Prevod
V starih časih je na Zahodu vladala surova pravica. Morala je biti stroga in hitra, saj je veljala za ljudi, ki so postali nevarni, brž ko so opazili, da jim moč ali številčnost daje kakršno koli prednost ali premoč nad poštenimi ljudmi, med katere jih je zaneslo. Večinoma so bili to neomikani tujci in domači odpadniki, ki so se zatekli na obmejno ozemlje v upanju, da bodo tam lažje kakor v mestih živeli brez dela. Ker ni bilo ne odvetnikov ne sodišč, priznanih zakonov pa le malo, so se vsi prebivalci skupaj razglasili za poroto, in če je bilo znano, da je človek kriv, je bilo nespametno izgubljati besede z razglabljanjem o njegovem primeru. In skorajda ni zapisov o tem, da bi na Zahodu pri linčanju obesili nedolžnega človeka. Za manjše prestopke so krivca odvedli iz naselbine in ga posvarili, naj dobro premisli, preden se znova vrne tja, za hujše pa je bila kazen smrt.
Leta 1840 se je ob reki Cedar, blizu njenega sotočja z Iowo, naselila skupina brezobzirnih mož, ki so se preživljali s krajo varčnim in marljivim ljudem. Nekateri med njimi so se posvečali predvsem kraji konj, v redko poseljenih krajih, kjer mora človek po zaloge, pošto ali zdravniško pomoč pogosto prepotovati dvajset ali trideset milj, pa velja ostati brez konja za pravo nesrečo.
Naposled so prebivalci ustanovili odbor za varovanje reda in polovili tatove. Ker so bili ti tolpa brezvestnih lopovov, so sklenili, da jih je mogoče učinkovito poboljšati edinole z obešanjem. Resda je eden izmed deveterice pred aretacijo veljal za uglednega občana, toda zaradi njegove slabe družbe so sosedje ostali gluhi za njegove prošnje in sklenili, da mora tudi on na vislice.
Nedaleč stran je stal hrast z devetimi močnimi vejami in k tem naravnim vislicam so odpeljali malopridneže. Ker se je bližala nevihta, je bil obred kratek in kmalu je z vsake veje viselo telo enega od ujetnikov. Nekdaj uglednega občana so potegnili kvišku zadnjega, in komaj so pritrdili njegovo zanko, se je razbesnela nevihta in strela je odtrgala vejo, na kateri je visel. Med zastojem, ki ga je povzročil ta dogodek, je nesrečnež tako goreče prosil, naj mu še enkrat prisluhnejo, da so mu sklenili ugoditi. Ko je dobil to priložnost, je neizpodbitno dokazal svojo nedolžnost in izpustili so ga. Drevo še vedno stoji. Malopridnežem je bilo v svarilo in odšli so iz teh krajev. Tudi to, da je previdnost rešila enega človeka, ni zmanjšalo vrednosti nauka, da se je treba izogibati slabi družbi.
Izvirnik
There was rough justice in the West in the old days. It had to be dealt severely and quickly, for it was administered to a kind of men that became dangerous if they saw any advantage or any superiority in their strength or numbers over the decent people with whom they were cast. They were uncivilized foreigners and native renegades, for the most part, who had drifted to the frontier in the hope of making a living without work more easily than in the cities. As there were no lawyers or courts and few recognized laws, the whole people constituted themselves a jury, and if a man were known to be guilty it was foolishness for any one to waste logic on his case. And there is almost no record of an innocent man being hanged by lynchers in the West. For minor offences the penalty was to be marched out of camp, with a warning to be very cautious about coming that way again, but for graver ones it was death.
In 1840 a number of desperate fellows had settled along Cedar River, near its confluence with the Iowa, who subsisted by means of theft from the frugal and industrious. Some of these men applied themselves especially to horse-stealing, and in thinly settled countries, where a man has often to go twenty or thirty miles for supplies, or his mail, or medical attendance, it is thought to be a calamity to be without a horse.
At last the people organized themselves into a vigilance committee and ran down the thieves. As the latter were a conscienceless gang of rascals, it was resolved that the only effectual way of reforming them would be by hanging. One man of the nine, it is true, was supposed before his arrest to be a respectable citizen, but his evil communications closed the ears of his neighbors to his appeals, and it was resolved that he, too, should hang.
Not far away stood an oak with nine stout branches, and to this natural gallows the rogues were taken. As a squall was coming up the ceremonies were short, and presently every limb was weighted with the form of a captive. The formerly respectable citizen was the last one to be drawn up, and hardly had his halter been secured before the storm burst and a bolt of lightning ripped off the limb on which he hung. During the delay caused by this accident the unhappy man pleaded so earnestly for a rehearing that it was decided to give it to him, and when he had secured it he conclusively proved his innocence and was set free. The tree is still standing. To the ruffians it was a warning and they went away. Even the providential saving of one man did not detract from the value of the lesson to avoid bad company.
