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Download Geosystems An Introduction to Physical Geography Updated Canadian 4th Edition Christopherson Test Bank all chapters
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Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography, 4e (Christopherson)
Chapter 8 Weather
2) Which of the following is the scientific study of the short-term condition of the atmosphere?
A) Weather.
B) Climate.
C) Meteorology.
D) Geography.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
3) Which of the following terms is a homogeneous volume of air with respect to temperature,
and moisture characteristics?
A) Cyclone.
B) Air mass.
C) Front.
D) Parcel.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
306
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
4) Which of the following is true regarding air masses?
A) An air mass initially reflects the characteristics of its source region.
B) They are stratified in terms of temperature and humidity.
C) They may dominate only the absolute minimal depth of the troposphere.
D) Air masses tend to maintain their original characteristics as they migrate from their source
regions.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
307
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
7) Given a cP air mass and cT air mass with the same relative humidity, which air mass would
have higher specific humidity?
A) The cP air mass would have the higher specific humidity.
B) The cT air mass would have the higher specific humidity.
C) The specific humidity of both would be the same because their relative humidities are the
same.
D) It is impossible to say what would usually be true of their specific humidities.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
9) Which of the following pressure systems reside within the source region for mP air masses?
A) Bermuda high and Pacific high.
B) Aleutian low and Icelandic low.
C) Bermuda high and Icelandic low.
D) Aleutian low and Pacific high.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
308
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
10) Which of the following best describes the maritime tropical Pacific (mT) and maritime
tropical Gulf and Atlantic (mT) air masses?
A) They are different from one another because the Pacific air mass usually has lower specific
humidity than the Gulf/Atlantic air mass.
B) Both are usually extremely unstable.
C) They are very different because the Pacific air mass is very unstable and the Gulf/Atlantic air
mass is usually stable.
D) Both are less active during summer months.
Answer: A
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
11) Consider a mT air mass and a cT air mass. How does the mT air mass compare to the cT air
mass and why?
A) mT is wetter because it is warmer than the cT air mass.
B) mT is wetter because it forms over the ocean.
C) mT is drier because it is a cold air mass.
D) mt is drier because it forms under the equatorial low.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
309
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
13) Which of the following would result in the greatest modification of the air mass?
A) A cT air mass moving across Texas.
B) A cP air mass moving across the Great Lakes.
C) A mT air mass moving across the Gulf of Mexico.
D) A cP air mass remaining stationary over central Canada.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
15) When a cold cP air mass passes over the warmer Great Lakes, it absorbs heat energy and
moisture and becomes humidified. This is known as which of the following?
A) Continental effect.
B) Maritime effect.
C) Humidity effect.
D) Lake effect.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.1 Air Masses
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.1 Describe air masses that affect North America, and relate their qualities to source
regions.
310
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
16) Air flowing from different directions to an area of low pressure, coming together, and being
displaced upward is an example of which type of lifting?
A) Convergent.
B) Convectional.
C) Orographic.
D) Frontal.
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.2 Identify and describe four types of atmospheric lifting mechanisms, and give an
example of each.
17) Which of the following is an example of lifting due to air rising as a result of being
stimulated by local surface heating?
A) Convergent.
B) Convectional.
C) Orographic.
D) Frontal.
Answer: B
Diff: 1 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.2 Identify and describe four types of atmospheric lifting mechanisms, and give an
example of each.
18) Air forcibly lifted upslope when it meets a topographic barrier such as a mountain is an
example of which type of lifting?
A) Convergent.
B) Convectional.
C) Orographic.
D) Frontal.
Answer: C
Diff: 1 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.2 Identify and describe four types of atmospheric lifting mechanisms, and give an
example of each.
311
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
19) Air displacement at a zone of discontinuity between two air masses of different temperature,
pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction, and cloud development is an example of which
type of lifting?
A) Convergent.
B) Convectional.
C) Orographic.
D) Frontal.
Answer: D
Diff: 1 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.2 Identify and describe four types of atmospheric lifting mechanisms, and give an
example of each.
20) Which of the following terms refers to the dry leeward side of a mountain?
A) Rain shadow.
B) Chinook.
C) Front.
D) Orogeny.
Answer: A
Diff: 1 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.3 Explain the formation of orographic precipitation, and review an example of orographic
effects in North America.
312
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
22) Summer afternoon thundershowers in the southeastern United States are more than likely a
result of which of the following?
A) Convectional lifting.
B) Orographic lifting.
