People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 22, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 November 1893 — HE WAS COOL AS A CUCUMBER. [ARTICLE]

HE WAS COOL AS A CUCUMBER.

A Calaveras County Justice Who Could Not Be Hurried. A contributor to the Alameda (Cab) Argus tells the following story of his observations in the Sierras: As we passed along we noticed a number of deep holes abandoned by prospectors, many of which were near the county road from Stockton to Moquelumne hill in Calaveras county. Curiosity prompted us to look into one of them, and in ohrf, which we took to be about eighteen feet deep, lay the body of a man. How long it had been there, whether dead or alive, we could not tell, having no means of reaching it. Not knowing to whom we should speak, there being no coroner, we called on the justice of the peace, Judge C. The judge was preoccupied and continued writing while we were talking to him. At length, having finished his letter and while folding it, he said, in an absent-minded way: “Where did you say you saw the dead man, gentlemen?” “We saw a man lying at the bottom of a shaft, but whether dead or alive we could not teH. For that reason we considered it our duty to inform you, thinking you might render immediate assistance in case the man is not dead.” “In one of the holes near the road, did you say?” “Yes, about two hundred yards from here.” “How long ago did you see it?” “About half an hour.” “Yes; well, it stands to reason that he must be dead by this time. Here, Thomas, take this note to Mr. S. and ask him to secure one of the billiard tables; tell him I’ll be with him in ten minutes; and, Thomas, tell him to see that the leather on my cue is all right. “No, gentlemen,” turning to us, “it is of no use bothering about that dead body. I’ll see about it to-morrow. He has probably been dead for some time.”