I knew I was too weak to
attempt to escape, and so remained where I sat, expecting every moment
he would devour me. Suddenly there was the report of a gun, and the bear
fell dead. Mr. Foster had discovered the animal, and slipping up close
to camp, had killed it."
When the party arrived at Sutter's Fort, they took no pains to conceal
their feelings toward Keseberg. Some of the men openly accused him of
Mrs. Donner's murder. Keseberg, at the suggestion of Captain Sutter,
brought action against Captain Fallon, Ned Coffeemire, and the others,
for slander. The case was tried before Alcalde Sinclair, and the jury
gave Keseberg a verdict of one dollar damages. The old alcalde records
are not in existence, but some of the survivors remember the
circumstance, and Mrs. Samuel Kyburz, now of Clarksville, El Dorado
County, was a witness at the trial. If Keseberg was able to vindicate
himself in an action for slander against the evidence of all the party,
it is clear that such evidence was not adduced as has frequently
appeared in books. For instance, in Captain Fallon's report of this
trip, he alleges that "in the cabin with Keseberg were found two kettles
of human blood, in all supposed to be over one gallon." Had this been
proven, no jury would have found for Keseberg. Fresh blood could not
have been obtained from starved bodies, and had the blood been found,
Keseberg would have been adjudged a murderer.
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