The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1855-07-07
RAVENNA. SATURDAY, JULY 7, 1866.

e der, the reins upon its neck, and clot G
t blood upon the pummel of the saddle!-
!, Boys! he's been shot! Just as l suspecte
e from the frst!"
y Everybody rose at this announcements
t looking in the face Of him opposite with
, blank paid stare.
"The crazy mani" ejacuated several.
t "SrangeI Very mysterious said 9th
. ers.
81 tell you what" said the Squire afte
a pause "has struck me from the first
is that stranger looking fellow Henry saw
t mistook him for Stoner, until he looked in
to his face, for Henry's horse and genera
appearance are not unlike his-and wheI
he found that he was wrong, got out of tn,
way and went on till he met Stoner him
self, and has shot him!"
"No doubt of IT," said several.
: "But it's very mysterious affair."" con
: tinued he'll know of no such looking
man in this region as Henry describes; bu
at any rate he will be hunted down to-
morrow, for Stoner was one ef the reguIa
tors, and Hinch is q perfect bloodhound
he can hardly escape him crazy or moi
crazyw
This seemed to be the most satisfactory
solution of the difficulty, AMI as it was too
dark for us to do anything that nj ght, we
resumed our seats to discuss over and over
again these details: while the Squire sent
off messenger summoning Hnch and the
Regulators TO be on the ground early in
the morning.
Before sunrise in the morning, Hnch
arrived with six men. was wuked by his
loud clustering and swearing. He was
ravng, as | afterwards understood, about
Henry; calling his story about meeting
with the remarkable personage-all hum.
bug-and asserting his belief that if muir
der had been committed, Henry was its
author. Our host quieted him in some
way, and when we came out to join them
he greeted us with snarling sort Of civ
ilty. He was a thick-set, broad shoulder
ed, burly looking wretch, with blood-shot
eyes, and face bearing all the marks of
riotous debnuchery, Our search was for
several hours entirely unsuccessful until
Henry by accident found the place where
he had encountered the Be rded Chest, as
oh ri
the keen-eycd hunters fopnd the traces of
large moccasined foot. These were pur-
sued several miles and lost. But on spread
ing our line and continuing the same gen.
oral course for some distance farther, we
at last found indeed the body of Stoner!-
1t had been so much mutilated by the
wolves and ravens, that little examination
was made of the bones. We gathered
them together to carry them home to his
family, and in doing this, noticed the frac-
ture of a bullet through the back of the
skull. 1t had been stripped bare of flesh,
and both eyes plucked out by the birds, and
was too shocking an object for close ex-
animation. But what puzzled all parties
most was the discovery, short distance off,
of the trail Of shod horse. Now, there
was perhaps not horse in Shelby county
that wore shoes, and certainly not one in
our party. Shoeing is never thought OF,
being unnecessary where there are no
stones. This was as perfect poser as
even Henry's story, and threw yet great
er air of inexplicability around the affair."
1t was thought that this track might be ca
silly traced to any distance-but after wor-
rying about it for several days, it was CIV
en- up in despair, and the Regulators, fa-
tigued and dishearted, returned to their
home.
But one of their number never reached
his. Being missed for two days, there was
q general turnout to look for him; and as
was the case with Stoner, his body was
found torn to pieces by the wolves, The
report was, that he too had been shot
through the back of the head.
These murders, and the singular circum-
stances accompanying them, created great
sensation. Hinch and his troops secured
the country in every direction, arrestng and
lynching suspicious persons as they called
them. One poor inoffensive fellow they
hung and cut down four or five times, to
make him confess; but nothing was eici-
ted; and they left him with barely spark OF
life. III
That evening, as they were returning, to
their headquarters at the store, one of them
named Winters, missed a portion Of his
lorse's furniture, which had become acci-
iently detached He said he had observed
i in its place mile back-that he would
.eturn to get it, and re-join them at the store
BY the time they should be ready to com
nence the spree they had determined on 60.
ng into that night. He left them then and.
never returned. They soon got drunk, and
lid not particularly notice his absence until
some time the next day, when his family
alarmed by the return of his horse with an
empty saddle, sent to inquire after him.
This sort of inquiries had come to be so sig
lifcant of late that they were instantly So
,ered and mounting, rode back on their
rail- Very soon swarm of buzzards and
wolves, near thicket ahead designated the