Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1856-04-24


the road, which tilted up the wagon in pass
ing over it. so as to roll the barrel on him.
He forgot his caution, and sprang up with
his head out of the cover to curse the boy
for his carelessncss, and at that moment a
rifle was discharged. He fell back dead
shot hrougA the cye! The boy said that
his master suddenly cut short his oaths, and
cxclaimed-sThere he is at the moment
the gun fired. lie saw tall man with a
beard hanging down on his breast and dress
cd in skius, walking off through the brush
with his rife on his shoulder.
The next man, named Garnet, about two
weeks after this, got up one morning about
SUNRISE, and in his shirt sleeves stepped to
his door and threw it open to breathe the
fresh air. He was rubbing his eyes, being
about half asleep; and when he got them
fairly open, there stood the gaunt avenger
beside tree in the yard-thc fatal rifle lev
ellcd, and waiting till his victim should see
him distinctly. lie did sec him-but it was
with his last look The bullet went crash
ing through his brain too! Long is said to
have told one of his friends that he never
in single instance shot one of these men
till he was certain the man saw and rccogni-
scd him fully.
All were gone now but TIinch and the two
youngest men of the party, Williams and
Davis. The two latter were permitted to es-
cape. Whether it was from rclenting on the
part of the dread avcnger-or that he had
observed some triAing thing in their dcmean-
or on the occasion of the outrage he was
thus furnishing, which recommended them
to mercy, now that his resentment had so
deeply drank of the bitter delight of atone
mcnt-or that in his anxiety to secure Hinch,
he confined his efforts and watchfulness to
him alonc-I do not know. They made a
forced and secret sale of their property, and
cleared out during the night. But it was
for IIinch, he had with passionless calcula-
! ton, reserved the most inconccivable torture.
lie had passed him by all this time, while
one after the other he struck down the tools
and companions of his crimes. He doomed
him to sec them falling aroundhi with the
certain knowledge that the avenging hate
which slew them burned with ten-fold inten-
sity for his life-thati it must and would have
it But when would the claim be made ?
Should he be the next one? No! The
next one? No! But then each succeeding
death, so sure to take one of their number,
drove away every sophistry of hope, and
realized to him in bare and sterner horror
that his own fate was as fixed as theirs. AS
each one fell away the circle of doom mar
rowcd- slowly, steadily closing in about him.
How could he callan hour his own? When
could he feel safe That relentless subtlety
had bafled them all One, two, three, four,
five, six, seven, strong men had all gone be-
fore that fatal rife-erery one Of them shot
MronyA the rye! God of Heaven and the
sharp agony would spangle keen points of
burning light through his brain, as if the
balls were already bursting through the sock
ct Il too must be shot through the eye!
1t was worse than ten thousand deaths, and
he died them over in lingering torture day
by day.
From the time of Rees's death he looked
changed and stricken man. In few weeks
he had lost great deal of flesh, and became
piteously haggard-his eyes and gait and
voice were humble Histurbulent and fierce
animality faded before the narrowing sus-
pcnse of this fear. The bully and murder
Gus rufian trembled at the rustling of leaf
His own imagination became his hell-hun-
cry rcmorse became stronger with feasting at
his heart He never left his house for weeks,
until the escape of Williams and Davis in
spircd him with some hope. He procured
fine horse, and set off one dark night for the
Red River. Everybody regretted his escape;
for men had looked in quiet expectation upon
the progress of this affair, and in strong faith
that the sense of wild border justice would
be gratifed in seeing this stern, righteous
and unparalleled vengeance consummated by
the fall of Hinch-thc monster instigator
and chief actor in all the grievous outrages
which had reused the simple-hearted Long
into demon executioncr of doom.
Hinch reached the bank of the Red River
-sprang from his foaming and exhausted
horse, after looking cautiously around; and
threw himself upon the grass to wait for a
steamboat. In two hours he heard one puff
fing down the stream, and saw the white
wreaths of steam curling up behind the trees
How his heart bounded! Freedom, hope,
and life .-oncc more sprang from his shriv-
cllcd veins and to his lips. He signalized
the vessel she rounded to and lowered her
yawl. His pulse bounded high, and he gazed
with absorbing eagerness at the crew as they
pulled Justify towards the shore. A click
behind him He turned with shudder,
and THERE lie WAS! That long rifle was
bearing straight upon him; those cold eyes
dwet steadily upon him for moment; and
crash all was forever darkness to Hinch the
Regulator. The men who witnessed this
singular scene landed, and found him shot
through tie eye; and saw the murderer gal
Looping swiftly away over the plain stretching
out from the top of the bank. And so the
vengeance was consummatcd, and the stern
hunter had wiped out with much blood the
stain of stripes on his free limbs; and could
now do, what was told he had never done
since the night of those fatal and fatally ex-
plated stripes, look his wife again in the eyes,
and receive her form to rest again on his