CHAPTER XXXIX.
Justice in Early Days—We Prepare to go Further—Our Letter of Introduction—Loss of our Animals—We Trail and Find Them.
I will give you a short account of the actions of the first authorities of Franklin as given to me by the main actor, that the "tenderfeet" of the present day may know a little of the experiences of early days.
When Franklin first established itself as a town, Judge Jones was elected mayor and Ben Dowel marshal. Soon after organizing a number of roughs came in and started to run the town, defying the officers. This would have been all right and possibly admired a few days before the organization, but now order must be kept and the laws vindicated.
A warrant was issued and the marshal and posse approached the rioters. A man was killed, but the outlaws kept possession of the street and defied the officers. Something had to be done.
The dockets show that these men were arrested, brought to trial and found guilty of murder in the first degree; that the court sentenced them to be shot; that Ben Dowel and others were ordered by the court to execute the orders.
Accordingly the orders were duly executed, and Dowel and his assistants, the judge being one of the party, proceeded to shoot four of these condemned men on the street in front of the main saloon of the town. They were buried, as the records show, and the costs of court and all proceedings duly recorded.
Judge Jones showed me the record and explained how it was done. I never heard any complaint about the proceedings but, on the other hand, Judge Jones and Ben Dowel were very much respected by the average citizens of the country.
During the winter Brothers Pratt and Stewart remained most of the time at Ysleta. Brother Ivins helped me make saddle-trees, took care of the stock, and made himself generally useful. I worked most of the time in the shop, my son Wiley helping me. We boarded with a Mexican family, Santiago Vega, who treated us very kindly, often posting us on what was said of us.
The Mexican people are great riders and fond of a good saddle. This gave me a chance to talk to the people. All seemed friendly. Even the priest who had given us such a setting up came and patronized us. We also distributed a few books. We tried quite hard to get a hearing from the natives that lived in and around El Paso, but the priest kept such a watch upon our moves that we had but little chance.