C) Frontal lifting.
D) Subtropical high pressure disturbance.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.2 Identify and describe four types of atmospheric lifting mechanisms, and give an
example of each.
24) The place on Earth with the highest annual average rainfall is located in which of the
following?
A) The United States.
B) The Amazon Basin.
C) Southeast Asia.
D) Equatorial Africa.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.3 Explain the formation of orographic precipitation, and review an example of orographic
effects in North America.
313
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
25) Which of the following is the area with the record precipitation received in a single year?
A) In the United States.
B) In the Amazon in Brazil.
C) In the Assam Hills in India, south of the Himalayas.
D) In Southeast Asia.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.3 Explain the formation of orographic precipitation, and review an example of orographic
effects in North America.
314
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
26)
In western Canada, the coast receives far more rainfall than the eastern portion of the area. What
accounts for this stark contrast?
A) The coast experiences a great deal of frontal lifting, while the eastern portion is under a high
pressure cell.
B) The coast experiences orographic precipitation, while the easternmost portion is in the rain
shadow.
C) The coast has much more moderate temperatures due to the maritime effect and, therefore,
experiences convectional uplift, while the eastern portion is governed by continentality.
315
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
D) The coast is under the ITCZ during the summer and experiences convergent uplift, while the
eastern portion is under the Azores High and experiences subsiding air.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.3 Explain the formation of orographic precipitation, and review an example of orographic
effects in North America.
28) The highest rainfall in the world occurs in an area whose rainfall is generated by which of the
following?
A) Advectional cooling of air masses over cold ocean currents.
B) Orographic uplift of warm, moist air.
C) Convectional uplift of warm, moist air.
D) Radiative cooling of cold, moist air.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.3 Explain the formation of orographic precipitation, and review an example of orographic
effects in North America.
29) Which of the following occurs at some stage during the development of a chinook wind?
(Assume rain occurs near the mountain summit.)
A) Compression of the air as it rises up the windward side of the mountain.
B) Increase in specific humidity of the air near the summit.
C) Decrease in relative humidity during the air's ascent up the windward side.
D) Compressional heating of the air on the leeward side.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.2 Atmospheric Lifting Mechanisms
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.3 Explain the formation of orographic precipitation, and review an example of orographic
effects in North America.
316
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
30) Which of the following is typical of cyclonic storm tracks across Canada and the United
States?
A) They shift to the south in winter, and toward the north in summer.
B) They move east to west.
C) They move south to north.
D) The exist in spring and fall only.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.4 Describe the life cycle of a midlatitude cyclonic storm system, and relate this to its
portrayal on weather maps.
31) Which of the following is true of the open stage of a midlatitude cyclone in the Northern
Hemisphere?
A) A disturbance develops along the polar front with warm air converging and rising near the
surface.
B) The faster moving cold front overtakes the slower warm front and wedges beneath it.
C) Warm air moves northward along an advancing front, while cold air advances southward.
D) The lifting mechanism is completely cut off from the warm air mass.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.4 Describe the life cycle of a midlatitude cyclonic storm system, and relate this to its
portrayal on weather maps.
32) Which of the following is true of the occluded stage of a midlatitude cyclone?
A) It occurs when the cold front overruns the slower moving warm front.
B) It occurs as soon as air begins to be uplifted along the cold front.
C) It occurs at the time when the cold front and warm front are clearly and distinctly separated
from one another.
D) This stage is characteristic of an early stage of cyclone development.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.4 Describe the life cycle of a midlatitude cyclonic storm system, and relate this to its
portrayal on weather maps.
317
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
33) Occlusion in a midlatitude wave cyclone can occur because of which of the following?
A) Warm fronts travel more quickly than cold fronts.
B) Cold fronts travel more quickly than warm fronts.
C) Warm and cold fronts travel at the same speed.
D) Warm air sinks in low pressure areas.
Answer: B
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.4 Describe the life cycle of a midlatitude cyclonic storm system, and relate this to its
portrayal on weather maps.
34)
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Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
35)
36)
319
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
37)
38) When a cold front approaches, which of the following correctly pairs the effect on air
pressure initially with the explanation of why this happens?
A) Air pressure initially will increase due to the displacement and uplift of cold air.
B) Air pressure initially will increase due to the displacement and uplift of warm air.
C) Air pressure initially will decrease due to the displacement and uplift of cold air.
D) Air pressure initially will decrease due to the displacement and uplift of warm air.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.5 List the measurable elements that contribute to modern weather forecasting, and
describe the technology and methods employed.
