The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1845-03-14

task of purifying the county limits of all
bad and suspicious characters or in 9th
er words. Of all men who dared refuse to
be as they were--or if they were, who
chose to act independently of them and
their schemes. This precious brother
hood soon became the scourge Of all that
region. Whenever an individual was I'M
fortunate enough TO make himself obnox-
ious to them, whether by successful vii.
lany, The proceeds of which he refused to
share with them, or by the hateful con-
trasi Of the proprie,y of his course-he
was forthwith acknowledgements
had his stock driven off or killed wanton-
ly-and if these annoyances and hints
were not sufficient to drive him away,
they would publicly warn him to leave
the county in certain number of days,
under the penalty Of being scourged or
sho,.-The common pretext of this was
the accusation OF having committed some
crime, which they themselves had perpe-
trated with a view of furnishing charge
to bring against him. Their hate was en-
lirely ruthless, and never stopped short
of accomplishing its purposes and in
many bloody fray and cruel outrage had
the question of their supremacy been
mooled, until at last there were but few
left TO dispute with them, and they tyran-
nised at will.
Among these few was Jack Long. as
he was called, who neither recognized
nor denied their power, and indeed never
troubled himself about them one way or
the olher.-IIe kept himself to himself,
hunted necessarily, and nobody knew
much abou, him. Jack had come of a
wild turkey breed as the western term
is for rowing family; and though still a
young man, had pushed on ahead of the
settlement Of two territories, and had at
last followed the game towards the south.
and finding i, abundan, in Shelby Co. had
stepped here, Just as he would have stop.
ped at the foot of the Rocky Mountains,
had j! been necessary 10 pursue il SO far
leave Of any power where he should set
tie, and of course scarcely thought Of the
necessity OF doing so now; but quietly
set to work-buill himself nice log-cab,
in, as far off from everybody as he could
get. And the frs. thing that was known
of him, he had his pretty young wife and
two little ones snugly slowed away in it,,
and was Staying the deer and the bears
right and left.
The honest brotherhood had made sew
eral attempts at feeling Jacks pulse and
asceraining his availability; but he had
always seemed so impassive!y good ma
,ured and put them off so pleasantly, that
they could find no ground for either dis
,urbng or quarrelling with him. Wha,
was more, he was physically rather an
ugly-looking customer with his six feet
four inches of Drawn and bone; though
the inclination, just discoverable in his
figure to corpulency, together with a
broad, full, good humorcd face, gave an
air Of sluggishness TO his energies, and an
expression of easy simplicity to his tenn
per, which offered neither invitation to
gratuilious insult nor provocalion to dis
like. He was the very impersonation of
inoflensive, loyal honesty, slumbering on
its conscious strength; and those men,
withou, exactly knowing why, felt some
little Discrimination TO waking him. He
had evidently never been reused to a
knowledge of himself, and others felt Just
as uncertain what that knowledge might
bring forth as he did, and were not spe-
cially jealous Of the honor of having it
first tested upon their own persons. So
that Jack Long might have been left for
many day in quiet, even in this form-
dable neighbcrhood, TO cultivate his pas.
sion for Workmanship, at the expense of
the dumb. wild things around him but for
an unfortunate display he was accidental
ly induced TO make of it.
Happening to fall short Of ammunition.
he went one day to the store for fresh
supply. This cabin, together with the
biacksmith's shop and one or two other
hu,s, constituted the county town and
as powder and liquor were only to be OBJ
tanned there, it was the central resort OF
the Regulators. Jack found them all COL
lecled for great shooting match in prep
ara!ion for which they were getting drunk
as fast as possible, TO steady their nerves.
Hinch. the Regulator captain. had always
been the hero Of such occasions; for, in
addition to being a first rate shot, it was
known that i. would be dangerous ex.
ertlon Of skill for any man 10 beat him,
for he was furious and vindictive bully.
and would not fail to make personal at.
fair Of il with any one who should morti-
fy his vanity by carrying Off the prize
from him. In addition, the band Of scoun.