the same errand, but without any previous
+conference. Two of these were named respectively Charles P. Gillson and
+Bartholomew Graham, or, as he was usually called, "Black Bart." Gillson
+kept a saloon at the corner of Prickly Ash Street and the Old Spring
+Road; and Black Bart was in the employ of Conrad & Co., keepers of the
+Norfolk Livery Stable. Gillson was a son-in-law of ex-Governor Roberts,
+of Iowa, and leaves a wife and two children to mourn his untimely end.
+As for Graham, nothing certain is known of his antecedents. It is said
+that he was engaged in the late robbery of Wells & Fargo's express at
+Grizzly Bend, and that he was an habitual gambler. Only one thing about
+him is certainly well known: he was a lieutenant in the Confederate
+army, and served under General Price and the outlaw Quantrell. He was a
+man originally of fine education, plausible manners and good family, but
+strong drink seems early in life to have overmastered him, and left him
+but a wreck of himself. But he was not incapable of generous or, rather,
+romantic acts; for, during the burning of the Putnam House in this
+town last summer, he rescued two ladies from the flames. In so doing he
+scorched his left hand so seriously as to contract the tendons of two
+fingers, and this very scar may lead to his apprehension. There is no
+doubt about his utter desperation of character, and, if taken at all, it
+will probably be not alive.
+
+So much for the persons concerned in the tragedy at the Flat.
+
+Herewith I inclose copies of the testimony of the witnesses examined
+before the coroner's jury, together with the statement of Gillson, taken
+in articulo mortis:
+
+Deposition of Dollie Adams.
+
+State of California, } County of Placer. } ss.
+
+Said witness, being duly sworn, deposes as follows, to wit: My name is
+Dolly Adams, my age forty-seven years; I am the wife of Frank G. Adams,
+of this township, and reside on the North Fork of the American River,
+below Cape Horn, on Thompson's Flat. About one o'clock p. m., May 14,
+1871, I left the cabin to gather wood to cook dinner for my husband and
+the hands at work for him on the claim. The trees are mostly cut away
+from the bottom, and I had to climb some distance up the mountainside
+before I could get enough to kindle the fire. I had gone about five
+hundred yards from the cabin, and was searching for small sticks of
+fallen timber, when I thought I heard some one groan, as if in pain. I
+paused and listened; the groaning became more distinct, and I started
+at once for the place whence the sounds proceeded; about ten steps off
+I discovered the man whose remains lie there (pointing to the deceased),
+sitting up, with his back against a big rock. He looked so pale that I
+thought him already dead, but he continued to moan until I reached his
+side. Hearing me approach, he opened his eyes, and begged me, "For God's
+sake, give me a drop of water!" I asked him, "What is the matter?" He
+replied, "I am shot in the back." "Dangerously?" I demanded. "Fatally!"
+he faltered. Without waiting to question him further, I returned to the
+cabin, told Zenie, my daughter, what I had seen, and sent her off on
+a run for the men. Taking with me a gourd of water, some milk and
+bread--for I thought the poor gentleman might be hungry and weak, as
+well as wounded--I hurried back to his side, where I remained until
+"father"--as we all call my husband--came with the men. We removed
+him as gently as we could to the cabin; then sent for Dr. Liebner, and
+nursed him until he died, yesterday, just at sunset.
+
+Question by the Coroner: Did you hear his statement, taken down by the
+Assistant District-Attorney?--A. I did.
+
+Q. Did you see him sign it?--A. Yes, sir.
+
+Q. Is this your signature thereto as witness?--A. It is, sir.
+
+(Signed) Dollie Adams.
+
+Deposition of Miss X. V. Adams.
+
+Being first duly sworn, witness testified as follows: My name is
+Xixenia Volumnia Adams; I am the daughter of Frank G. Adams and the last
+witness; I reside with them on the Flat, and my age is eighteen years.
+A little past one o'clock on Sunday last my mother came running into
+the house and informed me that a man was dying on the side-hill, from a
+wound, and that I must go for father and the boys immediately. I ran
+as fast as my legs would carry me to where they were "cleaning up," for
+they never cleaned up week-days on the Flat, and told the news; we all
+came back together and proceeded to the spot where the wounded man lay
+weltering in his blood; he was cautiously removed to the cabin, where he
+lingered until yesterday sundown, when he died.
+
+Question. Did he speak after he reached the cabin?--A. He did
+frequently; at first with great pain, but afterward more audibly and
+intelligibly.
+
+Q. What did he say?--A. First, to send for Squire Jacobs, the Assistant
+District-Attorney, as he had a statement to make; and some time
+afterward, to send for his wife; but we first of all sent for the
+doctor.
+
+Q. Who was present when he died?--A. Only myself; he had appeared a
+great deal easier, and his wife had lain down to take a short nap, and
+my mother had gone to the spring and left me alone to watch. Suddenly he
+lifted himself spasmodically in bed, glared around wildly and muttered
+something inaudible; seeing me, he cried out, "Run! run! run! He has it!
+Black Bart has got the vial! Quick! or he'll set the world afire! See,
+he opens it! O my God! Look! look! look! Hold his hands! tie him! chain
+him down! Too late! too late! oh, the flames! Fire! fire! fire!" His
+tone of voice gradually strengthened until the end of his raving; when
+he cried "fire!" his eyeballs glared, his mouth quivered, his body
+convulsed, and before Mrs. Gillson could reach his bedside he fell back
+stone dead. (Signed) X. V. Adams.
+
+The testimony of Adams corroborated in every particular that of his wife
+and daughter, but set forth more fully the particulars of his demoniac
+ravings. He would taste nothing from a glass or bottle, but shuddered
+whenever any article of that sort met his eyes. In fact, they had to
+remove from the room the cups, tumblers, and even the castors. At times
+he spoke rationally, but after the second day only in momentary flashes
+of sanity.
+
+The deposition of the attending physician, after giving the general
+facts with regard to the sickness of the patient and his subsequent
+demise, proceeded thus:
+
+I found the patient weak, and suffering from loss of blood and rest, and
+want of nourishment; occasionally sane, but for the most part flighty
+and in a comatose condition. The wound was an ordinary gunshot wound,
+produced most probably by the ball of a navy revolver, fired at the
+distance of ten paces. It entered the back near the left clavicle,
+beneath the scapula, close to the vertebrae between the intercostal
+spaces of the fifth and sixth ribs; grazing the pericardium it traversed
+the mediastinum, barely touching the oesophagus, and vena azygos,
+but completely severing the thoracic duct, and lodging in the xiphoid
+portion of the sternum. Necessarily fatal, there was no reason, however,
+why the patient could not linger for a week or more; but it is no
+less certain that from the effect of the wound he ultimately died. I
+witnessed the execution of the paper shown to me--as the statement of
+deceased--at his request; and at the time of signing the same he was
+in his perfect senses. It was taken down in my presence by Jacobs,
+the Assistant District-Attorney of Placer County, and read over to the
+deceased before he affixed his signature. I was not present when he
+breathed his last, having been called away by my patients in the town of
+Auburn, but I reached his bedside shortly afterward. In my judgment, no
+amount of care or medical attention could have prolonged his life more
+than a few days.
+
+(Signed) Karl Liebner, M. D.
+
+The statement of the deceased was then introduced to the jury as
+follows:
+
+People of the State of California, } vs. } Bartholomew Graham. }
+
+Statement and Dying Confession of Charles P. Gillson, taken in articulo
+mortis by George Simpson, Notary Public.
+
+On the morning of Sunday, the 14th day of May, 1871, I left Auburn alone
+in search of the body of the late Gregory Summerfield, who was reported
+to have been pushed from the cars at Cape Horn, in this county, by one
+Leonidas Parker, since deceased. It was not fully light when I reached
+the track of the Central Pacific Railroad. Having mined at an early day
+on Thompson's Flat, at the foot of the rocky promontory now called
+Cape Horn, I was familiar with the zigzag paths leading down that steep
+precipice. One was generally used as a descent, the other as an ascent
+from the caņon below. I chose the latter, as being the freest from the
+chance of observation. It required the greatest caution to thread the
+narrow gorge; but I finally reached the rocky bench, about one thousand
+feet below the grade of the railroad. It was now broad daylight, and I
+commenced cautiously the search for Summerfield's body. There is quite
+a dense undergrowth of shrubs thereabouts, lining the interstices of
+the granite rocks so as to obscure the vision even at a short distance.
+Brushing aside a thick manzanita bush, I beheld the dead man at the same
+instant of time that another person arrived like an apparition upon
+the spot. It was Bartholomew Graham, known as "Black Bart." We suddenly
+confronted each other, the skeleton of Summerfield lying exactly between
+us. Our recognition was mutual. Graham advanced, and I did the same; he
+stretched out his hand and we greeted one another across the prostrate
+corpse.
+
+Before releasing my hand, Black Bart exclaimed in a hoarse whisper,
+"Swear, Gillson, in the presence of the dead, that you will forever be
+faithful, never betray me, and do exactly as I bid you, as long as you
+live!"
+
+I looked him full in the eye. Fate sat there, cold and remorseless as
+stone. I hesitated; with his left hand he slightly raised the lapels of
+his coat, and grasped the handle of a navy revolver.
+
+"Swear!" again he cried.
+
+As I gazed, his eyeballs assumed a greenish tint, and his brow darkened
+into a scowl. "As your confederate," I answered, "never as your slave."
+
+"Be it so!" was his only reply.
+
+The body was lying upon its back, with the face upwards. The vultures
+had despoiled the countenance of every vestige of flesh, and left the
+sockets of the eyes empty. Snow and ice and rain had done their work
+effectually upon the exposed surfaces of his clothing, and the eagles
+had feasted upon the entrails. But underneath, the thick beaver cloth
+had served to protect the flesh, and there were some decaying shreds
+left of what had once been the terrible but accomplished Gregory
+Summerfield. A glance told us all these things. But they did not
+interest me so much as another spectacle, that almost froze my blood.
+In the skeleton gripe of the right hand, interlaced within the clenched
+bones, gleamed the wide-mouthed vial which was the object of our mutual
+visit. Graham fell upon his knees, and attempted to withdraw the prize
+from the grasp of its dead possessor. But the bones were firm, and when
+he finally succeeded in securing the bottle, by a sudden wrench, I heard
+the skeleton fingers snap like pipe-stems.
+
+"Hold this a moment, whilst I search the pockets," he commanded.
+
+I did as directed.
+
+He then turned over the corpse, and thrusting his hand into the inner
+breast-pocket, dragged out a roll of MSS., matted closely together and
+stained by the winter's rains. A further search eventuated in finding
+a roll of small gold coin, a set of derringer pistols, a rusted
+double-edged dirk, and a pair of silver-mounted spectacles. Hastily
+covering over the body with leaves and branches cut from the embowering
+shrubs, we shudderingly left the spot.
+
+We slowly descended the gorge toward the banks of the American River,
+until we arrived in a small but sequestered thicket, where we threw
+ourselves upon the ground. Neither had spoken a word since we left the
+scene above described. Graham was the first to break the silence which
+to me had become oppressive.
+
+"Let us examine the vial and see if the contents are safe."
+
+I drew it from my pocket and handed it to him.
+
+"Sealed hermetically, and perfectly secure," he added. Saying this, he
+deliberately wrapped it up in a handkerchief and placed it in his bosom.
+
+"What shall we do with our prize?" I inquired.
+
+"Our prize?" As he said this he laughed derisively, and cast a most
+scornful and threatening glance toward me.
+
+"Yes," I rejoined firmly; "our prize!"
+
+"Gillson," retorted Graham, "you must regard me as a consummate
+simpleton, or yourself a Goliath. This bottle is mine, and mine only. It
+is a great fortune for one, but of less value than a toadstool for two.
+I am willing to divide fairly. This secret would be of no service to a
+coward. He would not dare to use it. Your share of the robbery of the
+body shall be these MSS.; you can sell them to some poor devil of a
+printer, and pay yourself for your day's work."
+
+Saying this he threw the bundle of MSS. at my feet; but I disdained to
+touch them. Observing this, he gathered them up safely and replaced them
+in his pocket. "As you are unarmed," he said, "it would not be safe for
+you to be seen in this neighborhood during daylight. We will both
+spend the night here, and just before morning return to Auburn. I will
+accompany you part of the distance."
+
+With the sangfroid of a perfect desperado, he then stretched himself out
+in the shadow of a small tree, drank deeply from a whiskey flagon which
+he produced, and pulling his hat over his eyes, was soon asleep and
+snoring. It was a long time before I could believe the evidence of my
+own senses. Finally, I approached the ruffian, and placed my hand on his
+shoulder. He did not stir a muscle. I listened; I heard only the deep,
+slow breathing of profound slumber. Resolved not to be balked and
+defrauded by such a scoundrel, I stealthily withdrew the vial from
+his pocket and sprang to my feet, just in time to hear the click of
+a revolver behind me. I was betrayed! I remember only a flash and an
+explosion--a deathly sensation, a whirl of the rocks and trees about me,
+a hideous imprecation from the lips of my murderer, and I fell senseless
+to the earth. When I awoke to consciousness it was past midnight. I
+looked up at the stars, and recognized Lyra shining full in my face.
+That constellation, I knew, passed the meridian at this season of the
+year after twelve o'clock, and its slow march told me that many weary
+hours would intervene before daylight. My right arm was paralyzed, but I
+put forth my left, and it rested in a pool of my own blood. "Oh, for one
+drop of water!" I exclaimed, faintly; but only the low sighing of
+the night blast responded. Again I fainted. Shortly after daylight I
+revived, and crawled to the spot where I was discovered on the next
+day by the kind mistress of this cabin. You know the rest. I accuse
+Bartholomew Graham of my assassination. I do this in the perfect
+possession of my senses, and with a full sense of my responsibility to
+Almighty God. (Signed) C. P. Gillson.
+
+George Simpson, Notary Public. Chris. Jacobs, Assistant
+District-Attorney. Dollie Adams, } Witnesses. Karl Liebner, }
+
+The following is a copy of the verdict of the coroner's jury:
+
+County of Placer, } Cape Horn Township. }
+
+In re C. P. Gillson, late of said county deceased.
+
+We, the undersigned, coroner's jury, summoned in the foregoing case to
+examine into the causes of the death of said Gillson, do find that he
+came to his death at the hands of Bartholomew Graham, usually called
+"Black Bart," on Wednesday, the 17th May, 1871. And we further find said
+Graham guilty of murder in the first degree, and recommend his immediate
+apprehension.
+
+(Signed) John Quillan,            Peter McIntyre,
+            Abel George,
+            Alex. Scriber,
+(Correct:) Wm. A. Thompson.
+
+Thos. J. Alwyn, Coroner.
+
+The above documents constitute the papers introduced before the coroner.
+Should anything of further interest occur, I will keep you fully
+advised. Powhattan Jones.
+
+Since the above was in type we have received from our esteemed San
+Francisco correspondent the following letter:
+
+San Francisco, June 8, 1871.
+
+Mr. Editor: On entering my office this morning I found a bundle of MSS.
+which had been thrown in at the transom over the door, labeled, "The
+Summerfield MSS." Attached to them was an unsealed note from one
+Bartholomew Graham, in these words:
+
+Dear Sir: These are yours; you have earned them. I commend to your
+especial notice the one styled, "De Mundo Comburendo." At a future time
+you may hear again from
+
+Bartholomew Graham.
+
+A casual glance at the papers convinces me that they are of great
+literary value. Summerfield's fame never burned so brightly as it does
+over his grave. Will you publish the MSS.?
+
+
+
+Here ends No. Two Western Classics Containing The Case of Summerfield
+by W. H. Rhodes an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner and a Frontispiece
+After a Painting by Galen J. Perrett the Typography Designed by J. H.
+Nash of this First Edition One Thousand Copies Have Been Issued Printed
+on Fabriano Handmade Paper Published by Paul Elder and Company and Done
+into a Book for them at the Tomoye Press in the City of New York MCMVII.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Case of Summerfield, by William Henry Rhodes
+
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+   PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN"
+   "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" >
+
+<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en">
+  <head>
+    <title>
+      The Case of Summerfield, by William Henry Rhodes
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve">
+    
+    body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify}
+    P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; }
+    H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; }
+    hr  { width: 50%; text-align: center;}
+    .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; }
+    blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;}
+    .mynote    {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;}
+    .toc       { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;}
+    .toc2      { margin-left: 20%;}
+    div.fig    { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; }
+    div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; }
+    .figleft   {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;}
+    .figright  {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;}
+    .pagenum   {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal;
+               margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%;
+               text-align: right;}
+    pre        { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;}
+    
+</style>
+  </head>
+  <body>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+Project Gutenberg's The Case of Summerfield, by William Henry Rhodes
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Case of Summerfield
+
+Author: William Henry Rhodes
+
+Release Date: March 25, 2009 [EBook #5191]
+Last Updated: February 7, 2013
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David A. Schwan, and David Widger
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h1>
+      THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD
+    </h1>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      By William Henry Rhodes
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br />
+    </p>
+    <h3>
+      With an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner
+    </h3>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      Contents
+    </h2>
+    <table summary="" style="margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto">
+      <tr>
+        <td>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0001"> THE INTRODUCTION </a>
+          </p>
+          <p class="toc">
+            <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> <b>THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD</b> </a>
+          </p>
+        </td>
+      </tr>
+    </table>
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br />
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <h2>
+      THE INTRODUCTION
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The greatest master of the short story our country has known found his
+      inspiration and produced his best work in California. It is now nearly
+      forty years since "The Luck of Roaring Camp" appeared, and a line of
+      successors, more or less worthy, have been following along the trail
+      blazed by Bret Harte. They have given us matter of many kinds, realistic,
+      romantic, tragic, humorous, weird. In this mass of material much that was
+      good has been lost. The columns of newspapers swallowed some; weeklies,
+      that lived for a brief day, carried others to the grave with them. Now and
+      then chance or design interposed, and some fragment of value was not
+      allowed to perish. It is matter for congratulation that the story in this
+      volume was one of those saved from oblivion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In 1871 a San Francisco paper published a tale entitled The Case of
+      Summerfield. The author concealed himself under the name of "Caxton," a
+      pseudonym unknown at the time. The story made an immediate impression, and
+      the remote little world by the Golden Gate was shaken into startled and
+      enquiring astonishment. Wherever people met, The Case of Summerfield was
+      on men's tongues. Was Caxton's contention possible? Was it true that, by
+      the use of potassium, water could be set on fire, and that any one
+      possessing this baneful secret could destroy the world? The plausibility
+      with which the idea was presented, the bare directness of the style, added
+      to its convincing power. It sounded too real to be invention, was told
+      with too frank a simplicity to be all imagination. People could not decide
+      where truth and fiction blended, and the name of Caxton leaped into local
+      fame.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The author of the tale was a lawyer, W. H. Rhodes, a man of standing and
+      ability, interested in scientific research. He had written little; what
+      time he had been able to spare from his work, had been given to studies in
+      chemistry whence he had drawn the inspiration for such stories as The Case
+      of Summerfield. With him the writing of fiction was a pastime, not a
+      profession. He wrote because he wanted to, from the urgence of an idea
+      pressing for utterance, not from the more imperious necessity of keeping
+      the pot boiling and of there being a roof against the rain. Literary
+      creation was to him a rest, a matter of holiday in the daily round of a
+      man's labor to provide for his own.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      His output was small. One slender volume contains all he wrote: a few
+      poems, half a dozen stories. In all of these we can feel the spell
+      exercised over him by the uncanny, the terrible, the weirdly grotesque.
+      His imagination played round those subjects of fantastic horror which had
+      so potent an attraction for Fitz James O'Brien, the writer whom he most
+      resembles. There was something of Poe's cold pleasure in dissecting the
+      abnormally horrible in "The Story of John Pollexfen," the photographer,
+      who, in order to discover a certain kind of lens, experimented with living
+      eyes. His cat and dog each lost an eye, and finally a young girl was found
+      willing to sell one of hers that she might have money to help her lover.
+      But none of the other stories shows the originality and impressively
+      realistic tone which distinguish The Case of Summerfield. In this he
+      achieved the successful combination of audacity of theme with a fitting
+      incisiveness of style. It alone rises above the level of the merely
+      ingenious and clever; it alone of his work was worth preserving.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Scattered through the ranks of writers, part of whose profession is a
+      continuous, unflagging output, are these "one story men," who, in some
+      propitious moment, when the powers of brain and heart are intensified by a
+      rare and happy alchemy, produce a single masterpiece. The vision and the
+      dream have once been theirs, and, though they may never again return, the
+      product of the glowing moment is ours to rejoice in and wonder at.
+      Unfortunately the value of these accidental triumphs is not always seen.
+      They go their way and are submerged in the flood of fiction that the
+      presses pour upon a defenseless country. Now and then one unexpectedly
+      hears of them, their unfamiliar titles rise to the surface when writers
+      gather round the table. An investigator in the forgotten files of
+      magazinedom has found one, and tells of his treasure trove as the diver of
+      his newly discovered pearl. Then comes a publisher, who, diligent and
+      patient, draws them from their hiding-places, shakes off the dust, and
+      gives them to a public which once applauded and has since forgotten.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Such has been the fate of The Case of Summerfield. Thirty-five years ago,
+      in the town that clustered along the edge of San Francisco Bay, it had its
+      brief award of attention. But the San Francisco of that day was very
+      distant&mdash;a gleam on the horizon against the blue line of the Pacific.
+      It took a mighty impetus to carry its decisions and opinions across the
+      wall of the Sierra and over the desert to the East. Fame and reputation,
+      unless the greatest, had not vitality for so long a flight. So the strange
+      and fantastic story should come as a discovery, the one remarkable
+      achievement of an unknown author, who, unfortunately, is no longer here to
+      enjoy an Indian summer of popularity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Geraldine Bonner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002">
+      <!--  H2 anchor --> </a>
+    </p>
+    <div style="height: 4em;">
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </div>
+    <h2>
+      THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD
+    </h2>
+    <p>
+      The following manuscript was found among the effects of the late Leonidas
+      Parker, in relation to one Gregory Summerfield, or, as he was called at
+      the time those singular events first attracted public notice, "The Man
+      with a Secret." Parker was an eminent lawyer, a man of firm will, fond of
+      dabbling in the occult sciences, but never allowing this tendency to
+      interfere with the earnest practice of his profession. This astounding
+      narrative is prefaced by the annexed clipping from the Auburn Messenger of
+      November 1, 1870:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A few days since, we called public attention to the singular conduct of
+      James G. Wilkins, justice of the peace for the "Cape Horn" district, in
+      this county, in discharging without trial a man named Parker, who was, as
+      we still think, seriously implicated in the mysterious death of an old man
+      named Summerfield, who, our readers will probably remember, met so
+      tragical an end on the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, in the month
+      of October last. We have now to record another bold outrage on public
+      justice, in connection with the same affair. The grand jury of Placer
+      County has just adjourned, without finding any bill against the person
+      named above. Not only did they refuse to find a true bill, or to make any
+      presentment, but they went one step further toward the exoneration of the
+      offender; they specially ignored the indictment which our district
+      attorney deemed it his duty to present. The main facts in relation to the
+      arrest and subsequent discharge of Parker may be summed up in few words:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It appears that, about the last of October, one Gregory Summerfield, an
+      old man nearly seventy years of age, in company with Parker, took passage
+      for Chicago, via the Pacific Railroad, and about the middle of the
+      afternoon reached the neighborhood of Cape Horn, in this county. Nothing
+      of any special importance seems to have attracted the attention of any of
+      the passengers toward these persons until a few moments before passing the
+      dangerous curve in the track, overlooking the North Fork of the American
+      River, at the place called Cape Horn. As our readers are aware, the road
+      at this point skirts a precipice, with rocky perpendicular sides,
+      extending to the bed of the stream, nearly seventeen hundred feet below.
