The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1851-03-01
TnE lNrANT'a ArrEAr-
\ uprrr urr rm1LNo sErrcu

= NNNIF Nv lHNNA liMft HNl " "
In the year 1876, the inhabitants Living In
-adisiriel hardening ON Rock River, in the
northern part or che State Of Illinois, were
much ,aeer4.ol by the dopredsiioRs Of a l-au'
Of horse thieves who infested arportion of
country. Every cxcriion had bccn made 60
discover the mcn engaged In this nelarious'
business, hut hithorfo, in vain, and valuable
animals were stolen, and lost to their owners,
in defiance of the utmost vigilance and care.
During such state Of fanairs. the citizens
. residing in the region of the thieves bccamc
thoroughly excited, and werc wound mp to
such pitch Of Indignation. thar body oC
men were formed styled Rangers, whose cS-
rlirit Nuty was 10 cNp'mr0 thu district Of al
suspicious characicu, and ondcavor 70 put a
stop TO the dcprcdAtions Of the horse thieves.
Shortly amer this band commenced opera
iionS, word wa. conveyed To the leader OF the
Rangers that valaAhlo horse which had
been stolen the night previous could then be
found on the premises Of man named Burt,
locked up in the stable. Although Burt here
toioro had bccp looked upon N' An honest
man aud an upright citizen, vet the Captain
dccmcd il hi. duty To n least examine his
farm and learn the truth or iilsip Of the re-
port.
Accordingly he summoned somc half doz-
On Of his Rangcrs 20 meet him At q spot moi
far from Burts house, and before morning,
/ set out for the same place himself Daylight
was hardly dsccrnahlc in the cast. and the
hazy light Of coming dawn had not yct pcnc4
tratcd tho bottom, where the suspicious man
resided, as the Rangers. charged with the
fearful mission of life or death. silently APP
! TTroachcd. aud surrounded the dwelling
/ Leaving three Of the band 10 guard the en-
} trancc,thc Captain proceeded with the others
to the stable, broke open the door, and fonnd
the missing horse, as had been stated, safely
stalled inside.
Not a lingering dopht rra~ remained Of
Burt's guilt, and with stern determination
to make such nn example Of him AZ would
deter others from a like Transaction, the
Rangers rcturncd ~ the house. In the mean
time, Burt had arisen, and upon coming to
1 WV ''F'1 WV T''N''N NU''TV
upon demanding the reason, was Informed
that stolen animal was found in his stable
and that he was considered thief Mutter.
ing something about "hc knew fwould como
to this at last" he quietly submitted To what
evcr his captors had in store for him.
Il a short consultation was hold, and II wa.
resolved to hang the criminal upon a larg,
elm tree that grew in front ofhis own house
it being deemed that such an act would strik,
terror aud dismOy into the ranks of hors,
thieves
Burt had asked half an hour to prepare fo
his death, and the sun had risen in all hi
golden majesty, ere the fatal moment had ar
; rived which would launch him into eternity
, In vain had his grey headed father and moth
! orp ptcafcc for his iifu,wirh trembling tongue
Tho old lady tottering forth from the dwell
iat, ssta hneeiirE in sapptiant rrr,,,d to IN
apparently mercilcss captors. In vain ha'
| the wife of his bosom knclt in tears of agon,
! and cntrcatcd them as husbands to spare hi
| life-for each Ranger had suffered more o
less in person, and they doomed the exampl
seemed as though Burt must die.
The dreadful preparations were completes
, tho half hour had expircd--and the crimi
nal was arranged under limb of stout elm
over which rope was thrown,onc end bein
noosed around the prisoners neck, and tn
/ other held by three of the Rangers.
, Then came moment of dreadful silenc,
, that awful stiffness, which precludes tn
f launching of a fellow being into eternity
, while the threv strong men who held tn
. ropos end, gazed 6xedly upon tho Captai
, for the signal II was given by raising tn
; right arm; and already the moose was tighten
/ ing around the doomed mans neck, whe
the wife of Burt issued forth from the hous
holding an infant, little more than n yea
old, in her arms.
r Rushing forward, she fell on her knees d
$ rectly in front of the captain, and raising tn
child with arms outstrptohed, towards hin
: she exclaimed in tones that would have pierC
D ed heart of STEEL
: UIT you viii not spare him for the sake O.
0 his grey haired sircs,or the wife of his bosom
- sparn him, in tho name of God, for the- SAX
3 of his infant boy-p y
3 Another dead silence reigned like a pa
! ovrr the spot thuu. as though inspired b
heaven itself, tho child also stretched out il
lisele srses te,ra+as ia fAthar--aAA eseleisrse
in a voice heard by all, the single word
"Fatherr'
The muscle, OF the CAPTAINS face quiyrrEl