Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1858-08-26

hands had been unstalned with blood
Nathaniel protfered refreshments to the
whole detachment; old Anne trembled fol
her di..ainished stock of sausages, and re-
marked to Elnathan, that it would take a
''tarnal big griddle' to bake cakes for ali
that posse cotatus.' But the offer was de-
clined by the officer in command, who on
ly desired our friends to take charge of the
wounded Hessian, whom his own men had
deserted in the road.
sin the meanwhile, about forty men had
assembled at Nathan's summuns to pursue
the robbers, some Of them having first Wis
tied those who had suffered from the pre-
vious nights depTedations. In one in
stance, they found a farmer tied in bis own
stable, with his horse gear, and his wife,
with the BEDFORD, to some of the furni-
ture in her own apartment. In another
place, the whole household was quietly dis
posed down shallow well, up to their
knees in water, and half frozen. In a
third, solitary man who was the only in
mate at the time, having fled, in his fright,
to the house top, was left there by the un-
feeling thieves, who secured the trap-door
within. But the last party who arrived
had bloody tale to tell: they had been
to the house of Joseph Farr, the sexton to
neighboring Baptist church; reputation
for The possession of concealed gold proved
fatal to him. On entering his house, the
door of which stood open, the party sent
to his relief stumbled over his body. At
ter having most cruelty beaten him, in the
hope of extorting the gold be was said to
possess, the murderers, upon his positive
denial, pierced him in twenty places with
their bayonets. The old bedridden wife
was still alive in bed, though the blood
had soaked through the miserable pallet
and run in stream into the fire place.
Their daughter, woman of fifty years,
fled from the house as the murderers en-
tered, and was pursued by one of them,
nearly overtaken, and even wounded in
the arm by his bayonet; but his foot slip
ped in making the thrust, and she. escaped
slightly hurt.
'sThis bloody business aroused the whole
country; a persevering and active pursuit
was commenced. The murderers had ma
ny miles to traverse before they could reach
safe retreat, and were obliged to tighten
themselves of their plunder in the chase.
Four were shot down in the pursuit; the
knapsack of fifth was found partly con-
cealed in a .hicket, and pierced with ball.
which had also penetrated large mass of
continental money in sheets, and, by ths
blood on the inner covering, had done good
service on the wearer. 1t was believed
that he contrived 10 conceal himself in a
thicket, and died there; as he was never
heard after. Pagan alone escaped unhurt
to the pines, and for days defied all the ex-
ertions of the whig farmers. By this
time, the pursuing party had increased to
nearly two hundred men. The part Of the
wood in which he, was known to be con-
cealed, was surrounded and fired, till the
wretch was Utterly burnt from his den,
aud, in an attempt to escape from one
flaming thicket to another, taken alive, al
though not unwounded. One of The gang
who had not participated in the deeds l
have mentioned, vas secured at the same
time.
There appeared to b no difference Of
opinion about the mode Of disposing of the
prisoners Indeed, an opinion was scarcely
asked or given. II seemed taken for grant
ed-a thing of course; and the culprits
were led in silence to the selected place of
execution. There was neither judge nor
jury-no delay-no prayer for mercy; a
large oak then stood as the forks of two
roads, one of which leads to Freehold !;
from the body of the tree a horizontal
branch extended over the latter road, to
which two ropes were attached. One of
them having been fixed to the minor vii
lian's neck, his sufferings were soon over; !;
but horrible and lingering death was re-
served for Pagan. The iron hoops were
taken off meat cask, and by blacksmith
in the company fitted round his ankles,
knees, and arms, pinioning the latter tohis
body, so that, excepting his head, which
was left free to enjoy :he prospect he
could not move a muscle. In this condi-
tion he hung for days beside his stigened
companion; dying ty inches Of famine and
cold, which had moderated so rs, without
ending, to aggrarate his misery. Before
he died, lie had gnawed his shoulder from
very hunger. On the fifth night, as it ap-
preached twelve o'clock, having been mo-
tionless for hours, his guards believed him
to be dead, and, tired of their horrid duty,
proposed to return home. In order, how
ever, to be sure, they sent one of the party
up a ladder to feel if his heart still beat
He had asended into the tree, when a
shrek, unlike anything human, broke up
on the stiffness of the night, and echoed
from the neighboring wood with redoubled
power. The poor fellow dropped from the
tree like dead man, and his companions
fled in terror from the spot. When day
encouraged them to return, their victim
was swinging sliffly in the north wind-now
lIfeless as the companion of his crime and
its punishment. 1t is believed, to this day
that no mortal power, operating upon the
lungs of the dead murderer, produced that
awful, unearthly, and startling 81 ream; but
that il was the voice of the Evil One, warn
ing the intrusive guard not to disturb the
fiend in the possession of his lawful victim !;
a belief materially strengthened by fact
that could not be disputed-the limb upon
which the robbers hung, after suffering
double pollution from them and their mas
ter's touch, never budded again; 1t died
from that hour; the poison gradually com
municated to the remaining branches, till,
from flourishing tree, it became sapIess
and blasted trunk, and so stood for years,
al once an emblem and monument OF the
murderers' fate.