+      Before passing the curve, Parker was heard to comment upon the sublimity
+      of the scenery they were approaching, and finally requested the old man to
+      leave the car and stand upon the open platform, in order to obtain a
+      better view of the tremendous chasm and the mountains just beyond. The two
+      men left the car, and a moment afterward a cry of horror was heard by all
+      the passengers, and the old man was observed to fall at least one thousand
+      feet upon the crags below. The train was stopped for a few moments, but,
+      fearful of a collision if any considerable length of time should be lost
+      in an unavailing search for the mangled remains, it soon moved on again,
+      and proceeded as swiftly as possible to the next station. There the
+      miscreant Parker was arrested, and conveyed to the office of the nearest
+      justice of the peace for examination. We understand that he refused to
+      give any detailed account of the transaction, only that "the deceased
+      either fell or was thrown from the moving train."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The examination was postponed until the arrival of Parker's counsel,
+      O'Connell &amp; Kilpatrick, of Grass Valley, and after they reached Cape
+      Horn not a single word could be extracted from the prisoner. It is said
+      that the inquisition was a mere farce; there being no witnesses present
+      except one lady passenger, who, with commendable spirit, volunteered to
+      lay over one day, to give in her testimony. We also learn that, after the
+      trial, the justice, together with the prisoner and his counsel, were
+      closeted in secret session for more than two hours; at the expiration of
+      which time the judge resumed his seat upon the bench, and discharged the
+      prisoner!
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Now, we have no desire to do injustice toward any of the parties to this
+      singular transaction, much less to arm public sentiment against an
+      innocent man. But we do affirm that there is, there must be, some profound
+      mystery at the bottom of this affair, and we shall do our utmost to fathom
+      the secret.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Yes, there is a secret and mystery connected with the disappearance of
+      Summerfield, and the sole object of this communication is to clear it up,
+      and place myself right in the public estimation. But, in order to do so,
+      it becomes essentially necessary to relate all the circumstances connected
+      with my first and subsequent acquaintance with Summerfield. To do this
+      intelligibly, I shall have to go back twenty-two years.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It is well known amongst my intimate friends that I resided in the late
+      Republic of Texas for many years antecedent to my immigration to this
+      State. During the year 1847, whilst but a boy, and residing on the
+      sea-beach some three or four miles from the city of Galveston, Judge
+      Wheeler, at that time Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, paid us
+      a visit, and brought with him a gentleman, whom he had known several years
+      previously on the Sabine River, in the eastern part of that State. This
+      gentleman was introduced to us by the name of Summerfield. At that time he
+      was past the prime of life, slightly gray, and inclined to corpulency. He
+      was of medium height, and walked proudly erect, as though conscious of
+      superior mental attainments. His face was one of those which, once seen,
+      can never be forgotten. The forehead was broad, high, and protuberant. It
+      was, besides, deeply graven with wrinkles, and altogether was the most
+      intellectual that I had ever seen. It bore some resemblance to that of Sir
+      Isaac Newton, but still more to Humboldt or Webster. The eyes were large,
+      deep-set, and lustrous with a light that seemed kindled in their own
+      depths. In color they were gray, and whilst in conversation absolutely
+      blazed with intellect. His mouth was large, but cut with all the precision
+      of a sculptor's chiseling. He was rather pale, but, when excited, his
+      complexion lit up with a sudden rush of ruddy flushes, that added
+      something like beauty to his half-sad and half-sardonic expression. A word
+      and a glance told me at once, this is a most extraordinary man.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Judge Wheeler knew but little of the antecedents of Summerfield. He was of
+      Northern birth, but of what State it is impossible to say definitely.
+      Early in life he removed to the frontier of Arkansas, and pursued for some
+      years the avocation of village schoolmaster. It was the suggestion of
+      Judge Wheeler that induced him to read law. In six months' time he had
+      mastered Story's Equity, and gained an important suit, based upon one of
+      its most recondite principles. But his heart was not in the legal
+      profession, and he made almost constant sallies into the fields of
+      science, literature and art. He was a natural mathematician and was the
+      most profound and original arithmetician in the Southwest. He frequently
+      computed the astronomical tables for the almanacs of New Orleans,
+      Pensacola and Mobile, and calculated eclipse, transit and observations
+      with ease and perfect accuracy. He was also deeply read in metaphysics,
+      and wrote and published, in the old Democratic Review for 1846, an article
+      on the "Natural Proof of the Existence of a Deity," that for beauty of
+      language, depth of reasoning, versatility of illustration, and compactness
+      of logic, has never been equaled. The only other publication which at that
+      period he had made, was a book that astonished all of his friends, both in
+      title and execution. It was called "The Desperadoes of the West," and
+      purported to give minute details of the lives of some of the most noted
+      duelists and bloodstained villains in the Western States. But the book
+      belied its title. It is full of splendid description and original thought.
+      No volume in the language contains so many eloquent passages and such
+      gorgeous imagery, in the same space. His plea for immortality, on
+      beholding the execution of one of the most noted culprits of Arkansas, has
+      no parallel in any living language for beauty of diction and power of
+      thought. As my sole object in this communication is to defend myself, some
+      acquaintance with the mental resources of Summerfield is absolutely
+      indispensable; for his death was the immediate consequence of his splendid
+      attainments. Of chemistry he was a complete master. He describes it in his
+      article on a Deity, above alluded to, as the "Youngest Daughter of the
+      Sciences, born amid flames, and cradled in rollers of fire." If there were
+      any one science to which he was more specially devoted than to any and all
+      others, it was chemistry. But he really seemed an adept in all, and shone
+      about everywhere with equal lustre.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Many of these characteristics were mentioned by Judge Wheeler at the time
+      of Summerfield's visit to Galveston, but others subsequently came to my
+      knowledge, after his retreat to Brownsville, on the banks of the Rio
+      Grande. There he filled the position of Judge of the District Court, and
+      such was his position just previous to his arrival in this city in the
+      month of September of the past year.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      One day, toward the close of last September, an old man rapped at my
+      office door, and on invitation came in, and advancing, called me by name.
+      Perceiving that I did not at first recognize him, he introduced himself as
+      Gregory Summerfield. After inviting him to a seat, I scrutinized his
+      features more closely, and quickly identified him as the same person whom
+      I had met twenty-two years before. He was greatly altered in appearance,
+      but the lofty forehead and the gray eye were still there, unchanged and
+      unchangeable. He was not quite so stout, but more ruddy in complexion, and
+      exhibited some symptoms, as I then thought, of intemperate drinking. Still
+      there was the old charm of intellectual superiority in his conversation,
+      and I welcomed him to California as an important addition to her mental
+      wealth.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was not many minutes before he requested a private interview. He
+      followed me into my back office, carefully closed the door after him and
+      locked it. We had scarcely seated ourselves before he inquired of me if I
+      had noticed any recent articles in the newspapers respecting the discovery
+      of the art of decomposing water so as to fit it for use as a fuel for
+      ordinary purposes?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I replied that I had observed nothing new upon that subject since the
+      experiments of Agassiz and Professor Henry, and added that, in my opinion,
+      the expensive mode of reduction would always prevent its use.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In a few words he then informed me that he had made the discovery that the
+      art was extremely simple, and the expense attending the decomposition so
+      slight as to be insignificant.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Presuming then that the object of his visit to me was to procure the
+      necessary forms to get out a patent for the right, I congratulated him
+      upon his good fortune, and was about to branch forth with a description of
+      some of the great benefits that must ensue to the community, when he
+      suddenly and somewhat uncivilly requested me to "be silent," and listen to
+      what he had to say.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He began with some general remarks about the inequality of fortune amongst
+      mankind, and instanced himself as a striking example of the fate of those
+      men, who, according to all the rules of right, ought to be near the top,
+      instead of at the foot of the ladder of fortune. "But," said he, springing
+      to his feet with impulsive energy, "I have now the means at my command of
+      rising superior to fate, or of inflicting incalculable ills upon the whole
+      human race."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Looking at him more closely, I thought I could detect in his eye the gleam
+      of madness; but I remained silent and awaited further developments. But my
+      scrutiny, stolen as it was, had been detected, and he replied at once to
+      the expression of my face: "No, sir; I am neither drunk nor a maniac; I am
+      in deep earnest in all that I say; and I am fully prepared, by actual
+      experiment, to demonstrate beyond all doubt the truth of all I claim."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      For the first time I noticed that he carried a small portmanteau in his
+      hand; this he placed upon the table, unlocked it, and took out two or
+      three small volumes, a pamphlet or two, and a small, square, wide-mouthed
+      vial, hermetically sealed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I watched him with profound curiosity, and took note of his slightest
+      movements. Having arranged his books to suit him, and placed the vial in a
+      conspicuous position, he drew up his chair very closely to my own, and
+      uttered in a half-hissing tone: "I demand one million dollars for the
+      contents of that bottle; and you must raise it for me in the city of San
+      Francisco within one month, or scenes too terrible even for the
+      imagination to conceive, will surely be witnessed by every living human
+      being on the face of the globe."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The tone, the manner, and the absurd extravagance of the demand, excited a
+      faint smile upon my lips, which he observed, but disdained to notice.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      My mind was fully made up that I had a maniac to deal with, and I prepared
+      to act accordingly. But I ascertained at once that my inmost thoughts were
+      read by the remarkable man before me, and seemed to be anticipated by him
+      in advance of their expression.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Perhaps," said I, "Mr. Summerfield, you would oblige me by informing me
+      fully of the grounds of your claim, and the nature of your discovery."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "That is the object of my visit," he replied. "I claim to have discovered
+      the key which unlocks the constituent gases of water, and frees each from
+      the embrace of the other, at a single touch."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "You mean to assert," I rejoined, "that you can make water burn itself
+      up?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Nothing more nor less," he responded, "except this: to insist upon the
+      consequences of the secret, if my demand be not at once complied with."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then, without pausing for a moment to allow me to make a suggestion, as I
+      once or twice attempted to do, he proceeded in a clear and deliberate
+      manner, in these words: "I need not inform you, sir, that when this earth
+      was created, it consisted almost wholly of vapor, which, by condensation,
+      finally became water. The oceans now occupy more than two-thirds of the
+      entire surface of the globe. The continents are mere islands in the midst
+      of the seas. They are everywhere oceanbound, and the hyperborean north is
+      hemmed in by open polar seas. Such is my first proposition. My second
+      embraces the constituent elements of water. What is that thing which we
+      call water? Chemistry, that royal queen of all the sciences, answers
+      readily: 'Water is but the combination of two gases, oxygen and hydrogen,
+      and in the proportion of eight to one.' In other words, in order to form
+      water, take eight parts of oxygen and one of hydrogen, mix them together,
+      and the result or product is water. You smile, sir, because, as you very
+      properly think, these are the elementary principles of science, and are
+      familiar to the minds of every schoolboy twelve years of age. Yes! but
+      what next? Suppose you take these same gases and mix them in any other
+      proportion, I care not what, and the instantaneous result is heat, flame,
+      combustion of the intensest description. The famous Drummond Light, that a
+      few years ago astonished Europe what is that but the ignited flame of a
+      mixture of oxygen and hydrogen projected against a small piece of lime?
+      What was harmless as water, becomes the most destructive of all known
+      objects when decomposed and mixed in any other proportion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now, suppose I fling the contents of this small vial into the Pacific
+      Ocean, what would be the result? Dare you contemplate it for an instant? I
+      do not assert that the entire surface of the sea would instantaneously
+      bubble up into insufferable flames; no, but from the nucleus of a circle,
+      of which this vial would be the center, lurid radii of flames would
+      gradually shoot outward, until the blazing circumference would roll in
+      vast billows of fire, upon the uttermost shores. Not all the dripping
+      clouds of the deluge could extinguish it. Not all the tears of saints and
+      angels could for an instant check its progress. On and onward it would
+      sweep, with the steady gait of destiny, until the continents would melt
+      with fervent heat, the atmosphere glare with the ominous conflagration,
+      and all living creatures, in land and sea and air, perish in one universal
+      catastrophe."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Then suddenly starting to his feet, he drew himself up to his full height,
+      and murmured solemnly, "I feel like a God! and I recognize my fellow-men
+      but as pygmies that I spurn beneath my feet."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Summerfield," said I calmly, "there must be some strange error in all
+      this. You are self-deluded. The weapon which you claim to wield is one
+      that a good God and a beneficent Creator would never intrust to the
+      keeping of a mere creature. What, sir! create a world as grand and
+      beautiful as this, and hide within its bosom a principle that at any
+      moment might inwrap it in flames, and sink all life in death? I'll not
+      believe it; 't were blasphemy to entertain the thought!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "And yet," cried he passionately, "your Bible prophesies the same
+      irreverence. Look at your text in 2d Peter, third chapter, seventh and
+      twelfth verses. Are not the elements to melt with fervent heat? Are not
+      the 'heavens to be folded together like a scroll?' Are not 'the rocks to
+      melt, the stars to fall, and the moon to be turned into blood?' Is not
+      fire the next grand cyclic consummation of all things here below? But I
+      come fully prepared to answer such objections. Your argument betrays a
+      narrow mind, circumscribed in its orbit, and shallow in its depth. 'Tis
+      the common thought of mediocrity. You have read books too much, and
+      studied nature too little. Let me give you a lesson today in the workshop
+      of Omnipotence. Take a stroll with me into the limitless confines of
+      space, and let us observe together some of the scenes transpiring at this
+      very instant around us. A moment ago you spoke of the moon: what is she
+      but an extinguished world? You spoke of the sun: what is he but a globe of
+      flame? But here is the Cosmos of Humboldt. Read this paragraph."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As he said this he placed before me the Cosmos of Humboldt, and I read as
+      follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nor do the Heavens themselves teach unchangeable permanency in the works
+      of creation. Change is observable there quite as rapid and complete as in
+      the confines of our solar system. In the year 1752, one of the small stars
+      in the constellation Cassiopeia blazed up suddenly into an orb of the
+      first magnitude, gradually decreased in brilliancy, and finally
+      disappeared from the skies. Nor has it ever been visible since that period
+      for a single moment, either to the eye or to the telescope. It burned up
+      and was lost in space.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Humboldt," he added, "has not told us who set that world on fire!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But," resumed he, "I have still clearer proofs."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this, he thrust into my hands the last London Quarterly, and on
+      opening the book at an article headed "The Language of Light," I read with
+      a feeling akin to awe, the following passage:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Further, some stars exhibit changes of complexion in themselves. Sirius,
+      as before stated, was once a ruddy, or rather a fiery-faced orb, but has
+      now forgotten to blush, and looks down upon us with a pure, brilliant
+      smile, in which there is no trace either of anger or of shame. On the
+      countenances of others, still more varied traits have rippled, within a
+      much briefer period of time. May not these be due to some physiological
+      revolutions, general or convulsive, which are in progress in the
+      particular orb, and which, by affecting the constitution of its
+      atmosphere, compel the absorption or promote the transmission of
+      particular rays? The supposition appears by no means improbable,
+      especially if we call to mind the hydrogen volcanoes which have been
+      discovered on the photosphere of the sun. Indeed, there are a few small
+      stars which afford a spectrum of bright lines instead of dark ones, and
+      this we know denotes a gaseous or vaporized state of things, from which it
+      maybe inferred that such orbs are in a different condition from most of
+      their relations.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      And, as if for the very purpose of throwing light upon this interesting
+      question, an event of the most striking character occurred in the heavens,
+      almost as soon as the spectroscopists were prepared to interpret it
+      correctly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the 12th of May, 1866, a great conflagration, infinitely larger than
+      that of London or Moscow, was announced. To use the expression of a
+      distinguished astronomer, a world was found to be on fire! A star, which
+      till then had shone weakly and unobtrusively in the corona borealis,
+      suddenly blazed up into a luminary of the second magnitude. In the course
+      of three days from its discovery in this new character, by Birmingham, at
+      Tuam, it had declined to the third or fourth order of brilliancy. In
+      twelve days, dating from its first apparition in the Irish heavens, it had
+      sunk to the eighth rank, and it went on waning until the 26th of June,
+      when it ceased to be discernible except through the medium of the
+      telescope. This was a remarkable, though certainly not an unprecedented
+      proceeding on the part of a star; but one singular circumstance in its
+      behavior was that, after the lapse of nearly two months, it began to blaze
+      up again, though not with equal ardor, and after maintaining its glow for
+      a few weeks, and passing through sundry phases of color, it gradually
+      paled its fires, and returned to its former insignificance. How many years
+      had elapsed since this awful conflagration actually took place, it would
+      be presumptuous to guess; but it must be remembered that news from the
+      heavens, though carried by the fleetest of messengers, light, reaches us
+      long after the event has transpired, and that the same celestial carrier
+      is still dropping the tidings at each station it reaches in space, until
+      it sinks exhausted by the length of its flight.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As the star had suddenly flamed up, was it not a natural supposition that
+      it had become inwrapped in burning hydrogen, which in consequence of some
+      great convulsion had been liberated in prodigious quantities, and then
+      combining with other elements, had set this hapless world on fire? In such
+      a fierce conflagration, the combustible gas would soon be consumed, and
+      the glow would therefore begin to decline, subject, as in this case, to a
+      second eruption, which occasioned the renewed outburst of light on the
+      20th of August.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By such a catastrophe, it is not wholly impossible that our own globe may
+      some time be ravaged; for if a word from the Almighty were to unloose for
+      a few moments the bonds of affinity which unite the elements of water, a
+      single spark would bring them together with a fury that would kindle the
+      funeral pyre of the human race, and be fatal to the planet and all the
+      works that are thereon.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Your argument," he then instantly added, "is by no means a good one. What
+      do we know of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, or of his designs? He
+      builds up worlds, and he pulls them down; he kindles suns and he
+      extinguishes them. He inflames the comet, in one portion of its orbit,
+      with a heat that no human imagination can conceive of; and in another,
+      subjects the same blazing orb to a cold intenser than that which invests
+      forever the antarctic pole. All that we know of Him we gather through His
+      works. I have shown you that He burns other worlds, why not this? The
+      habitable parts of our globe are surrounded by water, and water you know
+      is fire in possibility."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "But all this," I rejoined, "is pure, baseless, profitless speculation."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Not so fast," he answered. And then rising, he seized the small vial, and
+      handing it to me, requested me to open it.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I confess I did so with some trepidation.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now smell it."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I did so.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What odor do you perceive?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Potassium," I replied.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Of course," he added, "you are familiar with the chief characteristic of
+      that substance. It ignites instantly when brought in contact with water.
+      Within that little globule of potassium, I have imbedded a pill of my own
+      composition and discovery. The moment it is liberated from the potassium,
+      it commences the work of decomposing the fluid on which it floats. The
+      potassium at once ignites the liberated oxygen, and the conflagration of
+      this mighty globe is begun."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes," said I, "begun, if you please, but your little pill soon evaporates
+      or sinks, or melts in the surrounding seas, and your conflagration ends
+      just where it began."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "My reply to that suggestion could be made at once by simply testing the
+      experiment on a small scale, or a large one, either. But I prefer at
+      present to refute your proposition by an argument drawn from nature
+      herself. If you correctly remember, the first time I had the pleasure of
+      seeing you was on the island of Galveston, many years ago. Do you remember
+      relating to me at that time an incident concerning the effects of a
+      prairie on fire, that you had yourself witnessed but a few days
+      previously, near the town of Matagorde? If I recollect correctly, you
+      stated that on your return journey from that place, you passed on the way
+      the charred remains of two wagon-loads of cotton, and three human beings,
+      that the night before had perished in the flames; that three slaves, the
+      property of a Mr. Horton, had started a few days before to carry to market
+      a shipment of cotton; that a norther overtook them on a treeless prairie,
+      and a few minutes afterward they were surprised by beholding a line of
+      rushing fire, surging, roaring and advancing like the resistless billows
+      of an ocean swept by a gale; that there was no time for escape, and they
+      perished terribly in fighting the devouring element?"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes; I recollect the event."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Now, then, I wish a reply to the simple question: Did the single spark,
+      that kindled the conflagration, consume the negroes and their charge? No?
+      But what did? You reply, of course, that the spark set the entire prairie
+      on fire; that each spear of grass added fuel to the flame, and kindled by
+      degrees a conflagration that continued to burn so long as it could feed on
+      fresh material. The pilule in that vial is the little spark, the oceans
+      are the prairies, and the oxygen the fuel upon which the fire is to feed
+      until the globe perishes in inextinguishable flames. The elementary
+      substances in that small vial recreate themselves; they are
+      self-generating, and when once fairly under way must necessarily sweep
+      onward, until the waters in all the seas are exhausted. There is, however,
+      one great difference between the burning of a prairie and the combustion
+      of an ocean: the fire in the first spreads slowly, for the fuel is
+      difficult to ignite; in the last, it flies with the rapidity of the wind,
+      for the substance consumed is oxygen, the most inflammable agent in
+      nature."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Rising from my seat, I went to the washstand in the corner of the
+      apartment, and drawing a bowl half full of Spring Valley water, I turned
+      to Summerfield, and remarked, "Words are empty, theories are ideal&mdash;but
+      facts are things."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "I take you at your word." So saying, he approached the bowl, emptied it
+      of nine-tenths of its contents, and silently dropped the potassium-coated
+      pill into the liquid. The potassium danced around the edges of the vessel,
+      fuming, hissing, and blazing, as it always does, and seemed on the point
+      of expiring&mdash;when, to my astonishment and alarm, a sharp explosion
+      took place, and in a second of time the water was blazing in a red, lurid
+      column, half way to the ceiling.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "For God's sake," I cried, "extinguish the flames, or we shall set the
+      building on fire!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Had I dropped the potassium into the bowl as you prepared it," he quietly
+      remarked, "the building would indeed have been consumed."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Lower and lower fell the flickering flames, paler and paler grew the
+      blaze, until finally the fire went out, and I rushed up to see the effects
+      of the combustion.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Not a drop of water remained in the vessel! Astonished beyond measure at
+      what I had witnessed, and terrified almost to the verge of insanity, I
+      approached Summerfield, and tremblingly inquired, "To whom, sir, is this
+      tremendous secret known?" "To myself alone," he responded; "and now answer
+      me a question: is it worth the money?"
