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In lieu of prison, convict was auctioned off as temporary slave
Although he had done it, Return Everman stoutly denied having burgled Cyrenius Hooker’s home. Hooker just as firmly accused him of the deed, and wouldn’t stop talking about it. So Everman decided it would be best if he just went ahead and murdered him. “I would rather the news get home that I had killed a man for trying to injure my character, than for news to go home that I had stolen a watch,” he wrote later. (Dallas, Polk County; 1850s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/22-08.cyrenius-hooker-murder-612.html)
Published on 6 months, 3 weeks ago