In forcing him to tell what he had done with the money, they,
too, claim to have choked him, to have put a rope around his neck, and
to have threatened to hang him. On the other hand, if Keseberg's
statement be accepted as truth, it is easy to understand why he refused
to surrender the money to men who treated him from the outset as a
murderer and a robber.
Let the God to whom Lewis Keseberg appeals be his judge. It is not the
part of this book to condemn or acquit him. Most of the fourth relief
party have already gone before the bar at which Keseberg asks to be
tried. Capt. Tucker is about the only available witness, and his
testimony is far more lenient than the rumors and falsehoods usually
published.
If Keseberg be guilty of any or of all crimes, it will presently be seen
that the most revengeful being on earth could not ask that another drop
be added to his cup of bitterness. His statement continues:
"These men treated me with the greatest unkindness. Mr. Tucker was the
only one who took my part or befriended me. When they started over the
mountains, each man carried two bales of goods. They had silks,
calicoes, and delames from the Donners, and other articles of great
value. Each man would carry one bundle a little way, lay it down, and
come back and get the other bundle.
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