+    </p>
+    <hr />
+    <p>
+      It is entirely unnecessary to relate in detail the subsequent events
+      connected with this transaction. I will only add a general statement,
+      showing the results of my negotiations. Having fully satisfied myself that
+      Summerfield actually held in his hands the fate of the whole world, with
+      its millions of human beings, and by experiment having tested the
+      combustion of sea-water, with equal facility as fresh, I next deemed it my
+      duty to call the attention of a few of the principal men in San Francisco
+      to the extreme importance of Summerfield's discovery.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A leading banker, a bishop, a chemist, two State university professors, a
+      physician, a judge, and two Protestant divines, were selected by me to
+      witness the experiment on a large scale. This was done at a small
+      sand-hill lake, near the seashore, but separated from it by a ridge of
+      lofty mountains, distant not more than ten miles from San Francisco. Every
+      single drop of water in the pool was burnt up in less than fifteen
+      minutes. We next did all that we could to pacify Summerfield, and
+      endeavored to induce him to lower his price and bring it within the bounds
+      of a reasonable possibility. But without avail. He began to grow urgent in
+      his demands, and his brow would cloud like a tempest-ridden sky whenever
+      we approached him on the subject. Finally, ascertaining that no persuasion
+      could soften his heart or touch his feelings, a sub-committee was
+      appointed, to endeavor, if possible, to raise the money by subscription.
+      Before taking that step, however, we ascertained beyond all question that
+      Summerfield was the sole custodian of his dread secret, and that he kept
+      no written memorial of the formula of his prescription. He even went so
+      far as to offer us a penal bond that his secret should perish with him in
+      case we complied with his demands.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The sub-committee soon commenced work amongst the wealthiest citizens of
+      San Francisco, and by appealing to the terrors of a few, and the
+      sympathies of all, succeeded in raising one-half the amount within the
+      prescribed period. I shall never forget the woe-begone faces of California
+      Street during the month of October. The outside world and the newspapers
+      spoke most learnedly of a money panic&mdash;a pressure in business, and
+      the disturbances in the New York gold-room. But to the initiated, there
+      was an easier solution of the enigma. The pale spectre of Death looked
+      down upon them all, and pointed with its bony finger to the fiery tomb of
+      the whole race, already looming up in the distance before them. Day after
+      day, I could see the dreadful ravages of this secret horror; doubly
+      terrible, since they dared not divulge it. Still, do all that we could,
+      the money could not be obtained. The day preceding the last one given,
+      Summerfield was summoned before the committee, and full information given
+      him of the state of affairs. Obdurate, hard and cruel, he still continued.
+      Finally, a proposition was started, that an attempt should be made to
+      raise the other half of the money in the city of New York. To this
+      proposal Summerfield ultimately yielded, but with extreme reluctance. It
+      was agreed in committee that I should accompany him thither, and take with
+      me, in my own possession, evidences of the sums subscribed here; that a
+      proper appeal should be made to the leading capitalists, scholars and
+      clergymen of that metropolis, and that, when the whole amount was raised,
+      it should be paid over to Summerfield, and a bond taken from him never to
+      divulge his awful secret to any human being.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With this, he seemed to be satisfied, and left us to prepare for his going
+      the next morning.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As soon as he left the apartment, the bishop rose, and deprecated the
+      action that had been taken, and characterized it as childish and absurd.
+      He declared that no man was safe one moment whilst "that diabolical
+      wretch" still lived; that the only security for us all was in his
+      immediate extirpation from the face of the earth, and that no amount of
+      money could seal his lips, or close his hands. It would be no crime, he
+      said, to deprive him of the means of assassinating the whole human family,
+      and that as for himself he was for dooming him to immediate death.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With a unanimity that was extraordinary, the entire committee coincided.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A great many plans were proposed, discussed and rejected, having in view
+      the extermination of Summerfield. In them all there was the want of that
+      proper caution which would lull the apprehensions of an enemy; for should
+      he for an instant suspect treachery, we knew his nature well enough to be
+      satisfied, that he would waive all ceremonies and carry his threats into
+      immediate execution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      It was finally resolved that the trip to New York should not be abandoned,
+      apparently. But that we were to start out in accordance with the original
+      program; that during the journey, some proper means should be resorted to
+      by me to carry out the final intentions of the committee, and that
+      whatever I did would be sanctioned by them all, and full protection, both
+      in law and conscience, afforded me in any stage of the proceeding.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Nothing was wanting but my own consent; but this was difficult to secure.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      At the first view, it seemed to be a most horrible and unwarrantable crime
+      to deprive a fellow-being of life, under any circumstances; but especially
+      so where, in meeting his fate, no opportunity was to be afforded him for
+      preparation or repentance. It was a long time before I could disassociate,
+      in my mind, the two ideas of act and intent. My studies had long ago made
+      me perfectly familiar with the doctrine of the civil law, that in order to
+      constitute guilt, there must be a union of action and intention. Taking
+      the property of another is not theft, unless, as the lawyers term it,
+      there is the animus furandi. So, in homicide, life may be lawfully taken
+      in some instances, whilst the deed may be excused in others. The sheriff
+      hangs the felon and deprives him of existence; yet nobody thinks of
+      accusing the officer of murder. The soldier slays his enemy, still the act
+      is considered heroical. It does not therefore follow that human life is
+      too sacred to be taken away under all circumstances. The point to be
+      considered was thus narrowed down into one grand inquiry, whether
+      Summerfield was properly to be regarded as hostis humani generis, the
+      enemy of the human race, or not. If he should justly be so considered,
+      then it would not only be not a crime to kill him, but an act worthy of
+      the highest commendation. Who blamed McKenzie for hanging Spencer to the
+      yard-arm? Yet in his case, the lives of only a small ship's crew were in
+      jeopardy. Who condemned Pompey for exterminating the pirates from the
+      Adriatic? Yet, in his case, only a small portion of the Roman Republic was
+      liable to devastation. Who accuses Charlotte Corday of assassination for
+      stabbing Marat in his bath? Still, her arm only saved the lives of a few
+      thousands of revolutionary Frenchmen. And to come down to our own times,
+      who heaps accusation upon the heads of Lincoln, Thomas or Sheridan, or
+      even Grant, though in marching to victory over a crushed rebellion, they
+      deemed it necessary to wade through seas of human gore? If society has the
+      right to defend itself from the assaults of criminals, who, at best, can
+      only destroy a few of its members, why should I hesitate when it was
+      apparent that the destiny of the globe itself hung in the balance? If
+      Summerfield should live and carry out his threats, the whole world would
+      feel the shock; his death was the only path to perfect safety.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I asked the privilege of meditation for one hour, at the hands of the
+      committee, before I would render a decision either way. During that recess
+      the above argumentation occupied my thoughts. The time expired, and I
+      again presented myself before them. I did not deem it requisite to state
+      the grounds of my decision; I briefly signified my assent, and made
+      instant preparation to carry the plan into execution.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having passed on the line of the Pacific Railway more than once, I was
+      perfectly familiar with all of its windings, gorges and precipices.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I selected Cape Horn as the best adapted to the purpose, and... the public
+      knows the rest.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Having been fully acquitted by two tribunals of the law, I make this final
+      appeal to my fellowmen throughout the State, and ask them confidently not
+      to reverse the judgments already pronounced.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I am conscious of no guilt; I feel no remorse; I need no repentance. For
+      me justice has no terrors, and conscience no sting. Let me be judged
+      solely by the motives which actuated me, and the importance of the end
+      accomplished, and I shall pass, unscathed, both temporal and eternal
+      tribunals.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Leonidas Parker.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Additional Particulars
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The following additional particulars, as sequel to the Summerfield
+      homicide, have been furnished by an Auburn correspondent:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Editor: The remarkable confession of the late Leonidas Parker, which
+      appeared in your issue of the 13th ultimo, has given rise to a series of
+      disturbances in this neighborhood, which, for romantic interest and
+      downright depravity, have seldom been surpassed, even in California.
+      Before proceeding to relate in detail the late transactions, allow me to
+      remark that the wonderful narrative of Parker excited throughout this
+      county sentiments of the most profound and contradictory character. I, for
+      one, halted between two opinions&mdash;horror and incredulity; and nothing
+      but subsequent events could have fully satisfied me of the unquestionable
+      veracity of your San Francisco correspondent, and the scientific
+      authenticity of the facts related.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The doubt with which the story was at first received in this community&mdash;and
+      which found utterance in a burlesque article in an obscure country
+      journal, the Stars and Stripes, of Auburn&mdash;has finally been
+      dispelled, and we find ourselves forced to admit that we stand even now in
+      the presence of the most alarming fate. Too much credit cannot be awarded
+      to our worthy coroner for the promptitude of his action, and we trust that
+      the Governor of the State will not be less efficient in the discharge of
+      his duty.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      [Since the above letter was written the following proclamation has been
+      issued.&mdash;P. J.]
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Proclamation of the Governor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      $10,000 Reward.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Department of State.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By virtue of the authority in me vested, I do hereby offer the above
+      reward of ten thousand dollars, in gold coin of the United States, for the
+      arrest of Bartholomew Graham, familiarly known as "Black Bart." Said
+      Graham is accused of the murder of C. P. Gillson, late of Auburn, county
+      of Placer, on the 14th ultimo. He is five feet ten inches and a half in
+      height, thick set, has a mustache sprinkled with gray, grizzled hair,
+      clear blue eyes, walks stooping, and served in the late civil war, under
+      Price and Quantrell, in the Confederate army. He may be lurking in some of
+      the mining-camps near the foot-hills, as he was a Washoe teamster during
+      the Comstock excitement. The above reward will be paid for him, dead or
+      alive, as he possessed himself of an important secret by robbing the body
+      of the late Gregory Summerfield.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      By the Governor: H. G. Nicholson,
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Secretary of State.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Given at Sacramento, this the fifth day of June, 1871.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Our correspondent continues:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I am sorry to say that Sheriff Higgins has not been so active in the
+      discharge of his duty as the urgency of the case required, but he is
+      perhaps excusable on account of the criminal interference of the editor
+      above alluded to. But I am detaining you from more important matters. Your
+      Saturday's paper reached here at 4 o'clock Saturday,13th May, and, as it
+      now appears from the evidence taken before the coroner, several persons
+      left Auburn on the same errand, but without any previous conference. Two
+      of these were named respectively Charles P. Gillson and Bartholomew
+      Graham, or, as he was usually called, "Black Bart." Gillson kept a saloon
+      at the corner of Prickly Ash Street and the Old Spring Road; and Black
+      Bart was in the employ of Conrad &amp; Co., keepers of the Norfolk Livery
+      Stable. Gillson was a son-in-law of ex-Governor Roberts, of Iowa, and
+      leaves a wife and two children to mourn his untimely end. As for Graham,
+      nothing certain is known of his antecedents. It is said that he was
+      engaged in the late robbery of Wells &amp; Fargo's express at Grizzly
+      Bend, and that he was an habitual gambler. Only one thing about him is
+      certainly well known: he was a lieutenant in the Confederate army, and
+      served under General Price and the outlaw Quantrell. He was a man
+      originally of fine education, plausible manners and good family, but
+      strong drink seems early in life to have overmastered him, and left him
+      but a wreck of himself. But he was not incapable of generous or, rather,
+      romantic acts; for, during the burning of the Putnam House in this town
+      last summer, he rescued two ladies from the flames. In so doing he
+      scorched his left hand so seriously as to contract the tendons of two
+      fingers, and this very scar may lead to his apprehension. There is no
+      doubt about his utter desperation of character, and, if taken at all, it
+      will probably be not alive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      So much for the persons concerned in the tragedy at the Flat.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Herewith I inclose copies of the testimony of the witnesses examined
+      before the coroner's jury, together with the statement of Gillson, taken
+      in articulo mortis:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Deposition of Dollie Adams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      State of California, } County of Placer. } ss.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Said witness, being duly sworn, deposes as follows, to wit: My name is
+      Dolly Adams, my age forty-seven years; I am the wife of Frank G. Adams, of
+      this township, and reside on the North Fork of the American River, below
+      Cape Horn, on Thompson's Flat. About one o'clock p. m., May 14, 1871, I
+      left the cabin to gather wood to cook dinner for my husband and the hands
+      at work for him on the claim. The trees are mostly cut away from the
+      bottom, and I had to climb some distance up the mountainside before I
+      could get enough to kindle the fire. I had gone about five hundred yards
+      from the cabin, and was searching for small sticks of fallen timber, when
+      I thought I heard some one groan, as if in pain. I paused and listened;
+      the groaning became more distinct, and I started at once for the place
+      whence the sounds proceeded; about ten steps off I discovered the man
+      whose remains lie there (pointing to the deceased), sitting up, with his
+      back against a big rock. He looked so pale that I thought him already
+      dead, but he continued to moan until I reached his side. Hearing me
+      approach, he opened his eyes, and begged me, "For God's sake, give me a
+      drop of water!" I asked him, "What is the matter?" He replied, "I am shot
+      in the back." "Dangerously?" I demanded. "Fatally!" he faltered. Without
+      waiting to question him further, I returned to the cabin, told Zenie, my
+      daughter, what I had seen, and sent her off on a run for the men. Taking
+      with me a gourd of water, some milk and bread&mdash;for I thought the poor
+      gentleman might be hungry and weak, as well as wounded&mdash;I hurried
+      back to his side, where I remained until "father"&mdash;as we all call my
+      husband&mdash;came with the men. We removed him as gently as we could to
+      the cabin; then sent for Dr. Liebner, and nursed him until he died,
+      yesterday, just at sunset.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Question by the Coroner: Did you hear his statement, taken down by the
+      Assistant District-Attorney?&mdash;A. I did.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Q. Did you see him sign it?&mdash;A. Yes, sir.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Q. Is this your signature thereto as witness?&mdash;A. It is, sir.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      (Signed) Dollie Adams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Deposition of Miss X. V. Adams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Being first duly sworn, witness testified as follows: My name is Xixenia
+      Volumnia Adams; I am the daughter of Frank G. Adams and the last witness;
+      I reside with them on the Flat, and my age is eighteen years. A little
+      past one o'clock on Sunday last my mother came running into the house and
+      informed me that a man was dying on the side-hill, from a wound, and that
+      I must go for father and the boys immediately. I ran as fast as my legs
+      would carry me to where they were "cleaning up," for they never cleaned up
+      week-days on the Flat, and told the news; we all came back together and
+      proceeded to the spot where the wounded man lay weltering in his blood; he
+      was cautiously removed to the cabin, where he lingered until yesterday
+      sundown, when he died.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Question. Did he speak after he reached the cabin?&mdash;A. He did
+      frequently; at first with great pain, but afterward more audibly and
+      intelligibly.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Q. What did he say?&mdash;A. First, to send for Squire Jacobs, the
+      Assistant District-Attorney, as he had a statement to make; and some time
+      afterward, to send for his wife; but we first of all sent for the doctor.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Q. Who was present when he died?&mdash;A. Only myself; he had appeared a
+      great deal easier, and his wife had lain down to take a short nap, and my
+      mother had gone to the spring and left me alone to watch. Suddenly he
+      lifted himself spasmodically in bed, glared around wildly and muttered
+      something inaudible; seeing me, he cried out, "Run! run! run! He has it!
+      Black Bart has got the vial! Quick! or he'll set the world afire! See, he
+      opens it! O my God! Look! look! look! Hold his hands! tie him! chain him
+      down! Too late! too late! oh, the flames! Fire! fire! fire!" His tone of
+      voice gradually strengthened until the end of his raving; when he cried
+      "fire!" his eyeballs glared, his mouth quivered, his body convulsed, and
+      before Mrs. Gillson could reach his bedside he fell back stone dead.
+      (Signed) X. V. Adams.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The testimony of Adams corroborated in every particular that of his wife
+      and daughter, but set forth more fully the particulars of his demoniac
+      ravings. He would taste nothing from a glass or bottle, but shuddered
+      whenever any article of that sort met his eyes. In fact, they had to
+      remove from the room the cups, tumblers, and even the castors. At times he
+      spoke rationally, but after the second day only in momentary flashes of
+      sanity.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The deposition of the attending physician, after giving the general facts
+      with regard to the sickness of the patient and his subsequent demise,
+      proceeded thus:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I found the patient weak, and suffering from loss of blood and rest, and
+      want of nourishment; occasionally sane, but for the most part flighty and
+      in a comatose condition. The wound was an ordinary gunshot wound, produced
+      most probably by the ball of a navy revolver, fired at the distance of ten
+      paces. It entered the back near the left clavicle, beneath the scapula,
+      close to the vertebrae between the intercostal spaces of the fifth and
+      sixth ribs; grazing the pericardium it traversed the mediastinum, barely
+      touching the oesophagus, and vena azygos, but completely severing the
+      thoracic duct, and lodging in the xiphoid portion of the sternum.
+      Necessarily fatal, there was no reason, however, why the patient could not
+      linger for a week or more; but it is no less certain that from the effect
+      of the wound he ultimately died. I witnessed the execution of the paper
+      shown to me&mdash;as the statement of deceased&mdash;at his request; and
+      at the time of signing the same he was in his perfect senses. It was taken
+      down in my presence by Jacobs, the Assistant District-Attorney of Placer
+      County, and read over to the deceased before he affixed his signature. I
+      was not present when he breathed his last, having been called away by my
+      patients in the town of Auburn, but I reached his bedside shortly
+      afterward. In my judgment, no amount of care or medical attention could
+      have prolonged his life more than a few days.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      (Signed) Karl Liebner, M. D.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The statement of the deceased was then introduced to the jury as follows:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      People of the State of California, } vs. } Bartholomew Graham. }
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Statement and Dying Confession of Charles P. Gillson, taken in articulo
+      mortis by George Simpson, Notary Public.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      On the morning of Sunday, the 14th day of May, 1871, I left Auburn alone
+      in search of the body of the late Gregory Summerfield, who was reported to
+      have been pushed from the cars at Cape Horn, in this county, by one
+      Leonidas Parker, since deceased. It was not fully light when I reached the
+      track of the Central Pacific Railroad. Having mined at an early day on
+      Thompson's Flat, at the foot of the rocky promontory now called Cape Horn,
+      I was familiar with the zigzag paths leading down that steep precipice.
+      One was generally used as a descent, the other as an ascent from the caņon
+      below. I chose the latter, as being the freest from the chance of
+      observation. It required the greatest caution to thread the narrow gorge;
+      but I finally reached the rocky bench, about one thousand feet below the
+      grade of the railroad. It was now broad daylight, and I commenced
+      cautiously the search for Summerfield's body. There is quite a dense
+      undergrowth of shrubs thereabouts, lining the interstices of the granite
+      rocks so as to obscure the vision even at a short distance. Brushing aside
+      a thick manzanita bush, I beheld the dead man at the same instant of time
+      that another person arrived like an apparition upon the spot. It was
+      Bartholomew Graham, known as "Black Bart." We suddenly confronted each
+      other, the skeleton of Summerfield lying exactly between us. Our
+      recognition was mutual. Graham advanced, and I did the same; he stretched
+      out his hand and we greeted one another across the prostrate corpse.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Before releasing my hand, Black Bart exclaimed in a hoarse whisper,
+      "Swear, Gillson, in the presence of the dead, that you will forever be
+      faithful, never betray me, and do exactly as I bid you, as long as you
+      live!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I looked him full in the eye. Fate sat there, cold and remorseless as
+      stone. I hesitated; with his left hand he slightly raised the lapels of
+      his coat, and grasped the handle of a navy revolver.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Swear!" again he cried.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      As I gazed, his eyeballs assumed a greenish tint, and his brow darkened
+      into a scowl. "As your confederate," I answered, "never as your slave."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Be it so!" was his only reply.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The body was lying upon its back, with the face upwards. The vultures had
+      despoiled the countenance of every vestige of flesh, and left the sockets
+      of the eyes empty. Snow and ice and rain had done their work effectually
+      upon the exposed surfaces of his clothing, and the eagles had feasted upon
+      the entrails. But underneath, the thick beaver cloth had served to protect
+      the flesh, and there were some decaying shreds left of what had once been
+      the terrible but accomplished Gregory Summerfield. A glance told us all
+      these things. But they did not interest me so much as another spectacle,
+      that almost froze my blood. In the skeleton gripe of the right hand,
+      interlaced within the clenched bones, gleamed the wide-mouthed vial which
+      was the object of our mutual visit. Graham fell upon his knees, and
+      attempted to withdraw the prize from the grasp of its dead possessor. But
+      the bones were firm, and when he finally succeeded in securing the bottle,
+      by a sudden wrench, I heard the skeleton fingers snap like pipe-stems.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Hold this a moment, whilst I search the pockets," he commanded.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I did as directed.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      He then turned over the corpse, and thrusting his hand into the inner
+      breast-pocket, dragged out a roll of MSS., matted closely together and
+      stained by the winter's rains. A further search eventuated in finding a
+      roll of small gold coin, a set of derringer pistols, a rusted double-edged
+      dirk, and a pair of silver-mounted spectacles. Hastily covering over the
+      body with leaves and branches cut from the embowering shrubs, we
+      shudderingly left the spot.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We slowly descended the gorge toward the banks of the American River,
+      until we arrived in a small but sequestered thicket, where we threw
+      ourselves upon the ground. Neither had spoken a word since we left the
+      scene above described. Graham was the first to break the silence which to
+      me had become oppressive.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Let us examine the vial and see if the contents are safe."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      I drew it from my pocket and handed it to him.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Sealed hermetically, and perfectly secure," he added. Saying this, he
+      deliberately wrapped it up in a handkerchief and placed it in his bosom.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "What shall we do with our prize?" I inquired.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Our prize?" As he said this he laughed derisively, and cast a most
+      scornful and threatening glance toward me.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Yes," I rejoined firmly; "our prize!"