39) After a cold front passes, which of the following lists the effect on the temperature and the
pressure (relative to the conditions that existed prior to the passage of the front)?
A) Temperature increases; pressure increases.
B) Temperature increases; pressure decreases.
C) Temperature decreases; pressure increases.
D) Temperature decreases; pressure decreases.
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.5 List the measurable elements that contribute to modern weather forecasting, and
describe the technology and methods employed.
320
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
40) After a warm front passes, which of the following lists the effect on the temperature and the
pressure (relative to the conditions that existed prior to the passage of the front)?
A) Temperature increases; pressure increases.
B) Temperature increases; pressure decreases.
C) Temperature decreases; pressure increases.
D) Temperature decreases; pressure decreases.
Answer: B
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.5 List the measurable elements that contribute to modern weather forecasting, and
describe the technology and methods employed.
42) Which of the following characterizes the severity of storm activity along a warm front as
compared to that along most cold fronts and why?
A) Storm activity along a warm front is less because the rate of uplift is slower along a warm
front.
B) Storm activity along a warm front is less because the rate of uplift is faster along a warm
front.
C) Storm activity along a warm front is greater because the rate of uplift is slower along a warm
front.
D) Storm activity along a warm front is greater because the rate of uplift is faster along a warm
front.
Answer: A
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.5 List the measurable elements that contribute to modern weather forecasting, and
describe the technology and methods employed.
321
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
43) Which of the following characterizes the severity of storm activity along a cold front as
compared to that along most warm fronts and why?
A) Storm activity along a cold front is less because the rate of uplift is slower along a cold front.
B) Storm activity along a cold front is less because the rate of uplift is faster along a cold front.
C) Storm activity along a cold front is greater because the rate of uplift is slower along a cold
front.
D) Storm activity along a cold front is greater because the rate of uplift is faster along a cold
front.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.5 List the measurable elements that contribute to modern weather forecasting, and
describe the technology and methods employed.
44) Which of the following properly states the storm relationship between warm fronts and cold
fronts?
A) Storms along warm fronts are more severe than storms along cold fronts because warm fronts
move more quickly.
B) Storms along warm fronts are more severe than storms along cold fronts because uplift is
more rapid along warm fronts.
C) Storms along cold fronts are more severe than storms along warm fronts because cold air
holds more moisture than warm air.
D) Storms along cold fronts are more severe than storms along warm fronts because uplift is
more rapid along cold fronts.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.5 List the measurable elements that contribute to modern weather forecasting, and
describe the technology and methods employed.
45) Which of the following is true of migrating centers of low pressure in the Northern
Hemisphere?
A) The winds diverge from the pressure system and spiral outward in a clockwise fashion.
B) These pressure systems tend to move east to west along storm tracks.
C) These pressure systems are characterized by converging, ascending air that spirals inward in a
counterclockwise fashion.
D) They form only a minor weather pattern in the middle and higher latitudes.
Answer: C
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.5 List the measurable elements that contribute to modern weather forecasting, and
describe the technology and methods employed.
322
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
46) Which of the following is true regarding wave-cyclone development, intensification, and
strengthening?
A) The process can occur only along the polar front.
B) Terragenesis is the name for this process.
C) A midlatitude cyclone, from birth to maturity to dissolution, takes an average of a month.
D) A midlatitude cyclone involves two fronts and three air masses.
Answer: D
Diff: 3 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.3 Midlatitude Cyclonic Systems
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.4 Describe the life cycle of a midlatitude cyclonic storm system, and relate this to its
portrayal on weather maps.
47) Ice storms occur when which of the following conditions prevail?
A) Rain drops circulate repeatedly above and below the freezing level in a cloud.
B) Moist, cool air is adiabatically cooled to the freezing point.
C) A cold front pushes warm, moist air to the freezing level in a cloud.
D) A layer of warm air is between two layers of cold air.
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.4 Violent Weather
Bloom's Taxonomy: 3/4 Application/Analysis
LO: 8.6 Identify various forms of violent weather by their characteristics, and review several
examples of each.
48) Which of the following is defined as variations of wind speed and direction with altitude?
A) Supercells.
B) Convection.
C) Wind shear.
D) Convergence.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.4 Violent Weather
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.6 Identify various forms of violent weather by their characteristics, and review several
examples of each.
323
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
49) Which are the strongest thunderstorms?
A) Supercells.
B) Multicell clusters.
C) Multicell lines.
