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

stripped bare OF flesh, and both eyes plucket
out by the birds, and was too shocking al
object for close examination. But what puz
zcd all parties most was the discovery, {
short distance off, of the trail Of shod horse
Now, there was perhaps not horse in Shell
by county that wore shoes, and certainly moi
one in our party. Shoeing is never thought
of, being unnecessary where there are nc
stones. This was as perfect poser as even
Henry's story, and threw yet a greater all
of inexplicability around the affair! 1t was
thought that this track might be easily traced
to any distance; but after worrying about ii
for several days, it was given up in despair,
and the Regulators, fatigucd and disheartcn'
ed, separated for their respective homes.
But one of their number never reached
his. Being missed for two days, there was
a general turnout to look for him; and as
had been the case with Stoner, his body was
found torn to pieces by the wolves. The re-
port was, that he too had been shot through
the back ofthe head.
These murders, and the singular circum-
stances accompanying them, created great
sensation. Hinch and his troops secured
the country in every direction, arrcsting and
lynching suspicious persons, as they called
them. One poor inofensivc fellow they
hung andcut down four or five times, to make
him confess but nothing was elected; and
they left him with barely spark of life.
That evening, as they were returning to
their headquarters at the store, one of them,
named Winter, missed portion of his horse
furniture, which had become accidentally
detached. lie said he had observed it in
its place mile back-that he would return
to get it, and rcjoin them atthc store, by the
time they should be ready to commence the
spree they had determined on going into
that night. lie left them, aud never return
ed. They soon got drunk, and not particu-
larly 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
significant of late, that they were instantly
sobcred, and mounting, rode back on their
trail Very soon swarm of buzzards and
wolves, near line ofthicket ahead, design
atcd the whereabouts of their search; and
there they found his feshless bones scattered
on every side. They were appalled,. The
reddcst- -bloatcd check among them blanched.
1t was terrible! They seemed to be DOOM
cd Three of their number dead snd torn
to pieces within ten days; and yet not the
slightest clue to the relentless and invisible
foe, but that ghostly story of Henry's, and
the tracks which only served to tantalizc
them! 1t must be some dread supernatural
visitation of their hidcous crimes They
shivercd, while the great drops started from
their forehcads, and without thinking of
looking for any trail, or gathering up the
bones, they started back at full spreading the
alarm everywhere. The excitement now be-
came universal and tremendous. Nearly the
whole country turned out for the purpose of
unravelling this alarming mystery; and the
supcrstitious frenzy was in no small degree
heightened by the report, that this man had
been shot in the same way as the others
IN the bacA Of the heal!
These incidents were all so unaccountable,
that own I felt no little sympathy with the
popular association of supernatural agency
in their perpetration. Henry laughed at all
this, but insisted that it was maniac; and
to account for the peculiar dexterity of his
escapes and whole management related many
anecdotes of the proverbial cunning of mad
men. The widest, most absured, and in
credible stories were now ahoat among the
people concerning this deadly and subtle foe
of the Regulators; for it was now universal
ly believed and remarked, that it was against
them alone that his enmity was directed
The story of Henry was improved upon and
added to; and, as some reports had it, the
Madman-as others, the Bearded Ghost,
was seen in half dozen places at the same
time; now on foot, stalking with enormous
strides across some open glade from thicket
to thicket- passing out of light again before
the observer could recover from his surprise ;
then mounted, he was seen flying like the
shadow of summer cloud over the prairies,
or beneath the gloom of forests, always hag-
gard and lean, dressed in skins with the hair
on, and that long, heavy, terrible rifle on his
shoulder! I noticed that there was only
one class of men who venturcd to assert that
they had actually seen with their own eyes
these wonderful sights, and that was consti-
tuted of those who had either suffered, or,
from their characters and pursuits, were
most likely to suffer persecution from the
Regulators class of hunter cmigrants
These men were most industrious in cmbel-
fishing all the circumstances of character,
fcats, and relentless hatred to the Regulators,
as highly as the existing credulity of the pub
lie would bear. They never saw him cx-
cept in the vicinity of the homes of some one
of these hated tyrants. In their versions
this being was forever lowering around them
waiting the moment to strike while they
were alone and far from any help.
They carried this thing so far as to attract
attention to it, and arouse in the cunning
mind of Hinch the same suspicion which
had occurred to Henry and myself, namely,
that all this was the result of a profoundly
acute and thoroughly organized scheme of
this class, headed by some man of peculiar
personalities and consummatc skill, with the
Il &C l,;,,;re. "a 4L O