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      "Gillson," retorted Graham, "you must regard me as a consummate simpleton,
+      or yourself a Goliath. This bottle is mine, and mine only. It is a great
+      fortune for one, but of less value than a toadstool for two. I am willing
+      to divide fairly. This secret would be of no service to a coward. He would
+      not dare to use it. Your share of the robbery of the body shall be these
+      MSS.; you can sell them to some poor devil of a printer, and pay yourself
+      for your day's work."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Saying this he threw the bundle of MSS. at my feet; but I disdained to
+      touch them. Observing this, he gathered them up safely and replaced them
+      in his pocket. "As you are unarmed," he said, "it would not be safe for
+      you to be seen in this neighborhood during daylight. We will both spend
+      the night here, and just before morning return to Auburn. I will accompany
+      you part of the distance."
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      With the sangfroid of a perfect desperado, he then stretched himself out
+      in the shadow of a small tree, drank deeply from a whiskey flagon which he
+      produced, and pulling his hat over his eyes, was soon asleep and snoring.
+      It was a long time before I could believe the evidence of my own senses.
+      Finally, I approached the ruffian, and placed my hand on his shoulder. He
+      did not stir a muscle. I listened; I heard only the deep, slow breathing
+      of profound slumber. Resolved not to be balked and defrauded by such a
+      scoundrel, I stealthily withdrew the vial from his pocket and sprang to my
+      feet, just in time to hear the click of a revolver behind me. I was
+      betrayed! I remember only a flash and an explosion&mdash;a deathly
+      sensation, a whirl of the rocks and trees about me, a hideous imprecation
+      from the lips of my murderer, and I fell senseless to the earth. When I
+      awoke to consciousness it was past midnight. I looked up at the stars, and
+      recognized Lyra shining full in my face. That constellation, I knew,
+      passed the meridian at this season of the year after twelve o'clock, and
+      its slow march told me that many weary hours would intervene before
+      daylight. My right arm was paralyzed, but I put forth my left, and it
+      rested in a pool of my own blood. "Oh, for one drop of water!" I
+      exclaimed, faintly; but only the low sighing of the night blast responded.
+      Again I fainted. Shortly after daylight I revived, and crawled to the spot
+      where I was discovered on the next day by the kind mistress of this cabin.
+      You know the rest. I accuse Bartholomew Graham of my assassination. I do
+      this in the perfect possession of my senses, and with a full sense of my
+      responsibility to Almighty God. (Signed) C. P. Gillson.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      George Simpson, Notary Public. Chris. Jacobs, Assistant District-Attorney.
+      Dollie Adams, } Witnesses. Karl Liebner, }
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The following is a copy of the verdict of the coroner's jury:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      County of Placer, } Cape Horn Township. }
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      In re C. P. Gillson, late of said county deceased.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      We, the undersigned, coroner's jury, summoned in the foregoing case to
+      examine into the causes of the death of said Gillson, do find that he came
+      to his death at the hands of Bartholomew Graham, usually called "Black
+      Bart," on Wednesday, the 17th May, 1871. And we further find said Graham
+      guilty of murder in the first degree, and recommend his immediate
+      apprehension.
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+(Signed) John Quillan,            Peter McIntyre,
+            Abel George,
+            Alex. Scriber,
+(Correct:) Wm. A. Thompson.
+</pre>
+    <p>
+      Thos. J. Alwyn, Coroner.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      The above documents constitute the papers introduced before the coroner.
+      Should anything of further interest occur, I will keep you fully advised.
+      Powhattan Jones.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Since the above was in type we have received from our esteemed San
+      Francisco correspondent the following letter:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      San Francisco, June 8, 1871.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Mr. Editor: On entering my office this morning I found a bundle of MSS.
+      which had been thrown in at the transom over the door, labeled, "The
+      Summerfield MSS." Attached to them was an unsealed note from one
+      Bartholomew Graham, in these words:
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Dear Sir: These are yours; you have earned them. I commend to your
+      especial notice the one styled, "De Mundo Comburendo." At a future time
+      you may hear again from
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Bartholomew Graham.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      A casual glance at the papers convinces me that they are of great literary
+      value. Summerfield's fame never burned so brightly as it does over his
+      grave. Will you publish the MSS.?
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      Here ends No. Two Western Classics Containing The Case of Summerfield by
+      W. H. Rhodes an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner and a Frontispiece After
+      a Painting by Galen J. Perrett the Typography Designed by J. H. Nash of
+      this First Edition One Thousand Copies Have Been Issued Printed on
+      Fabriano Handmade Paper Published by Paul Elder and Company and Done into
+      a Book for them at the Tomoye Press in the City of New York MCMVII.
+    </p>
+    <p>
+      <br /><br /><br /><br />
+    </p>
+<pre xml:space="preserve">
+
+
+
+
+
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+Project Gutenberg's The Case of Summerfield, by William Henry Rhodes
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Case of Summerfield
+
+Author: William Henry Rhodes
+
+Release Date: February, 2004  [EBook #5191]
+Posting Date: March 25, 2009
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David A. Schwan
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD
+
+By William Henry Rhodes
+
+
+With an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner
+
+
+
+
+THE INTRODUCTION
+
+
+
+The greatest master of the short story our country has known found his
+inspiration and produced his best work in California. It is now nearly
+forty years since "The Luck of Roaring Camp" appeared, and a line of
+successors, more or less worthy, have been following along the
+trail blazed by Bret Harte. They have given us matter of many kinds,
+realistic, romantic, tragic, humorous, weird. In this mass of material
+much that was good has been lost. The columns of newspapers swallowed
+some; weeklies, that lived for a brief day, carried others to the grave
+with them. Now and then chance or design interposed, and some fragment
+of value was not allowed to perish. It is matter for congratulation that
+the story in this volume was one of those saved from oblivion.
+
+In 1871 a San Francisco paper published a tale entitled The Case of
+Summerfield. The author concealed himself under the name of "Caxton," a
+pseudonym unknown at the time. The story made an immediate impression,
+and the remote little world by the Golden Gate was shaken into startled
+and enquiring astonishment. Wherever people met, The Case of Summerfield
+was on men's tongues. Was Caxton's contention possible? Was it true
+that, by the use of potassium, water could be set on fire, and that
+any one possessing this baneful secret could destroy the world? The
+plausibility with which the idea was presented, the bare directness
+of the style, added to its convincing power. It sounded too real to be
+invention, was told with too frank a simplicity to be all imagination.
+People could not decide where truth and fiction blended, and the name of
+Caxton leaped into local fame.
+
+The author of the tale was a lawyer, W. H. Rhodes, a man of standing and
+ability, interested in scientific research. He had written little; what
+time he had been able to spare from his work, had been given to studies
+in chemistry whence he had drawn the inspiration for such stories as The
+Case of Summerfield. With him the writing of fiction was a pastime, not
+a profession. He wrote because he wanted to, from the urgence of an idea
+pressing for utterance, not from the more imperious necessity of keeping
+the pot boiling and of there being a roof against the rain. Literary
+creation was to him a rest, a matter of holiday in the daily round of a
+man's labor to provide for his own.
+
+His output was small. One slender volume contains all he wrote: a few
+poems, half a dozen stories. In all of these we can feel the spell
+exercised over him by the uncanny, the terrible, the weirdly grotesque.
+His imagination played round those subjects of fantastic horror which
+had so potent an attraction for Fitz James O'Brien, the writer whom he
+most resembles. There was something of Poe's cold pleasure in
+dissecting the abnormally horrible in "The Story of John Pollexfen,"
+the photographer, who, in order to discover a certain kind of lens,
+experimented with living eyes. His cat and dog each lost an eye, and
+finally a young girl was found willing to sell one of hers that she
+might have money to help her lover. But none of the other stories shows
+the originality and impressively realistic tone which distinguish The
+Case of Summerfield. In this he achieved the successful combination of
+audacity of theme with a fitting incisiveness of style. It alone rises
+above the level of the merely ingenious and clever; it alone of his work
+was worth preserving.
+
+Scattered through the ranks of writers, part of whose profession is a
+continuous, unflagging output, are these "one story men," who, in some
+propitious moment, when the powers of brain and heart are intensified by
+a rare and happy alchemy, produce a single masterpiece. The vision
+and the dream have once been theirs, and, though they may never again
+return, the product of the glowing moment is ours to rejoice in and
+wonder at. Unfortunately the value of these accidental triumphs is not
+always seen. They go their way and are submerged in the flood of fiction
+that the presses pour upon a defenseless country. Now and then one
+unexpectedly hears of them, their unfamiliar titles rise to the surface
+when writers gather round the table. An investigator in the forgotten
+files of magazinedom has found one, and tells of his treasure trove as
+the diver of his newly discovered pearl. Then comes a publisher, who,
+diligent and patient, draws them from their hiding-places, shakes off
+the dust, and gives them to a public which once applauded and has since
+forgotten.
+
+Such has been the fate of The Case of Summerfield. Thirty-five years
+ago, in the town that clustered along the edge of San Francisco Bay, it
+had its brief award of attention. But the San Francisco of that day
+was very distant--a gleam on the horizon against the blue line of the
+Pacific. It took a mighty impetus to carry its decisions and opinions
+across the wall of the Sierra and over the desert to the East. Fame and
+reputation, unless the greatest, had not vitality for so long a flight.
+So the strange and fantastic story should come as a discovery, the one
+remarkable achievement of an unknown author, who, unfortunately, is no
+longer here to enjoy an Indian summer of popularity.
+
+Geraldine Bonner.
+
+
+
+
+THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD
+
+
+
+The following manuscript was found among the effects of the late
+Leonidas Parker, in relation to one Gregory Summerfield, or, as he was
+called at the time those singular events first attracted public notice,
+"The Man with a Secret." Parker was an eminent lawyer, a man of firm
+will, fond of dabbling in the occult sciences, but never allowing this
+tendency to interfere with the earnest practice of his profession. This
+astounding narrative is prefaced by the annexed clipping from the Auburn
+Messenger of November 1, 1870:
+
+A few days since, we called public attention to the singular conduct of
+James G. Wilkins, justice of the peace for the "Cape Horn" district, in
+this county, in discharging without trial a man named Parker, who was,
+as we still think, seriously implicated in the mysterious death of an
+old man named Summerfield, who, our readers will probably remember, met
+so tragical an end on the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, in the
+month of October last. We have now to record another bold outrage on
+public justice, in connection with the same affair. The grand jury of
+Placer County has just adjourned, without finding any bill against the
+person named above. Not only did they refuse to find a true bill, or
+to make any presentment, but they went one step further toward the
+exoneration of the offender; they specially ignored the indictment which
+our district attorney deemed it his duty to present. The main facts in
+relation to the arrest and subsequent discharge of Parker may be summed
+up in few words:
+
+It appears that, about the last of October, one Gregory Summerfield,
+an old man nearly seventy years of age, in company with Parker, took
+passage for Chicago, via the Pacific Railroad, and about the middle of
+the afternoon reached the neighborhood of Cape Horn, in this county.
+Nothing of any special importance seems to have attracted the attention
+of any of the passengers toward these persons until a few moments before
+passing the dangerous curve in the track, overlooking the North Fork of
+the American River, at the place called Cape Horn. As our readers
+are aware, the road at this point skirts a precipice, with rocky
+perpendicular sides, extending to the bed of the stream, nearly
+seventeen hundred feet below. Before passing the curve, Parker was heard
+to comment upon the sublimity of the scenery they were approaching, and
+finally requested the old man to leave the car and stand upon the open
+platform, in order to obtain a better view of the tremendous chasm
+and the mountains just beyond. The two men left the car, and a moment
+afterward a cry of horror was heard by all the passengers, and the
+old man was observed to fall at least one thousand feet upon the crags
+below. The train was stopped for a few moments, but, fearful of a
+collision if any considerable length of time should be lost in an
+unavailing search for the mangled remains, it soon moved on again,
+and proceeded as swiftly as possible to the next station. There the
+miscreant Parker was arrested, and conveyed to the office of the nearest
+justice of the peace for examination. We understand that he refused to
+give any detailed account of the transaction, only that "the deceased
+either fell or was thrown from the moving train."
+
+The examination was postponed until the arrival of Parker's counsel,
+O'Connell & Kilpatrick, of Grass Valley, and after they reached Cape
+Horn not a single word could be extracted from the prisoner. It is said
+that the inquisition was a mere farce; there being no witnesses present
+except one lady passenger, who, with commendable spirit, volunteered to
+lay over one day, to give in her testimony. We also learn that, after
+the trial, the justice, together with the prisoner and his counsel, were
+closeted in secret session for more than two hours; at the expiration of
+which time the judge resumed his seat upon the bench, and discharged the
+prisoner!
+
+Now, we have no desire to do injustice toward any of the parties to
+this singular transaction, much less to arm public sentiment against
+an innocent man. But we do affirm that there is, there must be, some
+profound mystery at the bottom of this affair, and we shall do our
+utmost to fathom the secret.
+
+Yes, there is a secret and mystery connected with the disappearance of
+Summerfield, and the sole object of this communication is to clear it
+up, and place myself right in the public estimation. But, in order to
+do so, it becomes essentially necessary to relate all the circumstances
+connected with my first and subsequent acquaintance with Summerfield. To
+do this intelligibly, I shall have to go back twenty-two years.
+
+It is well known amongst my intimate friends that I resided in the late
+Republic of Texas for many years antecedent to my immigration to this
+State. During the year 1847, whilst but a boy, and residing on the
+sea-beach some three or four miles from the city of Galveston, Judge
+Wheeler, at that time Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, paid
+us a visit, and brought with him a gentleman, whom he had known several
+years previously on the Sabine River, in the eastern part of that State.
+This gentleman was introduced to us by the name of Summerfield. At
+that time he was past the prime of life, slightly gray, and inclined to
+corpulency. He was of medium height, and walked proudly erect, as though
+conscious of superior mental attainments. His face was one of those
+which, once seen, can never be forgotten. The forehead was broad, high,
+and protuberant. It was, besides, deeply graven with wrinkles, and
+altogether was the most intellectual that I had ever seen. It bore some
+resemblance to that of Sir Isaac Newton, but still more to Humboldt or
+Webster. The eyes were large, deep-set, and lustrous with a light that
+seemed kindled in their own depths. In color they were gray, and whilst
+in conversation absolutely blazed with intellect. His mouth was large,
+but cut with all the precision of a sculptor's chiseling. He was rather
+pale, but, when excited, his complexion lit up with a sudden rush of
+ruddy flushes, that added something like beauty to his half-sad and
+half-sardonic expression. A word and a glance told me at once, this is a
+most extraordinary man.
+
+Judge Wheeler knew but little of the antecedents of Summerfield. He was
+of Northern birth, but of what State it is impossible to say definitely.
+Early in life he removed to the frontier of Arkansas, and pursued for
+some years the avocation of village schoolmaster. It was the suggestion
+of Judge Wheeler that induced him to read law. In six months' time he
+had mastered Story's Equity, and gained an important suit, based upon
+one of its most recondite principles. But his heart was not in the
+legal profession, and he made almost constant sallies into the fields of
+science, literature and art. He was a natural mathematician and was the
+most profound and original arithmetician in the Southwest. He frequently
+computed the astronomical tables for the almanacs of New Orleans,
+Pensacola and Mobile, and calculated eclipse, transit and observations
+with ease and perfect accuracy. He was also deeply read in metaphysics,
+and wrote and published, in the old Democratic Review for 1846, an
+article on the "Natural Proof of the Existence of a Deity," that for
+beauty of language, depth of reasoning, versatility of illustration, and
+compactness of logic, has never been equaled. The only other publication
+which at that period he had made, was a book that astonished all of his
+friends, both in title and execution. It was called "The Desperadoes of
+the West," and purported to give minute details of the lives of some of
+the most noted duelists and bloodstained villains in the Western States.
+But the book belied its title. It is full of splendid description and
+original thought. No volume in the language contains so many eloquent
+passages and such gorgeous imagery, in the same space. His plea for
+immortality, on beholding the execution of one of the most noted
+culprits of Arkansas, has no parallel in any living language for beauty
+of diction and power of thought. As my sole object in this communication
+is to defend myself, some acquaintance with the mental resources of
+Summerfield is absolutely indispensable; for his death was the immediate
+consequence of his splendid attainments. Of chemistry he was a complete
+master. He describes it in his article on a Deity, above alluded to, as
+the "Youngest Daughter of the Sciences, born amid flames, and cradled
+in rollers of fire." If there were any one science to which he was more
+specially devoted than to any and all others, it was chemistry. But he
+really seemed an adept in all, and shone about everywhere with equal
+lustre.
+
+Many of these characteristics were mentioned by Judge Wheeler at the
+time of Summerfield's visit to Galveston, but others subsequently came
+to my knowledge, after his retreat to Brownsville, on the banks of the
+Rio Grande. There he filled the position of Judge of the District Court,
+and such was his position just previous to his arrival in this city in
+the month of September of the past year.
+
+One day, toward the close of last September, an old man rapped at my
+office door, and on invitation came in, and advancing, called me by
+name. Perceiving that I did not at first recognize him, he introduced
+himself as Gregory Summerfield. After inviting him to a seat, I
+scrutinized his features more closely, and quickly identified him as
+the same person whom I had met twenty-two years before. He was greatly
+altered in appearance, but the lofty forehead and the gray eye were
+still there, unchanged and unchangeable. He was not quite so stout,
+but more ruddy in complexion, and exhibited some symptoms, as I then
+thought, of intemperate drinking. Still there was the old charm of
+intellectual superiority in his conversation, and I welcomed him to
+California as an important addition to her mental wealth.
+
+It was not many minutes before he requested a private interview. He
+followed me into my back office, carefully closed the door after him and
+locked it. We had scarcely seated ourselves before he inquired of me
+if I had noticed any recent articles in the newspapers respecting the
+discovery of the art of decomposing water so as to fit it for use as a
+fuel for ordinary purposes?
+
+I replied that I had observed nothing new upon that subject since
+the experiments of Agassiz and Professor Henry, and added that, in my
+opinion, the expensive mode of reduction would always prevent its use.
+
+In a few words he then informed me that he had made the discovery
+that the art was extremely simple, and the expense attending the
+decomposition so slight as to be insignificant.
+
+Presuming then that the object of his visit to me was to procure the
+necessary forms to get out a patent for the right, I congratulated him
+upon his good fortune, and was about to branch forth with a description
+of some of the great benefits that must ensue to the community, when he
+suddenly and somewhat uncivilly requested me to "be silent," and listen
+to what he had to say.
+
+He began with some general remarks about the inequality of fortune
+amongst mankind, and instanced himself as a striking example of the fate
+of those men, who, according to all the rules of right, ought to be near
+the top, instead of at the foot of the ladder of fortune. "But," said
+he, springing to his feet with impulsive energy, "I have now the means
+at my command of rising superior to fate, or of inflicting incalculable
+ills upon the whole human race."
+
+Looking at him more closely, I thought I could detect in his eye
+the gleam of madness; but I remained silent and awaited further
+developments. But my scrutiny, stolen as it was, had been detected, and
+he replied at once to the expression of my face: "No, sir; I am neither
+drunk nor a maniac; I am in deep earnest in all that I say; and I am
+fully prepared, by actual experiment, to demonstrate beyond all doubt
+the truth of all I claim."
+
+For the first time I noticed that he carried a small portmanteau in his
+hand; this he placed upon the table, unlocked it, and took out two
+or three small volumes, a pamphlet or two, and a small, square,
+wide-mouthed vial, hermetically sealed.
+
+I watched him with profound curiosity, and took note of his slightest
+movements. Having arranged his books to suit him, and placed the vial in
+a conspicuous position, he drew up his chair very closely to my own, and
+uttered in a half-hissing tone: "I demand one million dollars for the
+contents of that bottle; and you must raise it for me in the city of
+San Francisco within one month, or scenes too terrible even for the
+imagination to conceive, will surely be witnessed by every living human
+being on the face of the globe."
+
+The tone, the manner, and the absurd extravagance of the demand, excited
+a faint smile upon my lips, which he observed, but disdained to notice.
+
+My mind was fully made up that I had a maniac to deal with, and I
+prepared to act accordingly. But I ascertained at once that my inmost
+thoughts were read by the remarkable man before me, and seemed to be
+anticipated by him in advance of their expression.
+
+"Perhaps," said I, "Mr. Summerfield, you would oblige me by informing me
+fully of the grounds of your claim, and the nature of your discovery."
+
+"That is the object of my visit," he replied. "I claim to have
+discovered the key which unlocks the constituent gases of water, and
+frees each from the embrace of the other, at a single touch."
+
+"You mean to assert," I rejoined, "that you can make water burn itself
+up?"
+
+"Nothing more nor less," he responded, "except this: to insist upon the
+consequences of the secret, if my demand be not at once complied with."
+
+Then, without pausing for a moment to allow me to make a suggestion, as
+I once or twice attempted to do, he proceeded in a clear and deliberate
+manner, in these words: "I need not inform you, sir, that when this
+earth was created, it consisted almost wholly of vapor, which, by
+condensation, finally became water. The oceans now occupy more than
+two-thirds of the entire surface of the globe. The continents are mere
+islands in the midst of the seas. They are everywhere oceanbound, and
+the hyperborean north is hemmed in by open polar seas. Such is my first
+proposition. My second embraces the constituent elements of water. What
+is that thing which we call water? Chemistry, that royal queen of all
+the sciences, answers readily: 'Water is but the combination of two
+gases, oxygen and hydrogen, and in the proportion of eight to one.' In
+other words, in order to form water, take eight parts of oxygen and one
+of hydrogen, mix them together, and the result or product is water.
+You smile, sir, because, as you very properly think, these are the
+elementary principles of science, and are familiar to the minds of every
+schoolboy twelve years of age. Yes! but what next? Suppose you take
+these same gases and mix them in any other proportion, I care not what,
+and the instantaneous result is heat, flame, combustion of the intensest
+description. The famous Drummond Light, that a few years ago astonished
+Europe what is that but the ignited flame of a mixture of oxygen and
+hydrogen projected against a small piece of lime? What was harmless as
+water, becomes the most destructive of all known objects when decomposed
+and mixed in any other proportion.
+
+"Now, suppose I fling the contents of this small vial into the Pacific
+Ocean, what would be the result? Dare you contemplate it for an instant?
+I do not assert that the entire surface of the sea would instantaneously
+bubble up into insufferable flames; no, but from the nucleus of a
+circle, of which this vial would be the center, lurid radii of flames
+would gradually shoot outward, until the blazing circumference would
+roll in vast billows of fire, upon the uttermost shores. Not all the
+dripping clouds of the deluge could extinguish it. Not all the tears of
+saints and angels could for an instant check its progress. On and onward
+it would sweep, with the steady gait of destiny, until the continents
+would melt with fervent heat, the atmosphere glare with the ominous
+conflagration, and all living creatures, in land and sea and air, perish
+in one universal catastrophe."
