Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1866-03-14

tnAts how | came to know all about it ~"
he chimney corner il that of the RI.
Inr sun. a p eastnt little rna l,iis inn
about two miles from Narthannton, AMI
tn tall man i the president OF a bowlin
club that meets there, once fortnight
principally TO dine The lit" Of which
the speak : relative was the hero. j. the
adventure which forms the subject Of thi
narrative
The reason why we were listening to
stories instead of PLAYING bowls. was sim
, ply this One OF the heaviest thunder
storms th1t can remember br Ike o er
the RfSIn Sun the afternoon. All dur
~. dinner we eon'd see great ragged
copper coIorei cinu-i~ breaking mp ag+ins It
the wind AMI the cloth was hardly of the
table. spit spat spat! against the d,a-
mond>shappd windny panrs came n few
hea halistones. then came the lightning.
then came the thunder and then came the
rain, rs thou.h it had not raincd for I'm
years, and WAS determined 10 make m for
lost time. 80 there was nothing for il but
fo st St u and amuse ourselves IA hest we
c"uii, ninor>; and the conyerSatihn hav-
ln- turned uDnn travelling AMI rho dancers
o. the road hciore railways were invented
Mt Jo3h Stn!Ig"r, nur president sitting
ana SnoNinE hiN pipe in the chimney cor
ner, volunteered To tell us a tale Of those
times, and. sail he III happened 10 nv
ttther, and that's how came 10 know aIl
about IT,
do not think YOU would ike me TO give
vou the story Just ~ Mr. Josh rave il to
Us; you might ret vexpd with his nine
IL always smokes very long clav pine
which seems % require great dea of
management 70 get it 10 draw property
lie never saws more than about IL words
at time then he has pull ut his p.pe.
ami goes on again, giving vou n Whit Of
words ami then Whit of smoke, whilst
y'u ure turning them over in your mind,
aud wondering what j. coming next
Abont every tenth Whit. he takes his pine
out OF his mouth ami looks very grave
INTO the bowl: then he takes the tobacco
stopper. presses down the ashes carefully
ami shnkeS them ont on the bob then he
looks INTO 1t again. and if IL il MI rirht
hc dps the shank end into the brandy
ana water, looks into tie howl Il third
time, and gives It rub with his eff -
+ Next, he opens his mouth wide puts the
sealing wax end in, closes his lins up0n il
slowly and then goe> on again with his
story. SIX words at a time as before He
u reckoned verv emphatic speaker in
those parts, is our president And 60 Of
course, he l. but | must confess out of
ms hearing, that all his feettinr these
pnu~rs, and pnlhng~ and stoupinrs, and
ruhh!n@s. ani bookings a nothing at all
~ the mid le of story, irritate me- enm--
times to that degree that feel Inclined Ia
run nt h'm, knock his pipe out Of his
month and Shrek at him t. 90 on faster
that 10
1t would he aS well. ten. perhaps if
were to quote his own words "a nearly as
! can rrcoi'ect them straight on, and put
his ,iua out
My father Continued Mr. .Josh) used
often Z" sa" that he wnnld ike to see the
man who con'i rob him upon the highway,
ami one fine November evening he did see
him
\ ou young fe' lows who are accustomed
to y" whlsked aT.a Il hundred miles be-
tween vour hr"okfast and vour dinner bv
an exl resS train. don't konw much about
what travelling was in 1875 5-crnS~ country
travel snecallv Folks did not leave
their homes then iF thpv could heln il It's
nl! vnr, hrc t0 Talk about tho h"anfiez of
the country. ami tho delights of change
Of scene. but whom there are more, hith-
wavm"n than scavengers or nnlicr ahont
the roads are not 80 charming. | can tell
Won Nhv II was a weeks Journey from
and If Won eot houn with who'e bones AMI
"a purse, vou were not IN hurry TO
tempt Providence and Tom Rocket a
second tine.
Tom R"crot was hirhwavman No
ono ever chri~teuei him Tom, and hi-
fathers name VS. not Rocket When he
was tried for his ife It Warwick Assizos.
h".was arraj-ned rs Charles Jackson. nnd
they wer" particular about namr~ then
If voa Indicted "a man ~ jim and his true
name was Joe he got or and whom tho
law WIS altere1-so thrt thev could set
such errors right Mt the tri.I-naonie
'@a~twav~ l,wver.. and thnt the British
Constitution WAS being pulled M root
aai branch But that's neither here nor
there.
! must tel Won how it was that he cnme
to he known a Tom Rocket, anil ir |
could. il would have nothing tn do with
my story For SIX vc7rs he " : the most
famous thief in tie Midland counties. and
i"r SIX wears n one knew wh0t hn was
ike He was 4 law fellow, was Tom hn
never c7mn ont except when thnro wae n
GOOD prize u be picked IN AMI he had
his scouts AMI his spies ! over the p:a"n
ro I've him information about hoo ' and
10 warn him nf ia1 eer BIT T. Judge bv
VIM ff-f'tf Sitl. tlt "iiS on hllt E'fft'i W
hall n-lozen different places at once every
dav or hjS lite for Won see when any one
was rohhed. or found il convenient to
uakH believe 50 why he hid it uron Tom
Rocket as sort Of an excuse for giving II
M easily. brclr>c. vou see no one Thought
, of re>ietjn- Tom 50 II was. that all sort.
oF conflicting descriptions got abroad -
One sand thut he was an nwfnlly tall man
with voice Ike thunder, another that
he WAS : ,niid little man with black eyes
: and light hair He was very f.t man
with blue eyaS aui black hair with some
r he had a iallv red faca-he was pale as
death-his nr<e was Roman one-t8re-
cian or - Snuh the rest His dress was
al the co'ars of the raiohaw and as foT
his horse that was Of every shade nHf
breed that was ever heard of and of q
rood many more beside that have vet tC
he tounI ont lie wore black half <
F., hut somehow or other il was ALWAYS obli--
: ;n- enough to slip of - ~ 70 give each
If his victims a f:Il view of his face, tn'y
no two os them could ever agree as Il
what it WIS Ike,
Nv father was q G)ouceStersh mnn
He stood six feet three in his stocking
ard measured thirtv-siI inches across tht
chest IIe could double MP a half-crowr
between his finger and thumb, and was =,
brave rs q lion So many time and OF
when any cne talked Of the daagers OF th'