For judicial purposes, this part of the country was connected with Dodge City, and F.L. Pierce was appointed justice of the peace in case something should happen that would require court proceedings. Pierce had come out from Iowa and located on a homestead a quarter of a mile west from Mrs. Davies. He and his wife didn’t escape any of the hardships that their neighbors were enduring, but they, like the rest, made the best of the hard times, stayed with their claim, proved it up and got their patent from Uncle Sam.
Everyone seemed peaceable, and living on their claims without any fear, never locking their homes when leaving or their doors at night. It would seem they were free from anything that would call for fear. But one night a change came. The Santa Fe railroad brought in a gang of men together with their boarding cars in which they ate and slept. Their work was to replace the iron rails with steel. These men would spend the evenings in any place of business that was open.
One evening, a group of them gathered in Mr. Brackett’s store. For some reason, not made known, one man made an attack on a man sitting in a chair. He had a knife his his hand just ready to strike the man in the chair, when the man drew a revolver, fired, hitting him in the head, causing instant death. There was a young man from Lakin in the room at the time, a nice boy, a harmless chap by the name of James Boyle. They called him “Prairie Dog Jim.” So when the man fell to the floor, Jim ran to help him if he could and in trying to help he got blood all over his hands. About the time someone thought papers should be gotten out against the man who fired the shot, so they told Jim to go find Mr. Pierce, the justice of the peace, and bring him to town.
On the way to where Mr. Pierce lived, Jim had to pass the home of Mrs. Davies. When he reached her home he thought he would stop and get his directions a little better, so he rapped at her door, as usual she called, “Who is there?” “Prairie Dog Jim,” was the reply. Well, no one was afraid of Jim so she opened the door and there he stood, as it looked to her he was blood all over, and she became frightened, and in his excitement he kept trying to tell her what had happened, until he seemed beside himself. And she was really frightened by now.
She asked, “What do you want?” He said, “Mr. Pierce, the justice of the peace.” She replied, “He lives up west – go on.” And she locked her door, went to bed, but not to sleep. She was afraid he would come back and she didn’t know how much of his story was truth. He might be the murderer and come back to do her harm because she had seen him in that condition, and so her thoughts continued until the rays of light began to lighten the eastern sky.
It was not all fun by any means for the pioneers to obtain a home even if it was given to them by their Uncle Sam.