+
+Then suddenly starting to his feet, he drew himself up to his full
+height, and murmured solemnly, "I feel like a God! and I recognize my
+fellow-men but as pygmies that I spurn beneath my feet."
+
+"Summerfield," said I calmly, "there must be some strange error in all
+this. You are self-deluded. The weapon which you claim to wield is one
+that a good God and a beneficent Creator would never intrust to the
+keeping of a mere creature. What, sir! create a world as grand and
+beautiful as this, and hide within its bosom a principle that at any
+moment might inwrap it in flames, and sink all life in death? I'll not
+believe it; 't were blasphemy to entertain the thought!"
+
+"And yet," cried he passionately, "your Bible prophesies the same
+irreverence. Look at your text in 2d Peter, third chapter, seventh and
+twelfth verses. Are not the elements to melt with fervent heat? Are not
+the 'heavens to be folded together like a scroll?' Are not 'the rocks to
+melt, the stars to fall, and the moon to be turned into blood?' Is not
+fire the next grand cyclic consummation of all things here below? But I
+come fully prepared to answer such objections. Your argument betrays a
+narrow mind, circumscribed in its orbit, and shallow in its depth. 'Tis
+the common thought of mediocrity. You have read books too much, and
+studied nature too little. Let me give you a lesson today in the
+workshop of Omnipotence. Take a stroll with me into the limitless
+confines of space, and let us observe together some of the scenes
+transpiring at this very instant around us. A moment ago you spoke of
+the moon: what is she but an extinguished world? You spoke of the sun:
+what is he but a globe of flame? But here is the Cosmos of Humboldt.
+Read this paragraph."
+
+As he said this he placed before me the Cosmos of Humboldt, and I read
+as follows:
+
+Nor do the Heavens themselves teach unchangeable permanency in the works
+of creation. Change is observable there quite as rapid and complete as
+in the confines of our solar system. In the year 1752, one of the small
+stars in the constellation Cassiopeia blazed up suddenly into an orb
+of the first magnitude, gradually decreased in brilliancy, and finally
+disappeared from the skies. Nor has it ever been visible since that
+period for a single moment, either to the eye or to the telescope. It
+burned up and was lost in space.
+
+"Humboldt," he added, "has not told us who set that world on fire!"
+
+"But," resumed he, "I have still clearer proofs."
+
+Saying this, he thrust into my hands the last London Quarterly, and on
+opening the book at an article headed "The Language of Light," I read
+with a feeling akin to awe, the following passage:
+
+Further, some stars exhibit changes of complexion in themselves. Sirius,
+as before stated, was once a ruddy, or rather a fiery-faced orb, but has
+now forgotten to blush, and looks down upon us with a pure, brilliant
+smile, in which there is no trace either of anger or of shame. On the
+countenances of others, still more varied traits have rippled, within a
+much briefer period of time. May not these be due to some physiological
+revolutions, general or convulsive, which are in progress in the
+particular orb, and which, by affecting the constitution of its
+atmosphere, compel the absorption or promote the transmission of
+particular rays? The supposition appears by no means improbable,
+especially if we call to mind the hydrogen volcanoes which have been
+discovered on the photosphere of the sun. Indeed, there are a few small
+stars which afford a spectrum of bright lines instead of dark ones, and
+this we know denotes a gaseous or vaporized state of things, from which
+it maybe inferred that such orbs are in a different condition from most
+of their relations.
+
+And, as if for the very purpose of throwing light upon this interesting
+question, an event of the most striking character occurred in the
+heavens, almost as soon as the spectroscopists were prepared to
+interpret it correctly.
+
+On the 12th of May, 1866, a great conflagration, infinitely larger than
+that of London or Moscow, was announced. To use the expression of a
+distinguished astronomer, a world was found to be on fire! A star, which
+till then had shone weakly and unobtrusively in the corona borealis,
+suddenly blazed up into a luminary of the second magnitude. In the
+course of three days from its discovery in this new character, by
+Birmingham, at Tuam, it had declined to the third or fourth order of
+brilliancy. In twelve days, dating from its first apparition in the
+Irish heavens, it had sunk to the eighth rank, and it went on waning
+until the 26th of June, when it ceased to be discernible except through
+the medium of the telescope. This was a remarkable, though certainly
+not an unprecedented proceeding on the part of a star; but one singular
+circumstance in its behavior was that, after the lapse of nearly two
+months, it began to blaze up again, though not with equal ardor, and
+after maintaining its glow for a few weeks, and passing through sundry
+phases of color, it gradually paled its fires, and returned to its
+former insignificance. How many years had elapsed since this awful
+conflagration actually took place, it would be presumptuous to guess;
+but it must be remembered that news from the heavens, though carried by
+the fleetest of messengers, light, reaches us long after the event has
+transpired, and that the same celestial carrier is still dropping the
+tidings at each station it reaches in space, until it sinks exhausted by
+the length of its flight.
+
+As the star had suddenly flamed up, was it not a natural supposition
+that it had become inwrapped in burning hydrogen, which in consequence
+of some great convulsion had been liberated in prodigious quantities,
+and then combining with other elements, had set this hapless world on
+fire? In such a fierce conflagration, the combustible gas would soon be
+consumed, and the glow would therefore begin to decline, subject, as in
+this case, to a second eruption, which occasioned the renewed outburst
+of light on the 20th of August.
+
+By such a catastrophe, it is not wholly impossible that our own globe
+may some time be ravaged; for if a word from the Almighty were to
+unloose for a few moments the bonds of affinity which unite the elements
+of water, a single spark would bring them together with a fury that
+would kindle the funeral pyre of the human race, and be fatal to the
+planet and all the works that are thereon.
+
+"Your argument," he then instantly added, "is by no means a good one.
+What do we know of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, or of his
+designs? He builds up worlds, and he pulls them down; he kindles suns
+and he extinguishes them. He inflames the comet, in one portion of its
+orbit, with a heat that no human imagination can conceive of; and in
+another, subjects the same blazing orb to a cold intenser than that
+which invests forever the antarctic pole. All that we know of Him we
+gather through His works. I have shown you that He burns other worlds,
+why not this? The habitable parts of our globe are surrounded by water,
+and water you know is fire in possibility."
+
+"But all this," I rejoined, "is pure, baseless, profitless speculation."
+
+"Not so fast," he answered. And then rising, he seized the small vial,
+and handing it to me, requested me to open it.
+
+I confess I did so with some trepidation.
+
+"Now smell it."
+
+I did so.
+
+"What odor do you perceive?"
+
+"Potassium," I replied.
+
+"Of course," he added, "you are familiar with the chief characteristic
+of that substance. It ignites instantly when brought in contact with
+water. Within that little globule of potassium, I have imbedded a pill
+of my own composition and discovery. The moment it is liberated from the
+potassium, it commences the work of decomposing the fluid on which it
+floats. The potassium at once ignites the liberated oxygen, and the
+conflagration of this mighty globe is begun."
+
+"Yes," said I, "begun, if you please, but your little pill soon
+evaporates or sinks, or melts in the surrounding seas, and your
+conflagration ends just where it began."
+
+"My reply to that suggestion could be made at once by simply testing
+the experiment on a small scale, or a large one, either. But I prefer
+at present to refute your proposition by an argument drawn from nature
+herself. If you correctly remember, the first time I had the pleasure
+of seeing you was on the island of Galveston, many years ago. Do you
+remember relating to me at that time an incident concerning the effects
+of a prairie on fire, that you had yourself witnessed but a few days
+previously, near the town of Matagorde? If I recollect correctly, you
+stated that on your return journey from that place, you passed on the
+way the charred remains of two wagon-loads of cotton, and three human
+beings, that the night before had perished in the flames; that three
+slaves, the property of a Mr. Horton, had started a few days before to
+carry to market a shipment of cotton; that a norther overtook them on
+a treeless prairie, and a few minutes afterward they were surprised by
+beholding a line of rushing fire, surging, roaring and advancing like
+the resistless billows of an ocean swept by a gale; that there was no
+time for escape, and they perished terribly in fighting the devouring
+element?"
+
+"Yes; I recollect the event."
+
+"Now, then, I wish a reply to the simple question: Did the single spark,
+that kindled the conflagration, consume the negroes and their charge?
+No? But what did? You reply, of course, that the spark set the entire
+prairie on fire; that each spear of grass added fuel to the flame, and
+kindled by degrees a conflagration that continued to burn so long as
+it could feed on fresh material. The pilule in that vial is the little
+spark, the oceans are the prairies, and the oxygen the fuel upon which
+the fire is to feed until the globe perishes in inextinguishable flames.
+The elementary substances in that small vial recreate themselves; they
+are self-generating, and when once fairly under way must necessarily
+sweep onward, until the waters in all the seas are exhausted. There is,
+however, one great difference between the burning of a prairie and the
+combustion of an ocean: the fire in the first spreads slowly, for the
+fuel is difficult to ignite; in the last, it flies with the rapidity
+of the wind, for the substance consumed is oxygen, the most inflammable
+agent in nature."
+
+Rising from my seat, I went to the washstand in the corner of the
+apartment, and drawing a bowl half full of Spring Valley water, I turned
+to Summerfield, and remarked, "Words are empty, theories are ideal--but
+facts are things."
+
+"I take you at your word." So saying, he approached the bowl, emptied
+it of nine-tenths of its contents, and silently dropped the
+potassium-coated pill into the liquid. The potassium danced around the
+edges of the vessel, fuming, hissing, and blazing, as it always does,
+and seemed on the point of expiring--when, to my astonishment and alarm,
+a sharp explosion took place, and in a second of time the water was
+blazing in a red, lurid column, half way to the ceiling.
+
+"For God's sake," I cried, "extinguish the flames, or we shall set the
+building on fire!"
+
+"Had I dropped the potassium into the bowl as you prepared it," he
+quietly remarked, "the building would indeed have been consumed."
+
+Lower and lower fell the flickering flames, paler and paler grew the
+blaze, until finally the fire went out, and I rushed up to see the
+effects of the combustion.
+
+Not a drop of water remained in the vessel! Astonished beyond measure at
+what I had witnessed, and terrified almost to the verge of insanity, I
+approached Summerfield, and tremblingly inquired, "To whom, sir, is
+this tremendous secret known?" "To myself alone," he responded; "and now
+answer me a question: is it worth the money?"
+
+
+
+* * * * *
+
+
+
+It is entirely unnecessary to relate in detail the subsequent events
+connected with this transaction. I will only add a general statement,
+showing the results of my negotiations. Having fully satisfied myself
+that Summerfield actually held in his hands the fate of the whole world,
+with its millions of human beings, and by experiment having tested the
+combustion of sea-water, with equal facility as fresh, I next deemed
+it my duty to call the attention of a few of the principal men in San
+Francisco to the extreme importance of Summerfield's discovery.
+
+A leading banker, a bishop, a chemist, two State university professors,
+a physician, a judge, and two Protestant divines, were selected by me
+to witness the experiment on a large scale. This was done at a small
+sand-hill lake, near the seashore, but separated from it by a ridge of
+lofty mountains, distant not more than ten miles from San Francisco.
+Every single drop of water in the pool was burnt up in less than fifteen
+minutes. We next did all that we could to pacify Summerfield, and
+endeavored to induce him to lower his price and bring it within the
+bounds of a reasonable possibility. But without avail. He began to grow
+urgent in his demands, and his brow would cloud like a tempest-ridden
+sky whenever we approached him on the subject. Finally, ascertaining
+that no persuasion could soften his heart or touch his feelings, a
+sub-committee was appointed, to endeavor, if possible, to raise the
+money by subscription. Before taking that step, however, we ascertained
+beyond all question that Summerfield was the sole custodian of his
+dread secret, and that he kept no written memorial of the formula of his
+prescription. He even went so far as to offer us a penal bond that his
+secret should perish with him in case we complied with his demands.
+
+The sub-committee soon commenced work amongst the wealthiest citizens
+of San Francisco, and by appealing to the terrors of a few, and the
+sympathies of all, succeeded in raising one-half the amount within
+the prescribed period. I shall never forget the woe-begone faces of
+California Street during the month of October. The outside world and
+the newspapers spoke most learnedly of a money panic--a pressure in
+business, and the disturbances in the New York gold-room. But to the
+initiated, there was an easier solution of the enigma. The pale spectre
+of Death looked down upon them all, and pointed with its bony finger
+to the fiery tomb of the whole race, already looming up in the distance
+before them. Day after day, I could see the dreadful ravages of this
+secret horror; doubly terrible, since they dared not divulge it. Still,
+do all that we could, the money could not be obtained. The day preceding
+the last one given, Summerfield was summoned before the committee, and
+full information given him of the state of affairs. Obdurate, hard and
+cruel, he still continued. Finally, a proposition was started, that an
+attempt should be made to raise the other half of the money in the city
+of New York. To this proposal Summerfield ultimately yielded, but with
+extreme reluctance. It was agreed in committee that I should accompany
+him thither, and take with me, in my own possession, evidences of the
+sums subscribed here; that a proper appeal should be made to the leading
+capitalists, scholars and clergymen of that metropolis, and that, when
+the whole amount was raised, it should be paid over to Summerfield, and
+a bond taken from him never to divulge his awful secret to any human
+being.
+
+With this, he seemed to be satisfied, and left us to prepare for his
+going the next morning.
+
+As soon as he left the apartment, the bishop rose, and deprecated the
+action that had been taken, and characterized it as childish and absurd.
+He declared that no man was safe one moment whilst "that diabolical
+wretch" still lived; that the only security for us all was in his
+immediate extirpation from the face of the earth, and that no amount of
+money could seal his lips, or close his hands. It would be no crime,
+he said, to deprive him of the means of assassinating the whole human
+family, and that as for himself he was for dooming him to immediate
+death.
+
+With a unanimity that was extraordinary, the entire committee coincided.
+
+A great many plans were proposed, discussed and rejected, having in view
+the extermination of Summerfield. In them all there was the want of
+that proper caution which would lull the apprehensions of an enemy;
+for should he for an instant suspect treachery, we knew his nature well
+enough to be satisfied, that he would waive all ceremonies and carry his
+threats into immediate execution.
+
+It was finally resolved that the trip to New York should not be
+abandoned, apparently. But that we were to start out in accordance with
+the original program; that during the journey, some proper means should
+be resorted to by me to carry out the final intentions of the committee,
+and that whatever I did would be sanctioned by them all, and full
+protection, both in law and conscience, afforded me in any stage of the
+proceeding.
+
+Nothing was wanting but my own consent; but this was difficult to
+secure.
+
+At the first view, it seemed to be a most horrible and unwarrantable
+crime to deprive a fellow-being of life, under any circumstances; but
+especially so where, in meeting his fate, no opportunity was to be
+afforded him for preparation or repentance. It was a long time before
+I could disassociate, in my mind, the two ideas of act and intent. My
+studies had long ago made me perfectly familiar with the doctrine of the
+civil law, that in order to constitute guilt, there must be a union
+of action and intention. Taking the property of another is not theft,
+unless, as the lawyers term it, there is the animus furandi. So, in
+homicide, life may be lawfully taken in some instances, whilst the deed
+may be excused in others. The sheriff hangs the felon and deprives him
+of existence; yet nobody thinks of accusing the officer of murder. The
+soldier slays his enemy, still the act is considered heroical. It does
+not therefore follow that human life is too sacred to be taken away
+under all circumstances. The point to be considered was thus narrowed
+down into one grand inquiry, whether Summerfield was properly to be
+regarded as hostis humani generis, the enemy of the human race, or not.
+If he should justly be so considered, then it would not only be not a
+crime to kill him, but an act worthy of the highest commendation. Who
+blamed McKenzie for hanging Spencer to the yard-arm? Yet in his case,
+the lives of only a small ship's crew were in jeopardy. Who condemned
+Pompey for exterminating the pirates from the Adriatic? Yet, in
+his case, only a small portion of the Roman Republic was liable to
+devastation. Who accuses Charlotte Corday of assassination for stabbing
+Marat in his bath? Still, her arm only saved the lives of a few
+thousands of revolutionary Frenchmen. And to come down to our own times,
+who heaps accusation upon the heads of Lincoln, Thomas or Sheridan, or
+even Grant, though in marching to victory over a crushed rebellion, they
+deemed it necessary to wade through seas of human gore? If society has
+the right to defend itself from the assaults of criminals, who, at best,
+can only destroy a few of its members, why should I hesitate when it was
+apparent that the destiny of the globe itself hung in the balance? If
+Summerfield should live and carry out his threats, the whole world would
+feel the shock; his death was the only path to perfect safety.
+
+I asked the privilege of meditation for one hour, at the hands of the
+committee, before I would render a decision either way. During that
+recess the above argumentation occupied my thoughts. The time expired,
+and I again presented myself before them. I did not deem it requisite
+to state the grounds of my decision; I briefly signified my assent, and
+made instant preparation to carry the plan into execution.
+
+Having passed on the line of the Pacific Railway more than once, I was
+perfectly familiar with all of its windings, gorges and precipices.
+
+I selected Cape Horn as the best adapted to the purpose, and... the
+public knows the rest.
+
+Having been fully acquitted by two tribunals of the law, I make
+this final appeal to my fellowmen throughout the State, and ask them
+confidently not to reverse the judgments already pronounced.
+
+I am conscious of no guilt; I feel no remorse; I need no repentance.
+For me justice has no terrors, and conscience no sting. Let me be judged
+solely by the motives which actuated me, and the importance of the end
+accomplished, and I shall pass, unscathed, both temporal and eternal
+tribunals.
+
+Leonidas Parker.
+
+
+
+Additional Particulars
+
+
+
+The following additional particulars, as sequel to the Summerfield
+homicide, have been furnished by an Auburn correspondent:
+
+Mr. Editor: The remarkable confession of the late Leonidas Parker, which
+appeared in your issue of the 13th ultimo, has given rise to a series
+of disturbances in this neighborhood, which, for romantic interest and
+downright depravity, have seldom been surpassed, even in California.
+Before proceeding to relate in detail the late transactions, allow me
+to remark that the wonderful narrative of Parker excited throughout this
+county sentiments of the most profound and contradictory character.
+I, for one, halted between two opinions--horror and incredulity; and
+nothing but subsequent events could have fully satisfied me of the
+unquestionable veracity of your San Francisco correspondent, and the
+scientific authenticity of the facts related.
+
+The doubt with which the story was at first received in this
+community--and which found utterance in a burlesque article in an
+obscure country journal, the Stars and Stripes, of Auburn--has finally
+been dispelled, and we find ourselves forced to admit that we stand even
+now in the presence of the most alarming fate. Too much credit cannot be
+awarded to our worthy coroner for the promptitude of his action, and we
+trust that the Governor of the State will not be less efficient in the
+discharge of his duty.
+
+[Since the above letter was written the following proclamation has been
+issued.--P. J.]
+
+Proclamation of the Governor.
+
+$10,000 Reward.
+
+Department of State.
+
+By virtue of the authority in me vested, I do hereby offer the above
+reward of ten thousand dollars, in gold coin of the United States, for
+the arrest of Bartholomew Graham, familiarly known as "Black Bart." Said
+Graham is accused of the murder of C. P. Gillson, late of Auburn, county
+of Placer, on the 14th ultimo. He is five feet ten inches and a half in
+height, thick set, has a mustache sprinkled with gray, grizzled hair,
+clear blue eyes, walks stooping, and served in the late civil war, under
+Price and Quantrell, in the Confederate army. He may be lurking in some
+of the mining-camps near the foot-hills, as he was a Washoe teamster
+during the Comstock excitement. The above reward will be paid for him,
+dead or alive, as he possessed himself of an important secret by robbing
+the body of the late Gregory Summerfield.
+
+By the Governor: H. G. Nicholson,
+
+Secretary of State.
+
+Given at Sacramento, this the fifth day of June, 1871.
+
+Our correspondent continues:
+
+I am sorry to say that Sheriff Higgins has not been so active in the
+discharge of his duty as the urgency of the case required, but he is
+perhaps excusable on account of the criminal interference of the editor
+above alluded to. But I am detaining you from more important matters.
+Your Saturday's paper reached here at 4 o'clock Saturday,13th May, and,
+as it now appears from the evidence taken before the coroner, several
+persons left Auburn on the same errand, but without any previous
+conference. Two of these were named respectively Charles P. Gillson and
+Bartholomew Graham, or, as he was usually called, "Black Bart." Gillson
+kept a saloon at the corner of Prickly Ash Street and the Old Spring
+Road; and Black Bart was in the employ of Conrad & Co., keepers of the
+Norfolk Livery Stable. Gillson was a son-in-law of ex-Governor Roberts,
+of Iowa, and leaves a wife and two children to mourn his untimely end.
+As for Graham, nothing certain is known of his antecedents. It is said
+that he was engaged in the late robbery of Wells & Fargo's express at
+Grizzly Bend, and that he was an habitual gambler. Only one thing about
+him is certainly well known: he was a lieutenant in the Confederate
+army, and served under General Price and the outlaw Quantrell. He was a
+man originally of fine education, plausible manners and good family, but
+strong drink seems early in life to have overmastered him, and left him
+but a wreck of himself. But he was not incapable of generous or, rather,
+romantic acts; for, during the burning of the Putnam House in this
+town last summer, he rescued two ladies from the flames. In so doing he
+scorched his left hand so seriously as to contract the tendons of two
+fingers, and this very scar may lead to his apprehension. There is no
+doubt about his utter desperation of character, and, if taken at all, it
+will probably be not alive.
+
+So much for the persons concerned in the tragedy at the Flat.
+
+Herewith I inclose copies of the testimony of the witnesses examined
+before the coroner's jury, together with the statement of Gillson, taken
+in articulo mortis:
+
+Deposition of Dollie Adams.
+
+State of California, } County of Placer. } ss.
+
+Said witness, being duly sworn, deposes as follows, to wit: My name is
+Dolly Adams, my age forty-seven years; I am the wife of Frank G. Adams,
+of this township, and reside on the North Fork of the American River,
+below Cape Horn, on Thompson's Flat. About one o'clock p. m., May 14,
+1871, I left the cabin to gather wood to cook dinner for my husband and
+the hands at work for him on the claim. The trees are mostly cut away
+from the bottom, and I had to climb some distance up the mountainside
+before I could get enough to kindle the fire. I had gone about five
+hundred yards from the cabin, and was searching for small sticks of
+fallen timber, when I thought I heard some one groan, as if in pain. I
+paused and listened; the groaning became more distinct, and I started
+at once for the place whence the sounds proceeded; about ten steps off
+I discovered the man whose remains lie there (pointing to the deceased),
+sitting up, with his back against a big rock. He looked so pale that I
+thought him already dead, but he continued to moan until I reached his
+side. Hearing me approach, he opened his eyes, and begged me, "For God's
+sake, give me a drop of water!" I asked him, "What is the matter?" He
+replied, "I am shot in the back." "Dangerously?" I demanded. "Fatally!"
