Litchfield enquirer., 1856-05-15

own eyes these wonderful sights, and they were
those Emigrant Hunters who had particularly
suffered from the prosecutions of the rangers
l observed too that they always located these
mysterious appearances in the close vicinity oil
some one Of the houses of the Regulators.
1t at once struck me that it was profound
ly subtle conspiracy of this class, headed by
some man of remarkable personalities and skill.
with the deliberate and stern purpose of eNter-
minating the Rangers, or driving them from
the county. 1t seems that the cunning mind
of llinch caught at the same conclusion. He
| observed the peculiar eagerness of these men in
circulating wild reports and exaggeratng as
highly as possible the popular conception of this
mysterious being. His savage nature seized
upon it with thrill unutterable exultation.-
How he could make open war upon the whole
hateful class, rid the county of them entirely.
and reach this fearful enemy through his coad-
tutors, even if he still managed to elude ven
geance personally. He denounced them with
great clamor, and as the people had become
very much alarmed and felt universally the ne
cesSity of sitting this dangerous secret to the
bottom, many of them volunteered to assist
and for week four or five parties were scour-
ing in every direction. Thus doubly reinforced,
Hinch, rushed into excuses, in comparison of
which, all heretofore committed were mild
Several men were horrible mutated with the
lash-others compelled to take to the thickets,
through which they were hunted like wclyes.-
At last Hinch went so far as to hang one poor
fellow until he was quite dead. During all the
time when these violent and active demonistra-
lions were being made, and the whole population
ast;r and on the alert, nothing further was heard
of the bearded mailman. Not even faint glmpses
of him were obtained, and Hmch and his party.
while returning from the hanging mentioned
above, were congratulating themselves upon the
result of his sagacty, which as they boisterous.
| ly affirmed, had been nothing less than the rout-
ing OF this formidable conspiracy and the fright
ening of this crazy phantom from the field
| They felt so sure of being rid of him now. that
they dsbandod at the grocery to return to their
| homes.
One of their number named Rces, almost as
bad and brutal a man as Iinch himself, was
going home late that evening. AS he rode past
thicket in full view of his own door, his wife
who was standing in it watching his approach
saw him suddenly stop his horse and turn his
head with quick movement toward the thick
ct-in the next moment blue smoke sprang up
from it. and the ring of rife shocked upon her
ear She saw her husband pitch forward out
of the saddle upon his face, and thought she
could distinguish tall figure stalking rapidly
Oft through the open wood beyond, with rife
! on his shoulder. She screamed the alarm, and
with the negroes around her. ran to him. They
found him entirely dead, shot through the eve
the ball passing out at the back of his head -
A perfect blaze of universal phrenzy burst forth
| at the first news of the fourth murder but
when the curious circumstance noted above fol-
lowed on after it, very different effects and great
changes in the character of the excitement were
produced. When Hinch was told that Rccs
had been shot through the eye and that, from
the course of the ball in other cases, it was pro-
babe that all the others had been shot in the
| same way, he turned livid as the dead of YES
terday--his knees smote together and with a
horrid blasphcmy he roared out, "Jack Long !
Long !" then sinking his voice to a mutter-
cor his ghost come back for vengeance n
! Other citizens not connected with the Rugula-
tors, felt greatly relieved now that this inscru-
table affair was, to some degree, explained
They remembered at once the peculiar crcum-
STANCES of Jacks noted mark, and the lyncllng
he had received, though many still persisted in
the belief that it was Jacks ghost, for they
said" How could it be any thing else, when
1
| But, ghost or no ghost, it was universally be-
lieved that Jack Long and his rife were ident-
fed somehow with the actor in these deeds
The designation of the head, in other instances,
| had prevented this discovery until now but
everybody breathed more freely since it had
been made. 1t was the painfully harassng IN
certainty as to the object of these assassina-
tions-w whether any individual in the county
might not be the next victim, aud the propell-
sity for murder insiscriminate- which had caus-
ed such deep excitement and induced the poo
pie to aid the Regulators. But now that this
uncertainty was fixed upon the shoulders of
/ the Bloody Band," and their own freed of the
unpleasant burden, they were greatly disposed
to enjoy the thing, and, instead of assisting
them any further. to wish Jack success from the
bottom Of their hearts. They felt that every
4 one of those wrctches deserved to die thou
sand times at all events, whether it was real
4 ly Jack, his ghost, or the devil, it was a single
issue between him and the regulators, and no
one felt the slightest inclination to interfere
Those who protested to be very logical in solv-
j ing the question, as to what he really was rca-
soned that it must be Jack, in the body, be-
yond doubt but that it was equally certain
that the injuries he received must have dcrang-
i ed his mind, and that it was from the fever Of
] insanity he derived the wonderful skill and
sternness Of purpose which he displayed They
could not understand how q nature so easy and
simple as Jacks was reported to have been,
could be reused TO any natural energies OF
slamberiug passion to such terrific deeds