The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1847-02-10
From the Western Continent. Z.
RU' BELL, III 4 l.SrRIKE ERR"
ESOUTH WESTERN SKETCH. i
ny DlLL wnIppLE.

is by BlLL WHIpPLE. &
iw0yenrs ago we were at the little town
nf5 Columbia. on the bank Of the hlississii,. u.
PLAT the lime place uf: some lornl inter.
est, from the fact uf ruiliun being impris:
nned thcieJ previuust!o his trial for murder.
ing "a pnorilnhnring man. The victim oi
this ieroci0ns murder had CHILLED u, Stew
arts house after sunset, and begged l"tlg-
ing for the night, which WAS grnnted; bu,
asteritle man lad'sought. the resting place
pointed "ut lo7him, Stewart, in a spirit oI
brutal sp"rl, SET his dogs upon him, aud
urgsd them until the poor fellow, utter vain.
y at,emptingt" defend himself from their
attacks, was literally tnrn to pieces, and
then ilnngom. ofdnors too die.
The circumstances Of this horrible mur.
lei may still he fresh in the memory Of
many. bntthe details Of Tive capture Of the
murderer have never. we believe, been
'nnde public. And us the pcrsunages con-
cerne.i in the arrest, tog her with the mode
u. WHICH II was performed. utFnrtI a lino op.
porlunily for exemplifying some nflhe pc.
culiarlies of Soulh. western character, we
shall. give thegrtla,ion us we hcurt i, from
The mouth nf one Of The actors, indeed the
principal in the. affair. But to begin al The
hegraing. ,e
About two wee:Is after leaving Columbia,
we were Standing at The door Of u small
house in the little town Of Jonesboro,' on
The Washln. consisting of five or six log
dwellings, and a cotton shed Of the same
primitive architecture. Near where we
stood were two Arkansa wycrs, MS lhev call
themselves, i'll earnest conversation, in the
flF "a hich ne Al,
Which, though common ri The South, was
striker. W
Now, althoug gh curiosity is said to be the
peculiar Prcrogative Of wuman we must
confess that man likewise has no small
share Of the same ,icklish propensity; a.
least we felt il on lha, occasion, and step
ping forward, said
strker?'
The man eyed us for moment, and then
replied
why you see. s,rangcr-but stop a-bit,
till take u Virginia feast
"a Virginia leus,.' thought we; swhat is
that?
We soon knew. for after diving into the
reccsses Of his cnpucious pockets, he drew
after "ilrring it 10 us. with Have chew"
he hi, "tl' sufficient 10 p"is"n horse, and
railing /, to the side Of his cheek, COM
mcnced his explanation nfrcsh.
WHY you sre, sirangcr-Moses and Aa-
ron war strikers; Ge"rge Washington war
II striker; md ,hnl man thar. (roinling To
an individual at II sh"r, ,iislsnre on.) he's
y striker, ant, no mistake. lie aint felt his
oats for n",hin'. tell yc.'
This definition puzzled us little. bui we
made out enougl! ni tito understand thu, all
persons WIN perform deeds Of pruwess are
Strikers
The man thar indicated us n striker,
was short. lean, muscular man, dressed
in II white blanket cont, with stripes round
The skirt aud over The shoulders, so COM
mon To the South. He bore in the bend of
his arm long rifle. and n, his side stain.
rtl n,d greasy leather pouch for bullets,
i,"m which also depended long hunting
knife in its sheath.
Alter taking this survey, we turned to-
oar new acquaintance, and said
what has he done, To have lhut Idle eiy
rn hing
'D"ne--what Rn' Bell! Didn't lie cap.
live Dick Siewnii'
h'o 'hfn iS inc uHn lnht pcri0rnPtt
hat rxpl"ii,' thought wc, looking nj Him
with still marc interest, for the fame Of the
Iced spread far aud wide through thnse
primitive regions. and we inwardy wished
We could hear him relate The manner in
| vhich it was achieved. A few days after.
Yards we were gratilird.
'Yum see, said he 10 a knot of auditors
~ board u steamboat going TO Ecnre Fabrc.
you see there was Il reward offered to any
n"dy VIII" would take Dick Stewart, aud
:" thought might as well havrit as noi.'
But were you not anxious about The re.
|ulH This Stewart was. by all accounts,
desperate character, and heard n man
say, if Dick Stewar. told him to swim the
Mississippi, he would hnve 10 do it,
know. stranger, bu, that was The best
# it. said to MYSELF: Ru' Bell. yon ain
had II tearin' down fight for mighty long
lime, and here's Il smart chance 10 wake
sou up. But III get somebody TO go along
jos. I" see fai- play like. So called on
Giner,l PIummcr. and scs he, 'us ain't go
nolhin' to do jest now. don. care ir
iine you,'--and then l knocked up Rart
Morgan, and he said us how lhnugh lie hs,
the agur rnylhcr tall. he rcckoned he coult
see the fun 'twixt the shukins.' So we 90
our plumber and pul il in II tlug.0ui, an,