"The Town Marshal"

The Prohibitionists made me Town Marshal
When the saloons were voted out,
Because when I was a drinking man,
Before I joined the church, I killed a Swede
At the saw-mill near Maple Grove.
And they wanted a terrible man,
Grim, righteous, strong, courageous,
And a hater of saloons and drinkers,
To keep law and order in the village.
And they presented me with a loaded cane
With which I struck Jack McGuire
Before he drew the gun with which he killed me.
The Prohibitionists spent their money in vain
To hang him, for in a dream
I appeared to one of the twelve jurymen
And told him the whole secret story.
Fourteen years were enough for killing me.

Questions for the Town Marshal

Did the Marshal use to drink?
Who killed him?
How was he killed?

The Town Marshall
This poem is based on John E. Logan, the marshall of Lewiston in the 1800's who in 1887 was killed by Geoge Wedly. Masters wrote about the incident in Across Spoon River as well as the Anthology.