The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1866-03-16
All his tremendous strength was


ged the six stout men who held it
after his frantic bounds nearly to his
own door before he was prostrated,
and then IT was by a heavy blow dealt
him over the head with the butt of a
gun. The last object that met his
eye as he sank down were the horri.
fed faces the two children and wife
looking out upon him.
The blow deprived him of his senses
for some time, when he recovered he
found himself half stripped and lash
ed to tree a short distance from his
house. Hinch in front of him with a
knotted rope in his hand, his wife on
the ground wailing and clinging with
pitcous entreaty round the monsters s
knees, his children weeping by her,
and, outside the group a circle OF
men with guns In their hands. That
fearful awakening was new birth to
Jack Long! His eye took in every
one at a g lance. A shudder liraet&z,
of an oak lifting to its core, sprang
along his nerves, and seemed TO pass
out at his feet and through his fin.
gers, leaving him as frigid rs marble;
and when the blows of the hideous
mocking devil before him fell upon
his white flesh, making it swell in
purple ridges, or spout dull black
currents, he felt them no more than
.he dead Intel of his door would have
done; and the agony of that poor wife
shrilling frantic echo to every harsh
slashing sound, seemed to have no
more effect upon his ear than it had
upon the tree above them, which
shook its green leaves to the sell same
cadence thay had held yesterday in
the breeze. His wide open eyes were
glancing scrutinizingly into the faces
of the men who stood around-those
features are never to be forgotten!-
For while Hinch lays on the stripes
with all his furious strength, bias
pheming as they fall, that glance
dwells on each face with cold, keen,
searching intensity, as if it marked
them TO be remembered in hell The
mans air was awful-so concentra-
ted-so still-so enduring! He new
er spoke, or groaned, or writhed-
but those intense eyes Of his THE
wretches couldn't stand them, and
began to shuttle and get behind each
other. But it was too late; he had
them all-ten men! They were reg
istered!
We drop the curtain over this hor-
rible scene. Suffice it to say that af.
ter lashing him until he tainted, the
Regulators left him; telling his wife
that if they were not out of the coun.
try in ten days he would be shot,
He did go within the specified tina,
and, it was said, returnetIr,a1a
family to Arkansas, NwfYrru nlY .l(
father lived. The incident was soon
forgotten in Shelby county, amidst
the constant recurrence of similar
scenes.
About four months after this affair,
in company with an adventurous
friend, | was travelling western Tex
as. Our objects were to see the
country and amuse ourselves in hunt.
ing for a time over district we
found well adapted for a particular
sport, as for bear hunting, beer hunt.
ing, buffalo hunting, &c. Either OF
these animals is to be found in great
abundance, and of course pursued to
great advantage in particular regions;
and as we were anxious to make our |
selves familiar with all the modes OF
lille in the country; we made it point
in passing through to stop wherever
the promise of anything especially
interesting offered itself. Prairies,
timber and water were better distrib
uted in Shelby than in the country we
had passed through; the timber pre-.
dominated over the prairie, though
interlaid by it in every direction.--
The diversity Of surface attracted
greater variety and quantity of game,
as well as afforded more perfect IA
cilities to the sportsman. Indeed, it
struck me as a perfect hunters par
adise, and my friend happening to
man Of some wealth who
had removed from his native country
and settled, as he understood. in
Shelby, we inquired for him and very
readily found him.
Whatever else may be said or
thought Of the Texans, they are un-
quesLionably most generously hospi.
table. We were frankly and kindly Il
received, and horses, servants, guns,
logs, and whatever else was necessa.
ry to ensure our enjoyment of the
sports of the country, as well as the
time of our host himself, were forth
with ut our disposal, and we were
soon, TO our heart content, engaged
N every character of the exciting
chase.
One day we had all turned ont for
a deer drive. This hunt, in which
-he dogs are used for driving the
game out of the timber, scatters the
hunters very much; they are station
ed at different "stands," which are
sometimes miles apart, TO watch for
the deer passing out; for this reason
the party seldom gets together again
until night. We divided in the morn
ing, and skirted up opposite sides of
a wide belt of bottom timbers, while
the "drivers" and dogs penetrated,
to arouse the deer, which run out on
either side by the stands, and were
known to the hunters. We were un-
successful, and returned to a
late dinner at our hosts, the plant
er's house. BY dusk all had come in
except my friend, whose name was