+he faltered. Without waiting to question him further, I returned to the
+cabin, told Zenie, my daughter, what I had seen, and sent her off on
+a run for the men. Taking with me a gourd of water, some milk and
+bread--for I thought the poor gentleman might be hungry and weak, as
+well as wounded--I hurried back to his side, where I remained until
+"father"--as we all call my husband--came with the men. We removed
+him as gently as we could to the cabin; then sent for Dr. Liebner, and
+nursed him until he died, yesterday, just at sunset.
+
+Question by the Coroner: Did you hear his statement, taken down by the
+Assistant District-Attorney?--A. I did.
+
+Q. Did you see him sign it?--A. Yes, sir.
+
+Q. Is this your signature thereto as witness?--A. It is, sir.
+
+(Signed) Dollie Adams.
+
+Deposition of Miss X. V. Adams.
+
+Being first duly sworn, witness testified as follows: My name is
+Xixenia Volumnia Adams; I am the daughter of Frank G. Adams and the last
+witness; I reside with them on the Flat, and my age is eighteen years.
+A little past one o'clock on Sunday last my mother came running into
+the house and informed me that a man was dying on the side-hill, from a
+wound, and that I must go for father and the boys immediately. I ran
+as fast as my legs would carry me to where they were "cleaning up," for
+they never cleaned up week-days on the Flat, and told the news; we all
+came back together and proceeded to the spot where the wounded man lay
+weltering in his blood; he was cautiously removed to the cabin, where he
+lingered until yesterday sundown, when he died.
+
+Question. Did he speak after he reached the cabin?--A. He did
+frequently; at first with great pain, but afterward more audibly and
+intelligibly.
+
+Q. What did he say?--A. First, to send for Squire Jacobs, the Assistant
+District-Attorney, as he had a statement to make; and some time
+afterward, to send for his wife; but we first of all sent for the
+doctor.
+
+Q. Who was present when he died?--A. Only myself; he had appeared a
+great deal easier, and his wife had lain down to take a short nap, and
+my mother had gone to the spring and left me alone to watch. Suddenly he
+lifted himself spasmodically in bed, glared around wildly and muttered
+something inaudible; seeing me, he cried out, "Run! run! run! He has it!
+Black Bart has got the vial! Quick! or he'll set the world afire! See,
+he opens it! O my God! Look! look! look! Hold his hands! tie him! chain
+him down! Too late! too late! oh, the flames! Fire! fire! fire!" His
+tone of voice gradually strengthened until the end of his raving; when
+he cried "fire!" his eyeballs glared, his mouth quivered, his body
+convulsed, and before Mrs. Gillson could reach his bedside he fell back
+stone dead. (Signed) X. V. Adams.
+
+The testimony of Adams corroborated in every particular that of his wife
+and daughter, but set forth more fully the particulars of his demoniac
+ravings. He would taste nothing from a glass or bottle, but shuddered
+whenever any article of that sort met his eyes. In fact, they had to
+remove from the room the cups, tumblers, and even the castors. At times
+he spoke rationally, but after the second day only in momentary flashes
+of sanity.
+
+The deposition of the attending physician, after giving the general
+facts with regard to the sickness of the patient and his subsequent
+demise, proceeded thus:
+
+I found the patient weak, and suffering from loss of blood and rest, and
+want of nourishment; occasionally sane, but for the most part flighty
+and in a comatose condition. The wound was an ordinary gunshot wound,
+produced most probably by the ball of a navy revolver, fired at the
+distance of ten paces. It entered the back near the left clavicle,
+beneath the scapula, close to the vertebrae between the intercostal
+spaces of the fifth and sixth ribs; grazing the pericardium it traversed
+the mediastinum, barely touching the oesophagus, and vena azygos,
+but completely severing the thoracic duct, and lodging in the xiphoid
+portion of the sternum. Necessarily fatal, there was no reason, however,
+why the patient could not linger for a week or more; but it is no
+less certain that from the effect of the wound he ultimately died. I
+witnessed the execution of the paper shown to me--as the statement of
+deceased--at his request; and at the time of signing the same he was
+in his perfect senses. It was taken down in my presence by Jacobs,
+the Assistant District-Attorney of Placer County, and read over to the
+deceased before he affixed his signature. I was not present when he
+breathed his last, having been called away by my patients in the town of
+Auburn, but I reached his bedside shortly afterward. In my judgment, no
+amount of care or medical attention could have prolonged his life more
+than a few days.
+
+(Signed) Karl Liebner, M. D.
+
+The statement of the deceased was then introduced to the jury as
+follows:
+
+People of the State of California, } vs. } Bartholomew Graham. }
+
+Statement and Dying Confession of Charles P. Gillson, taken in articulo
+mortis by George Simpson, Notary Public.
+
+On the morning of Sunday, the 14th day of May, 1871, I left Auburn alone
+in search of the body of the late Gregory Summerfield, who was reported
+to have been pushed from the cars at Cape Horn, in this county, by one
+Leonidas Parker, since deceased. It was not fully light when I reached
+the track of the Central Pacific Railroad. Having mined at an early day
+on Thompson's Flat, at the foot of the rocky promontory now called
+Cape Horn, I was familiar with the zigzag paths leading down that steep
+precipice. One was generally used as a descent, the other as an ascent
+from the canon below. I chose the latter, as being the freest from the
+chance of observation. It required the greatest caution to thread the
+narrow gorge; but I finally reached the rocky bench, about one thousand
+feet below the grade of the railroad. It was now broad daylight, and I
+commenced cautiously the search for Summerfield's body. There is quite
+a dense undergrowth of shrubs thereabouts, lining the interstices of
+the granite rocks so as to obscure the vision even at a short distance.
+Brushing aside a thick manzanita bush, I beheld the dead man at the same
+instant of time that another person arrived like an apparition upon
+the spot. It was Bartholomew Graham, known as "Black Bart." We suddenly
+confronted each other, the skeleton of Summerfield lying exactly between
+us. Our recognition was mutual. Graham advanced, and I did the same; he
+stretched out his hand and we greeted one another across the prostrate
+corpse.
+
+Before releasing my hand, Black Bart exclaimed in a hoarse whisper,
+"Swear, Gillson, in the presence of the dead, that you will forever be
+faithful, never betray me, and do exactly as I bid you, as long as you
+live!"
+
+I looked him full in the eye. Fate sat there, cold and remorseless as
+stone. I hesitated; with his left hand he slightly raised the lapels of
+his coat, and grasped the handle of a navy revolver.
+
+"Swear!" again he cried.
+
+As I gazed, his eyeballs assumed a greenish tint, and his brow darkened
+into a scowl. "As your confederate," I answered, "never as your slave."
+
+"Be it so!" was his only reply.
+
+The body was lying upon its back, with the face upwards. The vultures
+had despoiled the countenance of every vestige of flesh, and left the
+sockets of the eyes empty. Snow and ice and rain had done their work
+effectually upon the exposed surfaces of his clothing, and the eagles
+had feasted upon the entrails. But underneath, the thick beaver cloth
+had served to protect the flesh, and there were some decaying shreds
+left of what had once been the terrible but accomplished Gregory
+Summerfield. A glance told us all these things. But they did not
+interest me so much as another spectacle, that almost froze my blood.
+In the skeleton gripe of the right hand, interlaced within the clenched
+bones, gleamed the wide-mouthed vial which was the object of our mutual
+visit. Graham fell upon his knees, and attempted to withdraw the prize
+from the grasp of its dead possessor. But the bones were firm, and when
+he finally succeeded in securing the bottle, by a sudden wrench, I heard
+the skeleton fingers snap like pipe-stems.
+
+"Hold this a moment, whilst I search the pockets," he commanded.
+
+I did as directed.
+
+He then turned over the corpse, and thrusting his hand into the inner
+breast-pocket, dragged out a roll of MSS., matted closely together and
+stained by the winter's rains. A further search eventuated in finding
+a roll of small gold coin, a set of derringer pistols, a rusted
+double-edged dirk, and a pair of silver-mounted spectacles. Hastily
+covering over the body with leaves and branches cut from the embowering
+shrubs, we shudderingly left the spot.
+
+We slowly descended the gorge toward the banks of the American River,
+until we arrived in a small but sequestered thicket, where we threw
+ourselves upon the ground. Neither had spoken a word since we left the
+scene above described. Graham was the first to break the silence which
+to me had become oppressive.
+
+"Let us examine the vial and see if the contents are safe."
+
+I drew it from my pocket and handed it to him.
+
+"Sealed hermetically, and perfectly secure," he added. Saying this, he
+deliberately wrapped it up in a handkerchief and placed it in his bosom.
+
+"What shall we do with our prize?" I inquired.
+
+"Our prize?" As he said this he laughed derisively, and cast a most
+scornful and threatening glance toward me.
+
+"Yes," I rejoined firmly; "our prize!"
+
+"Gillson," retorted Graham, "you must regard me as a consummate
+simpleton, or yourself a Goliath. This bottle is mine, and mine only. It
+is a great fortune for one, but of less value than a toadstool for two.
+I am willing to divide fairly. This secret would be of no service to a
+coward. He would not dare to use it. Your share of the robbery of the
+body shall be these MSS.; you can sell them to some poor devil of a
+printer, and pay yourself for your day's work."
+
+Saying this he threw the bundle of MSS. at my feet; but I disdained to
+touch them. Observing this, he gathered them up safely and replaced them
+in his pocket. "As you are unarmed," he said, "it would not be safe for
+you to be seen in this neighborhood during daylight. We will both
+spend the night here, and just before morning return to Auburn. I will
+accompany you part of the distance."
+
+With the sangfroid of a perfect desperado, he then stretched himself out
+in the shadow of a small tree, drank deeply from a whiskey flagon which
+he produced, and pulling his hat over his eyes, was soon asleep and
+snoring. It was a long time before I could believe the evidence of my
+own senses. Finally, I approached the ruffian, and placed my hand on his
+shoulder. He did not stir a muscle. I listened; I heard only the deep,
+slow breathing of profound slumber. Resolved not to be balked and
+defrauded by such a scoundrel, I stealthily withdrew the vial from
+his pocket and sprang to my feet, just in time to hear the click of
+a revolver behind me. I was betrayed! I remember only a flash and an
+explosion--a deathly sensation, a whirl of the rocks and trees about me,
+a hideous imprecation from the lips of my murderer, and I fell senseless
+to the earth. When I awoke to consciousness it was past midnight. I
+looked up at the stars, and recognized Lyra shining full in my face.
+That constellation, I knew, passed the meridian at this season of the
+year after twelve o'clock, and its slow march told me that many weary
+hours would intervene before daylight. My right arm was paralyzed, but I
+put forth my left, and it rested in a pool of my own blood. "Oh, for one
+drop of water!" I exclaimed, faintly; but only the low sighing of
+the night blast responded. Again I fainted. Shortly after daylight I
+revived, and crawled to the spot where I was discovered on the next
+day by the kind mistress of this cabin. You know the rest. I accuse
+Bartholomew Graham of my assassination. I do this in the perfect
+possession of my senses, and with a full sense of my responsibility to
+Almighty God. (Signed) C. P. Gillson.
+
+George Simpson, Notary Public. Chris. Jacobs, Assistant
+District-Attorney. Dollie Adams, } Witnesses. Karl Liebner, }
+
+The following is a copy of the verdict of the coroner's jury:
+
+County of Placer, } Cape Horn Township. }
+
+In re C. P. Gillson, late of said county deceased.
+
+We, the undersigned, coroner's jury, summoned in the foregoing case to
+examine into the causes of the death of said Gillson, do find that he
+came to his death at the hands of Bartholomew Graham, usually called
+"Black Bart," on Wednesday, the 17th May, 1871. And we further find said
+Graham guilty of murder in the first degree, and recommend his immediate
+apprehension.
+
+(Signed) John Quillan,            Peter McIntyre,
+            Abel George,
+            Alex. Scriber,
+(Correct:) Wm. A. Thompson.
+
+Thos. J. Alwyn, Coroner.
+
+The above documents constitute the papers introduced before the coroner.
+Should anything of further interest occur, I will keep you fully
+advised. Powhattan Jones.
+
+Since the above was in type we have received from our esteemed San
+Francisco correspondent the following letter:
+
+San Francisco, June 8, 1871.
+
+Mr. Editor: On entering my office this morning I found a bundle of MSS.
+which had been thrown in at the transom over the door, labeled, "The
+Summerfield MSS." Attached to them was an unsealed note from one
+Bartholomew Graham, in these words:
+
+Dear Sir: These are yours; you have earned them. I commend to your
+especial notice the one styled, "De Mundo Comburendo." At a future time
+you may hear again from
+
+Bartholomew Graham.
+
+A casual glance at the papers convinces me that they are of great
+literary value. Summerfield's fame never burned so brightly as it does
+over his grave. Will you publish the MSS.?
+
+
+
+Here ends No. Two Western Classics Containing The Case of Summerfield
+by W. H. Rhodes an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner and a Frontispiece
+After a Painting by Galen J. Perrett the Typography Designed by J. H.
+Nash of this First Edition One Thousand Copies Have Been Issued Printed
+on Fabriano Handmade Paper Published by Paul Elder and Company and Done
+into a Book for them at the Tomoye Press in the City of New York MCMVII.
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Case of Summerfield, by William Henry Rhodes
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Case of Summerfield, by William Henry Rhodes
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+Title: The Case of Summerfield
+
+Author: William Henry Rhodes
+
+Release Date: February, 2004  [EBook #5191]
+[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule]
+[This file was first posted on June 1, 2002]
+
+Edition: 10
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD ***
+
+
+
+
+This eBook was produced by David A. Schwan <davidsch@earthlink.net>.
+
+
+The Case of Summerfield
+
+By William Henry Rhodes
+
+
+
+With an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner
+
+
+
+
+The Introduction
+
+
+
+The greatest master of the short story our country has known found his
+inspiration and produced his best work in California. It is now nearly
+forty years since "The Luck of Roaring Camp" appeared, and a line of
+successors, more or less worthy, have been following along the trail
+blazed by Bret Harte. They have given us matter of many kinds,
+realistic, romantic, tragic, humorous, weird. In this mass of material
+much that was good has been lost. The columns of newspapers swallowed
+some; weeklies, that lived for a brief day, carried others to the grave
+with them. Now and then chance or design interposed, and some fragment
+of value was not allowed to perish. It is matter for congratulation that
+the story in this volume was one of those saved from oblivion.
+
+In 1871 a San Francisco paper published a tale entitled The Case of
+Summerfield. The author concealed himself under the name of "Caxton," a
+pseudonym unknown at the time. The story made an immediate impression,
+and the remote little world by the Golden Gate was shaken into startled
+and enquiring astonishment. Wherever people met, The Case of Summerfield
+was on men's tongues. Was Caxton's contention possible? Was it true
+that, by the use of potassium, water could be set on fire, and that any
+one possessing this baneful secret could destroy the world? The
+plausibility with which the idea was presented, the bare directness of
+the style, added to its convincing power. It sounded too real to be
+invention, was told with too frank a simplicity to be all imagination.
+People could not decide where truth and fiction blended, and the name of
+Caxton leaped into local fame.
+
+The author of the tale was a lawyer, W. H. Rhodes, a man of standing and
+ability, interested in scientific research. He had written little; what
+time he had been able to spare from his work, had been given to studies
+in chemistry whence he had drawn the inspiration for such stories as The
+Case of Summerfield. With him the writing of fiction was a pastime, not
+a profession. He wrote because he wanted to, from the urgence of an idea
+pressing for utterance, not from the more imperious necessity of keeping
+the pot boiling and of there being a roof against the rain. Literary
+creation was to him a rest, a matter of holiday in the daily round of a
+man's labor to provide for his own.
+
+His output was small. One slender volume contains all he wrote: a few
+poems, half a dozen stories. In all of these we can feel the spell
+exercised over him by the uncanny, the terrible, the weirdly grotesque.
+His imagination played round those subjects of fantastic horror which
+had so potent an attraction for Fitz James O'Brien, the writer whom he
+most resembles. There was something of Poe's cold pleasure in dissecting
+the abnormally horrible in "The Story of John Pollexfen," the
+photographer, who, in order to discover a certain kind of lens,
+experimented with living eyes. His cat and dog each lost an eye, and
+finally a young girl was found willing to sell one of hers that she
+might have money to help her lover. But none of the other stories shows
+the originality and impressively realistic tone which distinguish The
+Case of Summerfield. In this he achieved the successful combination of
+audacity of theme with a fitting incisiveness of style. It alone rises
+above the level of the merely ingenious and clever; it alone of his work
+was worth preserving.
+
+Scattered through the ranks of writers, part of whose profession is a
+continuous, unflagging output, are these "one story men," who, in some
+propitious moment, when the powers of brain and heart are intensified by
+a rare and happy alchemy, produce a single masterpiece. The vision and
+the dream have once been theirs, and, though they may never again
+return, the product of the glowing moment is ours to rejoice in and
+wonder at. Unfortunately the value of these accidental triumphs is not
+always seen. They go their way and are submerged in the flood of fiction
+that the presses pour upon a defenseless country. Now and then one
+unexpectedly hears of them, their unfamiliar titles rise to the surface
+when writers gather round the table. An investigator in the forgotten
+files of magazinedom has found one, and tells of his treasure trove as
+the diver of his newly discovered pearl. Then comes a publisher, who,
+diligent and patient, draws them from their hiding-places, shakes off
+the dust, and gives them to a public which once applauded and has since
+forgotten.
+
+Such has been the fate of The Case of Summerfield. Thirty-five years
+ago, in the town that clustered along the edge of San Francisco Bay, it
+had its brief award of attention. But the San Francisco of that day was
+very distant - a gleam on the horizon against the blue line of the
+Pacific. It took a mighty impetus to carry its decisions and opinions
+across the wall of the Sierra and over the desert to the East. Fame and
+reputation, unless the greatest, had not vitality for so long a flight.
+So the strange and fantastic story should come as a discovery, the one
+remarkable achievement of an unknown author, who, unfortunately, is no
+longer here to enjoy an Indian summer of popularity.
+
+Geraldine Bonner.
+
+
+
+The Case of Summerfield
+
+
+
+The following manuscript was found among the effects of the late
+Leonidas Parker, in relation to one Gregory Summerfield, or, as he was
+called at the time those singular events first attracted public notice,
+"The Man with a Secret." Parker was an eminent lawyer, a man of firm
+will, fond of dabbling in the occult sciences, but never allowing this
+tendency to interfere with the earnest practice of his profession. This
+astounding narrative is prefaced by the annexed clipping from the Auburn
+Messenger of November 1, 1870:
+
+A few days since, we called public attention to the singular conduct of
+James G. Wilkins, justice of the peace for the "Cape Horn" district, in
+this county, in discharging without trial a man named Parker, who was,
+as we still think, seriously implicated in the mysterious death of an
+old man named Summerfield, who, our readers will probably remember, met
+so tragical an end on the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, in the
+month of October last. We have now to record another bold outrage on
+public justice, in connection with the same affair. The grand jury of
+Placer County has just adjourned, without finding any bill against the
+person named above. Not only did they refuse to find a true bill, or to
+make any presentment, but they went one step further toward the
+exoneration of the offender; they specially ignored the indictment which
+our district attorney deemed it his duty to present. The main facts in
+relation to the arrest and subsequent discharge of Parker may be summed
+up in few words:
+
+It appears that, about the last of October, one Gregory Summerfield, an
+old man nearly seventy years of age, in company with Parker, took
+passage for Chicago, via the Pacific Railroad, and about the middle of
+the afternoon reached the neighborhood of Cape Horn, in this county.
+Nothing of any special importance seems to have attracted the attention
+of any of the passengers toward these persons until a few moments before
+passing the dangerous curve in the track, overlooking the North Fork of
+the American River, at the place called Cape Horn. As our readers are
+aware, the road at this point skirts a precipice, with rocky
+perpendicular sides, extending to the bed of the stream, nearly
+seventeen hundred feet below. Before passing the curve, Parker was heard
+to comment upon the sublimity of the scenery they were approaching, and
+finally requested the old man to leave the car and stand upon the open
+platform, in order to obtain a better view of the tremendous chasm and
+the mountains just beyond. The two men left the car, and a moment
+afterward a cry of horror was heard by all the passengers, and the old
+man was observed to fall at least one thousand feet upon the crags
+below. The train was stopped for a few moments, but, fearful of a
+collision if any considerable length of time should be lost in an
+unavailing search for the mangled remains, it soon moved on again, and
+proceeded as swiftly as possible to the next station. There the
+miscreant Parker was arrested, and conveyed to the office of the nearest
+justice of the peace for examination. We understand that he refused to
+give any detailed account of the transaction, only that "the deceased
+either fell or was thrown from the moving train."
+
+The examination was postponed until the arrival of Parker's counsel,
+O'Connell & Kilpatrick, of Grass Valley, and after they reached Cape
+Horn not a single word could be extracted from the prisoner. It is said
+that the inquisition was a mere farce; there being no witnesses present
+except one lady passenger, who, with commendable spirit, volunteered to
+lay over one day, to give in her testimony. We also learn that, after
+the trial, the justice, together with the prisoner and his counsel, were
+closeted in secret session for more than two hours; at the expiration of
+which time the judge resumed his seat upon the bench, and discharged the
+prisoner!
+
+Now, we have no desire to do injustice toward any of the parties to this
+singular transaction, much less to arm public sentiment against an
+innocent man. But we do affirm that there is, there must be, some
+profound mystery at the bottom of this affair, and we shall do our
+utmost to fathom the secret.
+
+Yes, there is a secret and mystery connected with the disappearance of
+Summerfield, and the sole object of this communication is to clear it
+up, and place myself right in the public estimation. But, in order to do
+so, it becomes essentially necessary to relate all the circumstances
+connected with my first and subsequent acquaintance with Summerfield. To
+do this intelligibly, I shall have to go back twenty-two years.
+
+It is well known amongst my intimate friends that I resided in the late
+Republic of Texas for many years antecedent to my immigration to this
+State. During the year 1847, whilst but a boy, and residing on the
+sea-beach some three or four miles from the city of Galveston, Judge
+Wheeler, at that time Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, paid
+us a visit, and brought with him a gentleman, whom he had known several
+years previously on the Sabine River, in the eastern part of that State.