D) Single-cells.
Answer: A
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.4 Violent Weather
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.6 Identify various forms of violent weather by their characteristics, and review several
examples of each.
51) Which of the following is the correct estimation of lightning strikes that occur each day on
Earth?
A) 8000.
B) 80 000.
C) 800 000.
D) 8 000 000.
Answer: D
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.4 Violent Weather
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.6 Identify various forms of violent weather by their characteristics, and review several
examples of each.
324
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
52) Which of the following correctly describes how hail forms?
A) Hail forms when water falls from a cloud and freezes during its fall to the ground.
B) Hail forms every time water condenses onto dust particles.
C) Hail forms from repeated circulation of raindrops above and below the freezing level in a
cloud.
D) Hail forms when water vapour sublimates (deposits) inside a cirrus cloud.
Answer: C
Diff: 2 Type: MC
Chapter/section: 8.4 Violent Weather
Bloom's Taxonomy: 1/2 Knowledge/Comprehension
LO: 8.6 Identify various forms of violent weather by their characteristics, and review several
examples of each.
325
Copyright © 2016 Pearson Canada Inc.
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Two lifted the door, while Smith Ball drew his revolver and stood
ready. The remainder seized the boots.
On lifting the door, Pizanthia was found lying flat, and badly hurt.
His revolver was beside him. He was quickly dragged out, Smith Ball
paying him for the wound he had received by emptying his revolver
into him.
A clothes line was taken down and fastened round his neck; the
leader climbed a pole, and the rest holding up the body, he wound
the rope round the top of the stick of timber, making a jam hitch.
While aloft, fastening all securely, the crowd blazed away upon the
murderer swinging beneath his feet. At his request—“Say, boys! stop
shooting a minute”—the firing ceased, and he came down by the
run. Over one hundred shots were discharged at the swaying
corpse.
A friend—one of the four Bannack originals—touched the
leader’s arm, and said, “Come and see my bon-fire.” Walking down
to the cabin, he found that it had been razed to the ground by the
maddened people, and was then in a bright glow of flame. A
proposition to burn the Mexican was received with a shout of
exultation. The body was hauled down and thrown upon the pile,
upon which it was burned to ashes so completely that not a trace of
a bone could be seen when the fire burned out.
In the morning some women of ill-fame actually panned out the
ashes, to see whether the desperado had any gold in his purse. We
are glad to say that they were not rewarded for their labors by
striking any auriferous deposit.
The popular vengeance had been only partially satisfied, so far as
Pizanthia was concerned; and it would be well if those who preach
against the old Vigilance Committee would reflect upon the great
difference which existed between the prompt and really necessary
severity which they exercised and the wild and ungovernable
passion which goads the masses of all countries, when roused to
deeds of vengeance of a type so fearful, that humanity recoils at the
recital. Over and over again, we have heard a man declaring that it
was “A —— shame,” to hang some one that he wished to see
punished. “——, he ought to be burnt; I would pack brush three miles
up a mountain myself.” “He ought to be fried in his own grease,” etc.,
and it must not be supposed that such expressions were mere idle
bravado. The men said just what they meant. In cases where
criminals convicted of grand larceny have been whipped, it has
never yet happened that the punishment has satisfied the crowd.
The truth is, that the Vigilance Committee simply punished with
death, men unfit to live in any community, and that death was,
usually, almost instantaneous, and only momentarily painful. With
the exceptions recorded (Stinson and Ray) the drop and the death of
the victim seemed simultaneous. In a majority of cases, a few almost
imperceptible muscular contortions, not continuing over a few
seconds, were all that the keenest observer could detect; whereas,
had their punishment been left to outsiders, the penalty would have
been cruel and disgusting in the highest degree. What would be
thought of the burning of Wagner and panning out his ashes, by
order of the Vigilantes. In every case where men have
confessed their crimes to the Vigilantes of Montana, they dreaded
the vengeance of their comrades far more than their execution at the
hands of the Committee, and clung to them as if they considered
them friends.
A remarkable instance of this kind was apparent in the conduct of
John Wagner. While in custody at the cabin, on Yankee Flat, the
sound of footsteps and suppressed voices was heard, in the night.
Fetherstun jumped up, determined to defend himself and his
prisoner to the last. Having prepared his arms, he cast a look over
his shoulder to see what Dutch John was doing. The Road Agent
stood with a double-barrelled gun in his hand, evidently watching for
a chance to do battle on behalf of his captor. Fetherstun glanced
approvingly at him, and said, “That’s right, John, give them ——.”
