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Lewiston dispatch to the Spokane Spokesman-Review says:
Fred Wood, secretary of the Central Idaho Mining bureau,
yesterday received a letter from Warrens, which tells a story of the
frontier administration of justice not frequently met.
The letter says: “There has been quite an excitement here over a trial.
The first justice of the peace that the town ever boasted was the
cause of it all. A woman
here – a sort of a loose character – heard that a man was talking
about her in a saloon. Arming
herself she went down to see about it.
She walked into the saloon, pulled the gun and told the fellow
she intended to blow his head off.
Later the man she was living with told him that “he’d get him
before dark.”
The
justice of the peace issued a warrant on the assaulted man’s
complaint, and deputized a man to serve it on the woman.
Summons were issued to several witnesses, most of whom
disregarded the court’s command entirely.
Then the justice issued bench warrants.
About
this time a certain element in town began talking about running the
justice out, but a lot of citizens got together and formed a sort of law
and order party to see that the court’s orders were obeyed and
respected.
The
trial proceeded, and finally this woman’s lover arose and told the
justice of the peace that he (the justice) was an ex-convict from
California. The justice
fined him $100 for contempt of court.
I don’t know how the woman came out, but he man has gone to
Grangeville to live with the sheriff for awhile.
You
needn’t think Colorado is the only place where excitement prevails.
The justice said he’d enforce the law if it took the whole
state militia to do it.
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