It seemed to the jury there was some ground for leniency, so they brought in a verdict of guilty, with recommendation of a light sentence. The judge took the recommendation as a transgression of the prerogatives of the court, and said: "Alright, we will say -- well, fifteen years."
The jury was angry, and so fast as cases come up they returned verdicts of not guilty.
At the close of the term, the judge called for the young man who had been sentenced to fifteen years. lie was brought up, trembling in anticipation of something more severe, but
the judge delivered to him something like the following :
"Young man, the honorable jury of Cheyenne County has seen fit to turn loose every other damned rascal in the county, and I don't see any reason why you should not also go. Your sentence is indefinitely suspended."
In general, Judge Gaslin had the rough, western element "buffaloed," but there was one occasion, and one man in the Panhandle that upset the general rule. Two men named McCauley and Clarke had been incarcerated in Cheyenne county jail on a felonious charge, and big Tom Ryan appeared before the judge at Sidney to arrange for their release.
The court was sitting, and as usual, hitting the evil-doers hard, and Clarke and McCauley were getting their share of the roast. To assail one's friend is to offend the man, and Tom Ryan took serious offense. He knocked the judge off the Bench, literally and figuratively.