John smiled grimly and nodded, the muzzle of his piece following the
direction of the sound, and his dark eyes glaring like those of a
roused lion. Had he wished, he could have shot Fetherstun in the
back, without either difficulty or danger. Probably the assailants
heard the ticking of the locks of the pieces, in the still night, and
therefore determined not to risk such an attack, which savages of all
kinds especially dislike.
The evening after the death of Pizanthia, the newly organized
Committee met, and, after some preliminary discussion, a vote was
taken as to the fate of Dutch John. The result was that his execution
was unanimously adjudged, as the only penalty meeting the merits
of the case. He had been a murderer and a highway robber, for
years.
One of the number present at the meeting was deputed to convey
the intelligence to Wagner; and, accordingly, he went down to his
place of confinement and read to him his sentence of death,
informing him that he would be hanged in an hour from that time.
Wagner was much shocked by the news. He raised himself to his
feet and walked with agitated and tremulous steps across the floor,
once or twice. He begged hard for life, praying them to cut off his
arms and legs, and then to let him go. He said, “You know I could do
nothing then.” He was informed that his request could not be
complied with, and that he must prepare to die.
Finding death to be inevitable, Wagner summoned his fortitude to
his aid and showed no more signs of weakness. It was a matter of
regret that he could not be saved for his courage, and (outside of his
villainous trade) his good behaviour won upon his captors and
judges to an extent that they were unwilling to admit, even to
themselves. Amiability and bravery could not be taken as excuses
for murder and robbery, and so Dutch John had to meet a felon’s
death and the judgment to come, with but short space for
repentance.
He said that he wished to send a letter to his mother, in New York,
and inquired whether there was not a Dutchman in the house, who
could write in his native language. A man being procured qualified as
desired, he communicated his wishes to him and his amanuensis
wrote as directed. Wagner’s fingers were rolled up in rags and he
could not handle the pen without inconvenience and pain. He had
not recovered from the frost-bites which had moved the pity of X.
Beidler when he met John before his capture, below Red Rock. The
epistle being finished, it was read aloud by the scribe; but it did not
please Wagner. He pointed out several inaccuracies in the method of
carrying out his instructions, both as regarded the manner and the
matter of the communication; and at last, unrolling the rags from his
fingers, he sat down and wrote the missive himself.
He told his mother that he was condemned to die, and had but a
few minutes to live; that when coming over from the other side, to
deal in horses; he had been met by bad men, who had forced him to
adopt the line of life that had placed him in his present miserable
position; that the crime for which he was sentenced to die was
assisting in robbing a wagon, in which affair he had been wounded
and taken prisoner, and that his companion had been killed. (This
latter assertion he probably believed.) He admitted the justice of his
sentence.
The letter, being concluded, was handed to the Vigilantes for
transmission to his mother. He then quietly replaced the bandages
on his wounded fingers. The style of the composition showed that he
was neither terrified nor even disturbed at the thought of the fast
approaching and disgraceful end of his guilty life. The statements
were positively untrue, in many particulars, and he seemed to write
only as a matter of routine duty; though we may hope that his
affection for his mother was, at least, genuine.
He was marched from the place of his confinement to an
unfinished building, where the bodies of Stinson and Plummer were
laid out—the one on the floor and the other on a work bench. Ray’s
corpse had been handed over to his mistress, at her special request.
The doomed man gazed without shrinking on the remains of the
malefactors, and asked leave to pray. This was of course, granted,
and he knelt down. His lips moved rapidly; but he uttered no word
audibly. On rising to his feet, he continued, apparently to pray,
looking round, however, upon the assembled Vigilantes all the time.
A rope being thrown over a cross-beam, a barrel was placed ready
for him to stand upon. While the final preparations were making, the
prisoner asked how long it would take him to die, as he had never
seen a man hanged. He was told that it would be only a short time.
The noose was adjusted; a rope was tied round the head of the
barrel and the party took hold. At the word, “All ready,” the barrel was
instantly jerked from beneath his feet, and he swung in the death
agony. His struggles were very powerful, for a short time; so iron a
frame could not quit its hold on life as easily as a less muscular
organization. After hanging till frozen stiff, the body was cut down
and buried decently.
CHAPTER XX.
THE CAPTURE AND EXECUTION OF BOONE
HELM, JACK GALLAGHER, FRANK PARISH,
HAZE LYONS AND CLUB-FOOT GEORGE (LANE.)