+This gentleman was introduced to us by the name of Summerfield. At that
+time he was past the prime of life, slightly gray, and inclined to
+corpulency. He was of medium height, and walked proudly erect, as though
+conscious of superior mental attainments. His face was one of those
+which, once seen, can never be forgotten. The forehead was broad, high,
+and protuberant. It was, besides, deeply graven with wrinkles, and
+altogether was the most intellectual that I had ever seen. It bore some
+resemblance to that of Sir Isaac Newton, but still more to Humboldt or
+Webster. The eyes were large, deep-set, and lustrous with a light that
+seemed kindled in their own depths. In color they were gray, and whilst
+in conversation absolutely blazed with intellect. His mouth was large,
+but cut with all the precision of a sculptor's chiseling. He was rather
+pale, but, when excited, his complexion lit up with a sudden rush of
+ruddy flushes, that added something like beauty to his half-sad and
+half-sardonic expression. A word and a glance told me at once, this is a
+most extraordinary man.
+
+Judge Wheeler knew but little of the antecedents of Summerfield. He was
+of Northern birth, but of what State it is impossible to say definitely.
+Early in life he removed to the frontier of Arkansas, and pursued for
+some years the avocation of village schoolmaster. It was the suggestion
+of Judge Wheeler that induced him to read law. In six months' time he
+had mastered Story's Equity, and gained an important suit, based upon
+one of its most recondite principles. But his heart was not in the legal
+profession, and he made almost constant sallies into the fields of
+science, literature and art. He was a natural mathematician and was the
+most profound and original arithmetician in the Southwest. He frequently
+computed the astronomical tables for the almanacs of New Orleans,
+Pensacola and Mobile, and calculated eclipse, transit and observations
+with ease and perfect accuracy. He was also deeply read in metaphysics,
+and wrote and published, in the old Democratic Review for 1846, an
+article on the "Natural Proof of the Existence of a Deity," that for
+beauty of language, depth of reasoning, versatility of illustration, and
+compactness of logic, has never been equaled. The only other publication
+which at that period he had made, was a book that astonished all of his
+friends, both in title and execution. It was called "The Desperadoes of
+the West," and purported to give minute details of the lives of some of
+the most noted duelists and bloodstained villains in the Western States.
+But the book belied its title. It is full of splendid description and
+original thought. No volume in the language contains so many eloquent
+passages and such gorgeous imagery, in the same space. His plea for
+immortality, on beholding the execution of one of the most noted
+culprits of Arkansas, has no parallel in any living language for beauty
+of diction and power of thought. As my sole object in this communication
+is to defend myself, some acquaintance with the mental resources of
+Summerfield is absolutely indispensable; for his death was the immediate
+consequence of his splendid attainments. Of chemistry he was a complete
+master. He describes it in his article on a Deity, above alluded to, as
+the "Youngest Daughter of the Sciences, born amid flames, and cradled in
+rollers of fire." If there were any one science to which he was more
+specially devoted than to any and all others, it was chemistry. But he
+really seemed an adept in all, and shone about everywhere with equal
+lustre.
+
+Many of these characteristics were mentioned by Judge Wheeler at the
+time of Summerfield's visit to Galveston, but others subsequently came
+to my knowledge, after his retreat to Brownsville, on the banks of the
+Rio Grande. There he filled the position of Judge of the District Court,
+and such was his position just previous to his arrival in this city in
+the month of September of the past year.
+
+One day, toward the close of last September, an old man rapped at my
+office door, and on invitation came in, and advancing, called me by
+name. Perceiving that I did not at first recognize him, he introduced
+himself as Gregory Summerfield. After inviting him to a seat, I
+scrutinized his features more closely, and quickly identified him as the
+same person whom I had met twenty-two years before. He was greatly
+altered in appearance, but the lofty forehead and the gray eye were
+still there, unchanged and unchangeable. He was not quite so stout, but
+more ruddy in complexion, and exhibited some symptoms, as I then
+thought, of intemperate drinking. Still there was the old charm of
+intellectual superiority in his conversation, and I welcomed him to
+California as an important addition to her mental wealth.
+
+It was not many minutes before he requested a private interview. He
+followed me into my back office, carefully closed the door after him and
+locked it. We had scarcely seated ourselves before he inquired of me if
+I had noticed any recent articles in the newspapers respecting the
+discovery of the art of decomposing water so as to fit it for use as a
+fuel for ordinary purposes?
+
+I replied that I had observed nothing new upon that subject since the
+experiments of Agassiz and Professor Henry, and added that, in my
+opinion, the expensive mode of reduction would always prevent its use.
+
+In a few words he then informed me that he had made the discovery that
+the art was extremely simple, and the expense attending the
+decomposition so slight as to be insignificant.
+
+Presuming then that the object of his visit to me was to procure the
+necessary forms to get out a patent for the right, I congratulated him
+upon his good fortune, and was about to branch forth with a description
+of some of the great benefits that must ensue to the community, when he
+suddenly and somewhat uncivilly requested me to "be silent," and listen
+to what he had to say.
+
+He began with some general remarks about the inequality of fortune
+amongst mankind, and instanced himself as a striking example of the fate
+of those men, who, according to all the rules of right, ought to be near
+the top, instead of at the foot of the ladder of fortune. "But," said
+he, springing to his feet with impulsive energy, "I have now the means
+at my command of rising superior to fate, or of inflicting incalculable
+ills upon the whole human race."
+
+Looking at him more closely, I thought I could detect in his eye the
+gleam of madness; but I remained silent and awaited further
+developments. But my scrutiny, stolen as it was, had been detected, and
+he replied at once to the expression of my face: "No, sir; I am neither
+drunk nor a maniac; I am in deep earnest in all that I say; and I am
+fully prepared, by actual experiment, to demonstrate beyond all doubt
+the truth of all I claim.
+
+For the first time I noticed that he carried a small portmanteau in his
+hand; this he placed upon the table, unlocked it, and took out two or
+three small volumes, a pamphlet or two, and a small, square,
+wide-mouthed vial, hermetically sealed.
+
+I watched him with profound curiosity, and took note of his slightest
+movements. Having arranged his books to suit him, and placed the vial in
+a conspicuous position, he drew up his chair very closely to my own, and
+uttered in a half-hissing tone: "I demand one million dollars for the
+contents of that bottle; and you must raise it for me in the city of San
+Francisco within one month, or scenes too terrible even for the
+imagination to conceive, will surely be witnessed by every living human
+being on the face of the globe."
+
+The tone, the manner, and the absurd extravagance of the demand, excited
+a faint smile upon my lips, which he observed, but disdained to notice.
+
+My mind was fully made up that I had a maniac to deal with, and I
+prepared to act accordingly. But I ascertained at once that my inmost
+thoughts were read by the remarkable man before me, and seemed to be
+anticipated by him in advance of their expression.
+
+"Perhaps," said I, "Mr. Summerfield, you would oblige me by informing me
+fully of the grounds of your claim, and the nature of your discovery."
+
+"That is the object of my visit," he replied. "I claim to have
+discovered the key which unlocks the constituent gases of water, and
+frees each from the embrace of the other, at a single touch."
+
+"You mean to assert," I rejoined, "that you can make water burn itself
+up?"
+
+"Nothing more nor less," he responded, "except this: to insist upon the
+consequences of the secret, if my demand be not at once complied with."
+
+Then, without pausing for a moment to allow me to make a suggestion, as
+I once or twice attempted to do, he proceeded in a clear and deliberate
+manner, in these words: "I need not inform you, sir, that when this
+earth was created, it consisted almost wholly of vapor, which, by
+condensation, finally became water. The oceans now occupy more than
+two-thirds of the entire surface of the globe. The continents are mere
+islands in the midst of the seas. They are everywhere oceanbound, and
+the hyperborean north is hemmed in by open polar seas. Such is my first
+proposition. My second embraces the constituent elements of water. What
+is that thing which we call water? Chemistry, that royal queen of all
+the sciences, answers readily: 'Water is but the combination of two
+gases, oxygen and hydrogen, and in the proportion of eight to one.' In
+other words, in order to form water, take eight parts of oxygen and one
+of hydrogen, mix them together, and the result or product is water. You
+smile, sir, because, as you very properly think, these are the
+elementary principles of science, and are familiar to the minds of every
+schoolboy twelve years of age. Yes! but what next? Suppose you take
+these same gases and mix them in any other proportion, I care not what,
+and the instantaneous result is heat, flame, combustion of the intensest
+description. The famous Drummond Light, that a few years ago astonished
+Europe what is that but the ignited flame of a mixture of oxygen and
+hydrogen projected against a small piece of lime? What was harmless as
+water, becomes the most destructive of all known objects when decomposed
+and mixed in any other proportion.
+
+"Now, suppose I fling the contents of this small vial into the Pacific
+Ocean, what would be the result? Dare you contemplate it for an instant?
+I do not assert that the entire surface of the sea would instantaneously
+bubble up into insufferable flames; no, but from the nucleus of a
+circle, of which this vial would be the center, lurid radii of flames
+would gradually shoot outward, until the blazing circumference would
+roll in vast billows of fire, upon the uttermost shores. Not all the
+dripping clouds of the deluge could extinguish it. Not all the tears of
+saints and angels could for an instant check its progress. On and onward
+it would sweep, with the steady gait of destiny, until the continents
+would melt with fervent heat, the atmosphere glare with the ominous
+conflagration, and all living creatures, in land and sea and air, perish
+in one universal catastrophe."
+
+Then suddenly starting to his feet, he drew himself up to his full
+height, and murmured solemnly, "I feel like a God! and I recognize my
+fellow-men but as pygmies that I spurn beneath my feet."
+
+"Summerfield," said I calmly," there must be some strange error in all
+this. You are self-deluded. The weapon which you claim to wield is one
+that a good God and a beneficent Creator would never intrust to the
+keeping of a mere creature. What, sir! create a world as grand and
+beautiful as this, and hide within its bosom a principle that at any
+moment might inwrap it in flames, and sink all life in death? I'll not
+believe it; 't were blasphemy to entertain the thought!"
+
+"And yet," cried he passionately, "your Bible prophesies the same
+irreverence. Look at your text in 2d Peter, third chapter, seventh and
+twelfth verses. Are not the elements to melt with fervent heat? Are not
+the 'heavens to be folded together like a scroll?' Are not 'the rocks to
+melt, the stars to fall, and the moon to be turned into blood?' Is not
+fire the next grand cyclic consummation of all things here below? But I
+come fully prepared to answer such objections. Your argument betrays a
+narrow mind, circumscribed in its orbit, and shallow in its depth. 'Tis
+the common thought of mediocrity. You have read books too much, and
+studied nature too little. Let me give you a lesson today in the
+workshop of Omnipotence. Take a stroll with me into the limitless
+confines of space, and let us observe together some of the scenes
+transpiring at this very instant around us. A moment ago you spoke of
+the moon: what is she but an extinguished world? You spoke of the sun:
+what is he but a globe of flame? But here is the Cosmos of Humboldt.
+Read this paragraph."
+
+As he said this he placed before me the Cosmos of Humboldt, and I read
+as follows:
+
+Nor do the Heavens themselves teach unchangeable permanency in the works
+of creation. Change is observable there quite as rapid and complete as
+in the confines of our solar system. In the year 1752, one of the small
+stars in the constellation Cassiopeia blazed up suddenly into an orb of
+the first magnitude, gradually decreased in brilliancy, and finally
+disappeared from the skies. Nor has it ever been visible since that
+period for a single moment, either to the eye or to the telescope. It
+burned up and was lost in space.
+
+"Humboldt," he added," has not told us who set that world on fire!
+
+"But," resumed he, "I have still clearer proofs."
+
+Saying this, he thrust into my hands the last London Quarterly, and on
+opening the book at an article headed "The Language of Light," I read
+with a feeling akin to awe, the following passage:
+
+Further, some stars exhibit changes of complexion in themselves. Sirius,
+as before stated, was once a ruddy, or rather a fiery-faced orb, but has
+now forgotten to blush, and looks down upon us with a pure, brilliant
+smile, in which there is no trace either of anger or of shame. On the
+countenances of others, still more varied traits have rippled, within a
+much briefer period of time. May not these be due to some physiological
+revolutions, general or convulsive, which are in progress in the
+particular orb, and which, by affecting the constitution of its
+atmosphere, compel the absorption or promote the transmission of
+particular rays? The supposition appears by no means improbable,
+especially if we call to mind the hydrogen volcanoes which have been
+discovered on the photosphere of the sun. Indeed, there are a few small
+stars which afford a spectrum of bright lines instead of dark ones, and
+this we know denotes a gaseous or vaporized state of things, from which
+it maybe inferred that such orbs are in a different condition from most
+of their relations.
+
+And, as if for the very purpose of throwing light upon this interesting
+question, an event of the most striking character occurred in the
+heavens, almost as soon as the spectroscopists were prepared to
+interpret it correctly.
+
+On the 12th of May, 1866, a great conflagration, infinitely larger than
+that of London or Moscow, was announced. To use the expression of a
+distinguished astronomer, a world was found to be on fire! A star, which
+till then had shone weakly and unobtrusively in the corona borealis,
+suddenly blazed up into a luminary of the second magnitude. In the
+course of three days from its discovery in this new character, by
+Birmingham, at Tuam, it had declined to the third or fourth order of
+brilliancy. In twelve days, dating from its first apparition in the
+Irish heavens, it had sunk to the eighth rank, and it went on waning
+until the 26th of June, when it ceased to be discernible except through
+the medium of the telescope. This was a remarkable, though certainly not
+an unprecedented proceeding on the part of a star; but one singular
+circumstance in its behavior was that, after the lapse of nearly two
+months, it began to blaze up again, though not with equal ardor, and
+after maintaining its glow for a few weeks, and passing through sundry
+phases of color, it gradually paled its fires, and returned to its
+former insignificance. How many years had elapsed since this awful
+conflagration actually took place, it would be presumptuous to guess;
+but it must be remembered that news from the heavens, though carried by
+the fleetest of messengers, light, reaches us long after the event has
+transpired, and that the same celestial carrier is still dropping the
+tidings at each station it reaches in space, until it sinks exhausted by
+the length of its flight.
+
+As the star had suddenly flamed up, was it not a natural supposition
+that it had become inwrapped in burning hydrogen, which in consequence
+of some great convulsion had been liberated in prodigious quantities,
+and then combining with other elements, had set this hapless world on
+fire? In such a fierce conflagration, the combustible gas would soon be
+consumed, and the glow would therefore begin to decline, subject, as in
+this case, to a second eruption, which occasioned the renewed outburst
+of light on the 20th of August.
+
+By such a catastrophe, it is not wholly impossible that our own globe
+may some time be ravaged; for if a word from the Almighty were to
+unloose for a few moments the bonds of affinity which unite the elements
+of water, a single spark would bring them together with a fury that
+would kindle the funeral pyre of the human race, and be fatal to the
+planet and all the works that are thereon.
+
+"Your argument," he then instantly added, "is by no means a good one.
+What do we know of the Supreme Architect of the Universe, or of his
+designs? He builds up worlds, and he pulls them down; he kindles suns
+and he extinguishes them. He inflames the comet, in one portion of its
+orbit, with a heat that no human imagination can conceive of; and in
+another, subjects the same blazing orb to a cold intenser than that
+which invests forever the antarctic pole. All that we know of Him we
+gather through His works. I have shown you that He burns other worlds,
+why not this? The habitable parts of our globe are surrounded by water,
+and water you know is fire in possibility."
+
+"But all this," I rejoined, "is pure, baseless, profitless speculation."
+
+"Not so fast," he answered. And then rising, he seized the small vial,
+and handing it to me, requested me to open it.
+
+I confess I did so with some trepidation.
+
+"Now smell it."
+
+I did so.
+
+"What odor do you perceive?"
+
+"Potassium," I replied.
+
+"Of course," he added, "you are familiar with the chief characteristic
+of that substance. It ignites instantly when brought in contact with
+water. Within that little globule of potassium, I have imbedded a pill
+of my own composition and discovery. The moment it is liberated from the
+potassium, it commences the work of decomposing the fluid on which it
+floats. The potassium at once ignites the liberated oxygen, and the
+conflagration of this mighty globe is begun."
+
+"Yes," said I, "begun, if you please, but your little pill soon
+evaporates or sinks, or melts in the surrounding seas, and your
+conflagration ends just where it began."
+
+"My reply to that suggestion could be made at once by simply testing the
+experiment on a small scale, or a large one, either. But I prefer at
+present to refute your proposition by an argument drawn from nature
+herself. If you correctly remember, the first time I had the pleasure of
+seeing you was on the island of Galveston, many years ago. Do you
+remember relating to me at that time an incident concerning the effects
+of a prairie on fire, that you had yourself witnessed but a few days
+previously, near the town of Matagorde? If I recollect correctly, you
+stated that on your return journey from that place, you passed on the
+way the charred remains of two wagon-loads of cotton, and three human
+beings, that the night before had perished in the flames; that three
+slaves, the property of a Mr. Horton, had started a few days before to
+carry to market a shipment of cotton; that a norther overtook them on a
+treeless prairie, and a few minutes afterward they were surprised by
+beholding a line of rushing fire, surging, roaring and advancing like
+the resistless billows of an ocean swept by a gale; that there was no
+time for escape, and they perished terribly in fighting the devouring
+element?"
+
+"Yes; I recollect the event."
+
+Now, then, I wish a reply to the simple question: Did the single spark,
+that kindled the conflagration, consume the negroes and their charge?
+No? But what did? You reply, of course, that the spark set the entire
+prairie on fire; that each spear of grass added fuel to the flame, and
+kindled by degrees a conflagration that continued to burn so long as it
+could feed on fresh material. The pilule in that vial is the little
+spark, the oceans are the prairies, and the oxygen the fuel upon which
+the fire is to feed until the globe perishes in inextinguishable flames.
+The elementary substances in that small vial recreate themselves; they
+are self-generating, and when once fairly under way must necessarily
+sweep onward, until the waters in all the seas are exhausted. There is,
+however, one great difference between the burning of a prairie and the
+combustion of an ocean: the fire in the first spreads slowly, for the
+fuel is difficult to ignite; in the last, it flies with the rapidity of
+the wind, for the substance consumed is oxygen, the most inflammable
+agent in nature."
+
+Rising from my seat, I went to the washstand in the corner of the
+apartment, and drawing a bowl half full of Spring Valley water, I turned
+to Summerfield, and remarked, "Words are empty, theories are ideal - but
+facts are things."
+
+"I take you at your word." So saying, he approached the bowl, emptied it
+of nine-tenths of its contents, and silently dropped the
+potassium-coated pill into the liquid. The potassium danced around the
+edges of the vessel, fuming, hissing, and blazing, as it always does,
+and seemed on the point of expiring - when, to my astonishment and
+alarm, a sharp explosion took place, and in a second of time the water
+was blazing in a red, lurid column, half way to the ceiling.
+
+"For God's sake," I cried, "extinguish the flames, or we shall set the
+building on fire!"
+
+"Had I dropped the potassium into the bowl as you prepared it," he
+quietly remarked, "the building would indeed have been consumed."
+
+Lower and lower fell the flickering flames, paler and paler grew the
+blaze, until finally the fire went out, and I rushed up to see the
+effects of the combustion.
+
+Not a drop of water remained in the vessel! Astonished beyond measure at
+what I had witnessed, and terrified almost to the verge of insanity, I
+approached Summerfield, and tremblingly inquired, "To whom, sir, is this
+tremendous secret known?" "To myself alone," he responded; "and now
+answer me a question: is it worth the money?"
+
+
+
+* * * * * * *
+
+
+
+It is entirely unnecessary to relate in detail the subsequent events
+connected with this transaction. I will only add a general statement,
+showing the results of my negotiations. Having fully satisfied myself
+that Summerfield actually held in his hands the fate of the whole world,
+with its millions of human beings, and by experiment having tested the
+combustion of sea-water, with equal facility as fresh, I next deemed it
+my duty to call the attention of a few of the principal men in San
+Francisco to the extreme importance of Summerfield's discovery.
+
+A leading banker, a bishop, a chemist, two State university professors,
+a physician, a judge, and two Protestant divines, were selected by me to
+witness the experiment on a large scale. This was done at a small
+sand-hill lake, near the seashore, but separated from it by a ridge of
+lofty mountains, distant not more than ten miles from San Francisco.
+Every single drop of water in the pool was burnt up in less than fifteen
+minutes. We next did all that we could to pacify Summerfield, and
+endeavored to induce him to lower his price and bring it within the
+bounds of a reasonable possibility. But without avail. He began to grow
+urgent in his demands, and his brow would cloud like a tempest-ridden
+sky whenever we approached him on the subject. Finally, ascertaining
+that no persuasion could soften his heart or touch his feelings, a
+sub-committee was appointed, to endeavor, if possible, to raise the
+money by subscription. Before taking that step, however, we ascertained
+beyond all question that Summerfield was the sole custodian of his dread
+secret, and that he kept no written memorial of the formula of his
+prescription. He even went so far as to offer us a penal bond that his
+secret should perish with him in case we complied with his demands.
+
+The sub-committee soon commenced work amongst the wealthiest citizens of
+San Francisco, and by appealing to the terrors of a few, and the
+sympathies of all, succeeded in raising one-half the amount within the
+prescribed period. I shall never forget the woe-begone faces of
+California Street during the month of October. The outside world and the
+newspapers spoke most learnedly of a money panic - a pressure in
+business, and the disturbances in the New York gold-room. But to the
+initiated, there was an easier solution of the enigma. The pale spectre
+of Death looked down upon them all, and pointed with its bony finger to
+the fiery tomb of the whole race, already looming up in the distance
+before them. Day after day, I could see the dreadful ravages of this
+secret horror; doubly terrible, since they dared not divulge it. Still,
+do all that we could, the money could not be obtained. The day preceding
+the last one given, Summerfield was summoned before the committee, and
+full information given him of the state of affairs. Obdurate, hard and
+cruel, he still continued. Finally, a proposition was started, that an
+attempt should be made to raise the other half of the money in the city
+of New York. To this proposal Summerfield ultimately yielded, but with
+extreme reluctance. It was agreed in committee that I should accompany
+him thither, and take with me, in my own possession, evidences of the
+sums subscribed here; that a proper appeal should be made to the leading
+capitalists, scholars and clergymen of that metropolis, and that, when
+the whole amount was raised, it should be paid over to Summerfield, and
+a bond taken from him never to divulge his awful secret to any human
+being.
+
+With this, he seemed to be satisfied, and left us to prepare for his
+going the next morning.
+
+As soon as he left the apartment, the bishop rose, and deprecated the
+action that had been taken, and characterized it as childish and absurd.
+He declared that no man was safe one moment whilst "that diabolical
+wretch" still lived; that the only security for us all was in his
+immediate extirpation from the face of the earth, and that no amount of
+money could seal his lips, or close his hands. It would be no crime, he
+said, to deprive him of the means of assassinating the whole human
+family, and that as for himself he was for dooming him to immediate
+death.
