This condition of society encouraged the expression of public indignation pleasing to party prejudices and to the political aspirations of party leaders. At a meeting held in Portland April 1st, it was resolved that the president of the United States should be informed of the neglect of the judges of the first and second districts, no court having been held in Washington county since the previous spring; nor had any judge resided in the district to whom application
he was living. A special term of court was held on the 28th of March to try Kendall, who was defended by W. G. T'Vault and B. F. Harding, convicted, sentenced by Judge Strong, and executed on the 18th of April, there being at the time no jail in which to confine criminals in Marion county. About the same time a sailor named Cook was shot by William Keene, a gambler, in a dispute about a game of ten-pins. Keene was also tried before Judge Strong, convicted of manslaughter, and sentenced to six years in the penitentiary. As the jury had decided that he ought not to hang, and he could not be confined in an imaginary penitentiary, he was pardoned by the governor. Or. Statesman, May 16, 1851. Creed Turner a few months after stabbed and killed Edward A. Bradbury from Cincinnati, Ohio, out of jealousy, both being in love with a Miss Bonser of Sauvé Island. Deady defended him before Judge Pratt, but he was convicted and hanged in the autumn. Id., Oct. 28, 1851; Deady's Hist. Or., MS., 59. In Feb. 1852 William Everman, a desperate character, shot and killed Serenas C. Hooker, a worthy farmer of Polk county, for accusing him of taking a watch. He also was convicted and hanged. He had three associates in crime, Hiram Everman, his brother, who plead guilty and was sentenced to three years in the penitentiary; Enoch Smith, who escaped by the disagreement of the jury, was rearrested, tried again, sentenced to death, and finally pardoned; and David J. Coe, who by obtaining a change of venue was acquitted. As there was no prison where Hiram Everman could serve, he was publicly sold by the sheriff on the day of his brother's execution, to Theodore Prather, the highest bidder, and was set at liberty by the petition of his master just before the expiration of the three years. Smith took a land-claim in Lane county, and married. After several years his wife left him for some cause unknown. He shot himself in April 1877, intentionally, as it was believed. Salem Mercury, April 18, 1877. About the time of the former murder, Nimrod O'Kelly, in Benton county, killed Jeremiah Mahoney, in a quarrel about a land-claim. He was sentenced to the penitentiary and pardoned. In August, in Polk county, Adam E. Wimple, 35 years of age, murdered his wife, a girl of fourteen, setting fire to the house to conceal his crime. He had married this child, whose name was Mary Allen, about one year before. Wimple was a native of New York. S. F. Alta, Sept. 28, 1852. He was hanged at Dallas October 8, 1852. Or. Statesman, Oct. 23, 1852. Robert Maynard killed J. C. Platt on Rogue River for ridiculing him. He was executed by vigilants. Before the election of officers for Jackson county, one Brown shot another man, was arrested, tried before W. W. Fowler, temporarily elected judge, and hanged. Prim's Judic. Affairs in Southern Or., MS., 10. In July 1853, Joseph Nott was tried for the murder of Ryland D. Hill whom he shot in an affray in Umpqua county. He was acquitted. Many lesser crimes appear to have been committed, such as burglary and larceny; and frequent jail deliveries were effected, these structures being built of logs and not guarded. In two years after the discovery of gold in California, Oregon had a criminal calender as large in proportion to the population as the older states.
