I learned, during the afternoon, that my mother was on that train on her way to Merced, and that some one had whispered in her ear, your son is thus far safe. This was a great relief to me, for I had feared for her safety; I knew that rumors must have reached her of my being hunted down, and of the uncertainty of my escape from the mob, and I knew that her agony must be terrible.
I remained hid in the barn until nightfall, when I ventured forth, and was guided by two friends to a good hiding place, their main object being to keep me out of the clutches of the mob, as I informed them that I did not wish to evade the law, but wanted to reach Modesto when I could do so with safety. I did not look upon Meany as an officer, as he, to my knowledge, mixed with the mob, and deputized some of the ring leaders as his posse. I have his own word for this, because he told me, while returning with me to Modesto from my examination at Merced, that there was not a half-dozen men out but what he had deputized. I laid hid in my new retreat, which was in a barn, some four or five miles from Cressy Station. This barn was filled with hay, and I burrowed a hole, got into it, covered it up, and lay hid all day, venturing forth at night only, to stretch my aching limbs and to get water.
While hid in this barn, I suffered from cold, hunger and thirst.
While hid here, the mob was hunting for me everywhere, and whenever the cowardly crew came to a thicket of willows that they feared to inspect closely or in which they thought I might be hid, they fired into the same. The firing was distinctly seen and heard by myself at one particular point on the Merced river. In the corral of the barn in which I lay hid there were a dozen or so of fine horses, out of which I could have taken my pick, had I desired to effect my escape, but that was far from my intention. I was determined not to flee if I could possibly reach Modesto in safety. Had I have had no opportunity to have done so, as a last resort I would have armed myself, mounted a good horse, and leading another, struck a bee line for Mexico. Knowing the country so well, and for other reasons which I will not mention here, I could have reached that country without fear of arrest; and after stopping there six months or a year, I would have returned and stood my trial.
Luckily, I had an opportunity to reach Modesto, but not without incurring a great risk from the mob, whom I had to dodge on every hand in order to reach Cressy Station, where, under the protection of five friends, I took passage to Modesto on Saturday morning. Arriving there at seven o'clock, I immediately went to the Ross House, eat my breakfast, and then sent a messenger in quest of the sheriff. He being out of town, his deputy, Chas. Aull, came into the parlor. I was introduced, to him, and gave myself into his custody. That night the sheriff called out a large number of men to prevent a set of scoundrels from Merced from mobbing me.
I have written this simple, uncolored, true statement of facts in justice to Nick Breen, as Mr. Fleming, the deputy sheriff, told my mother that Mr. Meany had ordered Mr. Breen to take me to Modesto, and that he (Breen) had disobeyed orders. My mother went immediately to Mr. Breen and asked him if what Mr. Fleming said was true. "No," said Mr. B., "I wanted to take Harry to Modesto, but Meany's strict orders were, the Half-Way House."
The following beautiful poem was written after the authoress had spent several hours in jail with the prisoner in company with his mother, in which time they all dined together; the meal being furnished from a restaurant by his mother. Young Harry acted as host, calm and dignified, though pale from confinement and want of sun and air:
THE FATAL SLANDER; OR, HARRY'S DEFENSE.
BY MRS. L. E. DRAKE.