+
+With a unanimity that was extraordinary, the entire committee coincided.
+
+A great many plans were proposed, discussed and rejected, having in view
+the extermination of Summerfield. In them all there was the want of that
+proper caution which would lull the apprehensions of an enemy; for
+should he for an instant suspect treachery, we knew his nature well
+enough to be satisfied, that he would waive all ceremonies and carry his
+threats into immediate execution.
+
+It was finally resolved that the trip to New York should not be
+abandoned, apparently. But that we were to start out in accordance with
+the original program; that during the journey, some proper means should
+be resorted to by me to carry out the final intentions of the committee,
+and that whatever I did would be sanctioned by them all, and full
+protection, both in law and conscience, afforded me in any stage of the
+proceeding.
+
+Nothing was wanting but my own consent; but this was difficult to
+secure.
+
+At the first view, it seemed to be a most horrible and unwarrantable
+crime to deprive a fellow-being of life, under any circumstances; but
+especially so where, in meeting his fate, no opportunity was to be
+afforded him for preparation or repentance. It was a long time before I
+could disassociate, in my mind, the two ideas of act and intent. My
+studies had long ago made me perfectly familiar with the doctrine of the
+civil law, that in order to constitute guilt, there must be a union of
+action and intention. Taking the property of another is not theft,
+unless, as the lawyers term it, there is the animus furandi. So, in
+homicide, life may be lawfully taken in some instances, whilst the deed
+may be excused in others. The sheriff hangs the felon and deprives him
+of existence; yet nobody thinks of accusing the officer of murder. The
+soldier slays his enemy, still the act is considered heroical. It does
+not therefore follow that human life is too sacred to be taken away
+under all circumstances. The point to be considered was thus narrowed
+down into one grand inquiry, whether Summerfield was properly to be
+regarded as hostis humani generis, the enemy of the human race, or not.
+If he should justly be so considered, then it would not only be not a
+crime to kill him, but an act worthy of the highest commendation. Who
+blamed McKenzie for hanging Spencer to the yard-arm? Yet in his case,
+the lives of only a small ship's crew were in jeopardy. Who condemned
+Pompey for exterminating the pirates from the Adriatic? Yet, in his
+case, only a small portion of the Roman Republic was liable to
+devastation. Who accuses Charlotte Corday of assassination for stabbing
+Marat in his bath? Still, her arm only saved the lives of a few
+thousands of revolutionary Frenchmen. And to come down to our own times,
+who heaps accusation upon the heads of Lincoln, Thomas or Sheridan, or
+even Grant, though in marching to victory over a crushed rebellion, they
+deemed it necessary to wade through seas of human gore? If society has
+the right to defend itself from the assaults of criminals, who, at best,
+can only destroy a few of its members, why should I hesitate when it was
+apparent that the destiny of the globe itself hung in the balance? If
+Summerfield should live and carry out his threats, the whole world would
+feel the shock; his death was the only path to perfect safety.
+
+I asked the privilege of meditation for one hour, at the hands of the
+committee, before I would render a decision either way. During that
+recess the above argumentation occupied my thoughts. The time expired,
+and I again presented myself before them. I did not deem it requisite to
+state the grounds of my decision; I briefly signified my assent, and
+made instant preparation to carry the plan into execution.
+
+Having passed on the line of the Pacific Railway more than once, I was
+perfectly familiar with all of its windings, gorges and precipices.
+
+I selected Cape Horn as the best adapted to the purpose, and . . . the
+public knows the rest.
+
+Having been fully acquitted by two tribunals of the law, I make this
+final appeal to my fellowmen throughout the State, and ask them
+confidently not to reverse the judgments already pronounced.
+
+I am conscious of no guilt; I feel no remorse; I need no repentance. For
+me justice has no terrors, and conscience no sting. Let me be judged
+solely by the motives which actuated me, and the importance of the end
+accomplished, and I shall pass, unscathed, both temporal and eternal
+tribunals.
+
+Leonidas Parker.
+
+
+
+Additional Particulars
+
+
+
+The following additional particulars, as sequel to the Summerfield
+homicide, have been furnished by an Auburn correspondent:
+
+Mr. Editor: The remarkable confession of the late Leonidas Parker, which
+appeared in your issue of the 13th ultimo, has given rise to a series of
+disturbances in this neighborhood, which, for romantic interest and
+downright depravity, have seldom been surpassed, even in California.
+Before proceeding to relate in detail the late transactions, allow me to
+remark that the wonderful narrative of Parker excited throughout this
+county sentiments of the most profound and contradictory character. I,
+for one, halted between two opinions - horror and incredulity; and
+nothing but subsequent events could have fully satisfied me of the
+unquestionable veracity of your San Francisco correspondent, and the
+scientific authenticity of the facts related.
+
+The doubt with which the story was at first received in this community -
+and which found utterance in a burlesque article in an obscure country
+journal, the Stars and Stripes, of Auburn - has finally been dispelled,
+and we find ourselves forced to admit that we stand even now in the
+presence of the most alarming fate. Too much credit cannot be awarded to
+our worthy coroner for the promptitude of his action, and we trust that
+the Governor of the State will not be less efficient in the discharge of
+his duty.
+
+[Since the above letter was written the following proclamation has been
+issued. - P. J.]
+
+Proclamation of the Governor.
+
+$10,000 Reward.
+
+Department of State.
+
+By virtue of the authority in me vested, I do hereby offer the above
+reward of ten thousand dollars, in gold coin of the United States, for
+the arrest of Bartholomew Graham, familiarly known as "Black Bart." Said
+Graham is accused of the murder of C. P. Gillson, late of Auburn, county
+of Placer, on the 14th ultimo. He is five feet ten inches and a half in
+height, thick set, has a mustache sprinkled with gray, grizzled hair,
+clear blue eyes, walks stooping, and served in the late civil war, under
+Price and Quantrell, in the Confederate army. He may be lurking in some
+of the mining-camps near the foot-hills, as he was a Washoe teamster
+during the Comstock excitement. The above reward will be paid for him,
+dead or alive, as he possessed himself of an important secret by robbing
+the body of the late Gregory Summerfield.
+
+By the Governor:  H. G. Nicholson,
+
+Secretary of State.
+
+Given at Sacramento, this the fifth day of June, 1871.
+
+Our correspondent continues:
+
+I am sorry to say that Sheriff Higgins has not been so active in the
+discharge of his duty as the urgency of the case required, but he is
+perhaps excusable on account of the criminal interference of the editor
+above alluded to. But I am detaining you from more important matters.
+Your Saturday's paper reached here at 4 o'clock Saturday,13th May, and,
+as it now appears from the evidence taken before the coroner, several
+persons left Auburn on the same errand, but without any previous
+conference. Two of these were named respectively Charles P. Gillson and
+Bartholomew Graham, or, as he was usually called, "Black Bart." Gillson
+kept a saloon at the corner of Prickly Ash Street and the Old Spring
+Road; and Black Bart was in the employ of Conrad & Co., keepers of the
+Norfolk Livery Stable. Gillson was a son-in-law of ex-Governor Roberts,
+of Iowa, and leaves a wife and two children to mourn his untimely end.
+As for Graham, nothing certain is known of his antecedents. It is said
+that he was engaged in the late robbery of Wells & Fargo's express at
+Grizzly Bend, and that he was an habitual gambler. Only one thing about
+him is certainly well known: he was a lieutenant in the Confederate
+army, and served under General Price and the outlaw Quantrell. He was a
+man originally of fine education, plausible manners and good family, but
+strong drink seems early in life to have overmastered him, and left him
+but a wreck of himself. But he was not incapable of generous or, rather,
+romantic acts; for, during the burning of the Putnam House in this town
+last summer, he rescued two ladies from the flames. In so doing he
+scorched his left hand so seriously as to contract the tendons of two
+fingers, and this very scar may lead to his apprehension. There is no
+doubt about his utter desperation of character, and, if taken at all, it
+will probably be not alive.
+
+So much for the persons concerned in the tragedy at the Flat.
+
+Herewith I inclose copies of the testimony of the witnesses examined
+before the coroner's jury, together with the statement of Gillson, taken
+in articulo mortis:
+
+Deposition of Dollie Adams.
+
+State of California, }
+County of Placer.    } ss.
+
+Said witness, being duly sworn, deposes as follows, to wit: My name is
+Dolly Adams, my age forty-seven years; I am the wife of Frank G. Adams,
+of this township, and reside on the North Fork of the American River,
+below Cape Horn, on Thompson's Flat. About one o'clock p. m., May 14,
+1871, I left the cabin to gather wood to cook dinner for my husband and
+the hands at work for him on the claim. The trees are mostly cut away
+from the bottom, and I had to climb some distance up the mountainside
+before I could get enough to kindle the fire. I had gone about five
+hundred yards from the cabin, and was searching for small sticks of
+fallen timber, when I thought I heard some one groan, as if in pain. I
+paused and listened; the groaning became more distinct, and I started at
+once for the place whence the sounds proceeded; about ten steps off I
+discovered the man whose remains lie there (pointing to the deceased),
+sitting up, with his back against a big rock. He looked so pale that I
+thought him already dead, but he continued to moan until I reached his
+side. Hearing me approach, he opened his eyes, and begged me, "For God's
+sake, give me a drop of water!" I asked him, "What is the matter?" He
+replied, " I am shot in the back." "Dangerously?" I demanded. "Fatally!"
+he faltered. Without waiting to question him further, I returned to the
+cabin, told Zenie, my daughter, what I had seen, and sent her off on a
+run for the men. Taking with me a gourd of water, some milk and bread -
+for I thought the poor gentleman might be hungry and weak, as well as
+wounded - I hurried back to his side, where I remained until "father" -
+as we all call my husband - came with the men. We removed him as gently
+as we could to the cabin; then sent for Dr. Liebner, and nursed him
+until he died, yesterday, just at sunset.
+
+Question by the Coroner: Did you hear his statement, taken down by the
+Assistant District-Attorney? - A. I did.
+
+Q. Did you see him sign it? - A. Yes, sir.
+
+Q. Is this your signature thereto as witness? - A. It is, sir.
+
+(Signed)  Dollie Adams.
+
+Deposition of Miss X. V. Adams.
+
+Being first duly sworn, witness testified as follows: My name is Xixenia
+Volumnia Adams; I am the daughter of Frank G. Adams and the last
+witness; I reside with them on the Flat, and my age is eighteen years. A
+little past one o'clock on Sunday last my mother came running into the
+house and informed me that a man was dying on the side-hill, from a
+wound, and that I must go for father and the boys immediately. I ran as
+fast as my legs would carry me to where they were "cleaning up," for
+they never cleaned up week-days on the Flat, and told the news; we all
+came back together and proceeded to the spot where the wounded man lay
+weltering in his blood; he was cautiously removed to the cabin, where he
+lingered until yesterday sundown, when he died.
+
+Question. Did he speak after he reached the cabin? - A. He did
+frequently; at first with great pain, but afterward more audibly and
+intelligibly.
+
+Q. What did he say? - A. First, to send for Squire Jacobs, the Assistant
+District-Attorney, as he had a statement to make; and some time
+afterward, to send for his wife; but we first of all sent for the
+doctor.
+
+Q. Who was present when he died? - A. Only myself; he had appeared a
+great deal easier, and his wife had lain down to take a short nap, and
+my mother had gone to the spring and left me alone to watch. Suddenly he
+lifted himself spasmodically in bed, glared around wildly and muttered
+something inaudible; seeing me, he cried out, "Run! run! run! He has it!
+Black Bart has got the vial! Quick! or he'll set the world afire! See,
+he opens it! O my God! Look! look! look! Hold his hands! tie him! chain
+him down! Too late! too late! oh, the flames! Fire! fire! fire!" His
+tone of voice gradually strengthened until the end of his raving; when
+he cried "fire!" his eyeballs glared, his mouth quivered, his body
+convulsed, and before Mrs. Gillson could reach his bedside he fell back
+stone dead. (Signed)  X. V. Adams.
+
+The testimony of Adams corroborated in every particular that of his wife
+and daughter, but set forth more fully the particulars of his demoniac
+ravings. He would taste nothing from a glass or bottle, but shuddered
+whenever any article of that sort met his eyes. In fact, they had to
+remove from the room the cups, tumblers, and even the castors. At times
+he spoke rationally, but after the second day only in momentary flashes
+of sanity.
+
+The deposition of the attending physician, after giving the general
+facts with regard to the sickness of the patient and his subsequent
+demise, proceeded thus:
+
+I found the patient weak, and suffering from loss of blood and rest, and
+want of nourishment; occasionally sane, but for the most part flighty
+and in a comatose condition. The wound was an ordinary gunshot wound,
+produced most probably by the ball of a navy revolver, fired at the
+distance of ten paces. It entered the back near the left clavicle,
+beneath the scapula, close to the vertebrae between the intercostal
+spaces of the fifth and sixth ribs; grazing the pericardium it traversed
+the mediastinum, barely touching the oesophagus, and vena azygos, but
+completely severing the thoracic duct, and lodging in the xiphoid
+portion of the sternum. Necessarily fatal, there was no reason, however,
+why the patient could not linger for a week or more; but it is no less
+certain that from the effect of the wound he ultimately died. I
+witnessed the execution of the paper shown to me - as the statement of
+deceased - at his request; and at the time of signing the same he was in
+his perfect senses. It was taken down in my presence by Jacobs, the
+Assistant District-Attorney of Placer County, and read over to the
+deceased before he affixed his signature. I was not present when he
+breathed his last, having been called away by my patients in the town of
+Auburn, but I reached his bedside shortly afterward. In my judgment, no
+amount of care or medical attention could have prolonged his life more
+than a few days.
+
+(Signed) Karl Liebner, M. D.
+
+The statement of the deceased was then introduced to the jury as
+follows:
+
+People of the State of California, }
+vs.                                }
+Bartholomew Graham.                }
+
+Statement and Dying Confession of Charles P. Gillson, taken in articulo
+mortis by George Simpson, Notary Public.
+
+On the morning of Sunday, the 14th day of May, 1871, I left Auburn alone
+in search of the body of the late Gregory Summerfield, who was reported
+to have been pushed from the cars at Cape Horn, in this county, by one
+Leonidas Parker, since deceased. It was not fully light when I reached
+the track of the Central Pacific Railroad. Having mined at an early day
+on Thompson's Flat, at the foot of the rocky promontory now called Cape
+Horn, I was familiar with the zigzag paths leading down that steep
+precipice. One was generally used as a descent, the other as an ascent
+from the caņon below. I chose the latter, as being the freest from the
+chance of observation. It required the greatest caution to thread the
+narrow gorge; but I finally reached the rocky bench, about one thousand
+feet below the grade of the railroad. It was now broad daylight, and I
+commenced cautiously the search for Summerfield's body. There is quite a
+dense undergrowth of shrubs thereabouts, lining the interstices of the
+granite rocks so as to obscure the vision even at a short distance.
+Brushing aside a thick manzanita bush, I beheld the dead man at the same
+instant of time that another person arrived like an apparition upon the
+spot. It was Bartholomew Graham, known as "Black Bart." We suddenly
+confronted each other, the skeleton of Summerfield lying exactly between
+us. Our recognition was mutual. Graham advanced, and I did the same; he
+stretched out his hand and we greeted one another across the prostrate
+corpse.
+
+Before releasing my hand, Black Bart exclaimed in a hoarse whisper,
+"Swear, Gillson, in the presence of the dead, that you will forever be
+faithful, never betray me, and do exactly as I bid you, as long as you
+live!"
+
+I looked him full in the eye. Fate sat there, cold and remorseless as
+stone. I hesitated; with his left hand he slightly raised the lapels of
+his coat, and grasped the handle of a navy revolver.
+
+"Swear!" again he cried.
+
+As I gazed, his eyeballs assumed a greenish tint, and his brow darkened
+into a scowl. "As your confederate," I answered, "never as your slave."
+
+"Be it so!" was his only reply.
+
+The body was lying upon its back, with the face upwards. The vultures
+had despoiled the countenance of every vestige of flesh, and left the
+sockets of the eyes empty. Snow and ice and rain had done their work
+effectually upon the exposed surfaces of his clothing, and the eagles
+had feasted upon the entrails. But underneath, the thick beaver cloth
+had served to protect the flesh, and there were some decaying shreds
+left of what had once been the terrible but accomplished Gregory
+Summerfield. A glance told us all these things. But they did not
+interest me so much as another spectacle, that almost froze my blood. In
+the skeleton gripe of the right hand, interlaced within the clenched
+bones, gleamed the wide-mouthed vial which was the object of our mutual
+visit. Graham fell upon his knees, and attempted to withdraw the prize
+from the grasp of its dead possessor. But the bones were firm, and when
+he finally succeeded in securing the bottle, by a sudden wrench, I heard
+the skeleton fingers snap like pipe-stems.
+
+"Hold this a moment, whilst I search the pockets," he commanded.
+
+I did as directed.
+
+He then turned over the corpse, and thrusting his hand into the inner
+breast-pocket, dragged out a roll of MSS., matted closely together and
+stained by the winter's rains. A further search eventuated in finding a
+roll of small gold coin, a set of derringer pistols, a rusted
+double-edged dirk, and a pair of silver-mounted spectacles. Hastily
+covering over the body with leaves and branches cut from the embowering
+shrubs, we shudderingly left the spot.
+
+We slowly descended the gorge toward the banks of the American River,
+until we arrived in a small but sequestered thicket, where we threw
+ourselves upon the ground. Neither had spoken a word since we left the
+scene above described. Graham was the first to break the silence which
+to me had become oppressive.
+
+"Let us examine the vial and see if the contents are safe."
+
+I drew it from my pocket and handed it to him.
+
+"Sealed hermetically, and perfectly secure," he added. Saying this, he
+deliberately wrapped it up in a handkerchief and placed it in his bosom.
+
+"What shall we do with our prize?" I inquired.
+
+"Our prize?" As he said this he laughed derisively, and cast a most
+scornful and threatening glance toward me.
+
+"Yes," I rejoined firmly; "our prize!"
+
+"Gillson," retorted Graham, "you must regard me as a consummate
+simpleton, or yourself a Goliath. This bottle is mine, and mine only. It
+is a great fortune for one, but of less value than a toadstool for two.
+I am willing to divide fairly. This secret would be of no service to a
+coward. He would not dare to use it. Your share of the robbery of the
+body shall be these MSS.; you can sell them to some poor devil of a
+printer, and pay yourself for your day's work."
+
+Saying this he threw the bundle of MSS. at my feet; but I disdained to
+touch them. Observing this, he gathered them up safely and replaced them
+in his pocket. "As you are unarmed," he said, "it would not be safe for
+you to be seen in this neighborhood during daylight. We will both spend
+the night here, and just before morning return to Auburn. I will
+accompany you part of the distance."
+
+With the sangfroid of a perfect desperado, he then stretched himself out
+in the shadow of a small tree, drank deeply from a whiskey flagon which
+he produced, and pulling his hat over his eyes, was soon asleep and
+snoring. It was a long time before I could believe the evidence of my
+own senses. Finally, I approached the ruffian, and placed my hand on his
+shoulder. He did not stir a muscle. I listened; I heard only the deep,
+slow breathing of profound slumber. Resolved not to be balked and
+defrauded by such a scoundrel, I stealthily withdrew the vial from his
+pocket and sprang to my feet, just in time to hear the click of a
+revolver behind me. I was betrayed! I remember only a flash and an
+explosion - a deathly sensation, a whirl of the rocks and trees about
+me, a hideous imprecation from the lips of my murderer, and I fell
+senseless to the earth. When I awoke to consciousness it was past
+midnight. I looked up at the stars, and recognized Lyra shining full in
+my face. That constellation, I knew, passed the meridian at this season
+of the year after twelve o'clock, and its slow march told me that many
+weary hours would intervene before daylight. My right arm was paralyzed,
+but I put forth my left, and it rested in a pool of my own blood. "Oh,
+for one drop of water!" I exclaimed, faintly; but only the low sighing
+of the night blast responded. Again I fainted. Shortly after daylight I
+revived, and crawled to the spot where I was discovered on the next day
+by the kind mistress of this cabin. You know the rest. I accuse
+Bartholomew Graham of my assassination. I do this in the perfect
+possession of my senses, and with a full sense of my responsibility to
+Almighty God. (Signed)  C. P. Gillson.
+
+George Simpson, Notary Public.
+Chris. Jacobs, Assistant District-Attorney.
+Dollie Adams, } Witnesses.
+Karl Liebner, }
+
+The following is a copy of the verdict of the coroner's jury:
+
+County of Placer,   }
+Cape Horn Township. }
+
+In re C. P. Gillson, late of said county deceased.
+
+We, the undersigned, coroner's jury, summoned in the foregoing case to
+examine into the causes of the death of said Gillson, do find that he
+came to his death at the hands of Bartholomew Graham, usually called
+"Black Bart," on Wednesday, the 17th May, 1871. And we further find said
+Graham guilty of murder in the first degree, and recommend his immediate
+apprehension.
+
+(Signed)   John Quillan,
+            Peter McIntyre,
+            Abel George,
+            Alex. Scriber,
+(Correct:) Wm. A. Thompson.
+
+Thos. J. Alwyn,
+Coroner.
+
+The above documents constitute the papers introduced before the coroner.
+Should anything of further interest occur, I will keep you fully
+advised. Powhattan Jones.
+
+Since the above was in type we have received from our esteemed San
+Francisco correspondent the following letter:
+
+San Francisco, June 8, 1871.
+
+Mr. Editor: On entering my office this morning I found a bundle of MSS.
+which had been thrown in at the transom over the door, labeled, "The
+Summerfield MSS." Attached to them was an unsealed note from one
+Bartholomew Graham, in these words:
+
+Dear Sir: These are yours; you have earned them. I commend to your
+especial notice the one styled, "De Mundo Comburendo." At a future time
+you may hear again from
+
+Bartholomew Graham.
+
+A casual glance at the papers convinces me that they are of great
+literary value. Summerfield's fame never burned so brightly as it does
+over his grave. Will you publish the MSS.?
+
+
+
+Here ends No. Two Western Classics Containing The Case of Summerfield by
+W. H. Rhodes an Introduction by Geraldine Bonner and a Frontispiece
+After a Painting by Galen J. Perrett the Typography Designed by J. H.
+Nash of this First Edition One Thousand Copies Have Been Issued Printed
+on Fabriano Handmade Paper Published by Paul Elder and Company and Done
+into a Book for them at the Tomoye Press in the City of New York MCMVII
+
+
+
+
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD ***
+
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