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diff --git a/5191.txt b/5191.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..20b4c77 --- /dev/null +++ b/5191.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1542 @@ +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 + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CASE OF SUMMERFIELD *** + +***** This file should be named 5191.txt or 5191.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/5/1/9/5191/ + +Produced by David A. Schwan + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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