Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-04-09
A Night of Peril.--A Fearful Adven-
ture With Robbers Never Before Re-
leted.
CONCLUDED.

which had been taken to the stable.
The poor brutes gave Q neigh Of rec
ognition, but a bang shot through me
when | saw how they must pass the
night. The weather had turned
freezing cold, the stable was open on
two sides, and, there was not so much
as blade of grass, or grain Of corn
to be had. When | returned to the
house, an Indifferent supper awaited
my arrival, to which | did ample jus
tice, attended by the gentlest looking
of the ladies. 1t is theory of mine,
that woman, however degraded nev-
or loses all trace Of that brthright
divinity inherited from our common
angel mother,-that there are still
chords in her nature that vibrate to
the touch ofhumanity. Acting upon
this principle, / asked her name and
birthplace, and was surprised to find
she came from little town upon the
upper Allegany river and her BROTH
,er, noted raftsman and pilot, named
Baker, was well known to me. 1t
was the first time she had heard
from him since
"Lured by villain from her native home"
and tears ran down her cheeks while
listening to the little | had to tell.
Her own story was simple and sad
enough. Her parents were both
dead, and her brother, Whom she
loved dearly, nd who was her only
protector, was most of the time alb
sent. A young man from an adj
joining county, who taught a singing
school in the neighborhood, formed
her acquaintance and asked permise
sion to pay his addresses. She low
ed him devotedly, madly, "too well
but not wisely" He was a villain,
and the result need not be TOLD. Ia
an evil hour she consented, nay, i'm
plored him to flee with her. They
got aboard one of the numerous RATS
descending the river, and foatcd down
to Cincinnati, where she became a
mother, but not wife. 1t was buta
repetition of the old, story,-the
father Of her child became tired Of
her, was arrested and sent to the
States Prison for midnight robbery,
and she
"Was cast abandoned on the worlds stage
And doomed in scanty poverty to roam
How size became an inmate Of this
house, or the associate OF such men,
| did not enquire, nor did she once
refer to them. | was anxious to
awaken her sympathy in my own be
half, but krew that sharp eyes and
sharper ears were watching, and for
bore allusion to myself though in~
wardly hoping her woman's nature
would interest itself IN my face.
Supper over, | returned TO the com~
mon room, where liquor and cards
were set out, and the men soon join
ed by the ladies, were gambling and
carousing. AS | sat there looking
on, and occasionally tasting their vil-
famous whiskey, could not help re
fleeing the chances were decidedly
against me. There were six men in
the gang, all rutlians OF the lowest
type, on whose villainous countenan-
ces''murder" was indellbly implanted.
One Of them was old Briggs, two
others were his sons, fourth was n
noted desperate, whose name has es~
capped me, but whose home was at
the "Four- Mile House" near Galeua,
(then in hiding for recent attempt
at MURDER and two others unknown,
but whom | afterwards learned were
brothers, named DeLong, the mid>
night assassinators ofCol Davenport,
at Rock Island | had in my posses
sion at this time a Colts revolving
pistol, probably the first one ever
brought to the country. 1t was Of
the Navy pattern, with ten inch
barrels, and would send a bail crash
ing through two inch plank BY
careful practice | had learned to fire
with unerring certainty, and my pis-
toll had excited no little curiosity
wherever shown. \ few days before,
at a little town not many miles dis>
tant, had tested its qualities in the
presence of a wondering crowd, and
was strongly solicited to part with it
upon my own terms, which was de-
clined. Among those present | now
recognized low browed ruffian, one
of my present entertainers, though
careful noJ to make it known. 1t
was with no little satisfaction | re-
membered this little incident, and
recollected, too, the wonderment he
betrayed at the rapid and accurate
firing. In a fair stand.up fight had
little to fear, it was a blow in the
dark, the run of numbers, to be es-
pecially guarded against. My car
pet bag, containing money and val
uables | left in my carriage for two
reasons, first, to disarm their suspic-
Gus, and induce them TO believe |
carried but little Of value, and second,
knew my dog could be implicitly
relied on to protect it until killed,
which | did rot peliveve they dare
do without first Gispatching me.
The moon was shining brightly, and
my buggy was in plain view from
the hotel, and but few rods distant,
as was also the stable. About nine
o'clock | was shown to my sleeping
apartment, single room in the see
ond story, situate upon the side, and
about midway from each end Of The
house, VITA rickety door and open
partitions. l objected to the room,