Part 8

Part 8, Note 42

Colorado County Election Records, Book 1874-1884; Colorado County Police [Commissioners] Court Records, Book 1862-1876, pp. 309, 311, 313. Johnson abandoned his office to seek a seat in the State Senate. He secured the nomination for the seat, however, on November 17, 1873, he withdrew his name from consideration because of "serious illness" (pneumonia) and because he was occupied with "business far more lucrative, and, I think, a little more honorable." In abandoning the race, he stated that though "Republicanism is honorable and has saved the nation," the German and black factions within the party were threatening its continuance, and suggested that they nominate, in his place, "the Emporer of Germany or the King of Dahomey." Like Camillus Jones, Charles Schmidt, and Robert Tendick, Johnson and three other Republican officeholders, Himley, Steiner, and Ziegler, would all be indicted for some criminal offense or another during the 1870s. Some might regard this as evidence of their incompetence; some as evidence that their political opponents used the court system to harass them. All the indictments were eventually quashed or dismissed, which some might regard as a consequence of the political favor of the prosecutor and the district judge (see Colorado Citizen, October 10, 1878; William S. Speer, ed., The Encyclopedia of the New West (Marshall: United States Biographical Publishing Company, 1881), p. 125; Colorado County District Court Records, Criminal Cause File No. 1090: State of Texas v. George S. Ziegler, Criminal Cause File No. 1116: State of Texas v. Leopold Steiner, Criminal Cause File No. 1117: State of Texas v. Leopold Steiner, Criminal Cause File No. 1118: State of Texas v. Leopold Steiner, Criminal Cause File No. 1119: State of Texas v. Leopold Steiner, Criminal Cause File No. 1120: State of Texas v. Leopold Steiner, Criminal Cause File No. 1127: State of Texas v. Leopold Steiner, Criminal Cause File No. 1165: State of Texas v. Jahu W. Johnson, Criminal Cause File No. 1168: State of Texas v. Jahu W. Johnson, Criminal Cause File No. 1169: State of Texas v. Jahu W. Johnson, Criminal Cause File No. 1226: State of Texas v. Eugene Himley, Criminal Cause File No. 1464: State of Texas v. George S. Ziegler, Minute Book F, pp. 99-100, 119, 190, 192, 278, Book G, p. 79).