Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1867-11-19

|
side of the platform Mr. Moons son went to tn
window and fired down at the spot she indicated
The guard rushed 70 the house and found as the,
supposed that night, a large blood-stain on th,
steps, overswshicile they exulted very much
| Frutless pursuit was made. The men came in
and had hardly gotten quiet, when signal wills
ties, frequently erere were heard in various
directions from. the house. We have failed tt
mention that what seemed to be signal whistles
| have been heard about Mr. Moons house. a
night for several months back--so boldly ant
frequently blown, that we suppose at least thirty
persons have had opportunities of hearing them
In the morning. Mir. Moon found reason to ques
| ton whether the stain on the step was blood, Oh
not but had no means of determining its charac
ter. eve have omitted to mention that bag wa:
! found this night in the passage. which woulc
hold about peck. In one corner of it, part o.
| Mr.. Moons powder and caps which had been
left on passage table, had been carefully tied III
so as not to mix with anything else that might be
| put in the bag) ~.
The next night there were thr, G men on guard
| about the ward One of them stationed at the
yard fence reports that he saw man rise u}
from among a cluipp of bushes and walk off q
short distance and take position as if to watch
the house. He fired at him with shot gun
I The man, he says, fell Immediately He fired
again at the spot where he fell. There was nc
| result from this Shooting. Mr.. Moons impress
sion is that the object shot at fell just before the
first shot, or it may have been man with defen-
| Slve arnlOr on. go -
| The next night there were ten or twelve men
around the house. Two of them report that they
saw man creeping on all tours alongth garden
/ fence-one of them shot at him with pistol with
bout result. Alta later hour they saw the same
object, and made chase, but he escaped among
| the grape vines and high weeds near by. eq.
/ For some few days the moon shone nearly all
night, and the family were not disturbed. Mr..
| Moon ventured to leave home to attend the AL
| bemarle Circuit Court. his neighbors having vol
! unteerrd to protect his family.
! Upon returning from the Albemarle Court o.,
| the next Saturday night, a neighbor came in to
spend the night Before retiring. Mr. Moon put
him in charge Of the lower part of the main body
4 ofthe house He fastened every door and win
| dow carefully. Mr.. NJ, in going out of the back
passage door to his chamber, locked the door on
the inside and left the key in the door to prevent
a false key from being put in the lock. his
nigh0yeung Moon slept at the office, the first
time for eight or ton nights. He says he had not
time to go to sleep before the dog began to bark
| on the other side of the yard and ne heard some
| one Walking around the office. He heard also a
clank of metal which he described to be such as
! soldiers make when having sabres attached to
them. The man kept close to the foundation of
the house, but made good deal of noise, as ifhe
wished to attract theattention of the dog. About
| an hour before day, young Moon succeeded IN
catching glimpse. of him through the window,
and fred at him, but lodged nearly his whole
load in a chair which had been fixed against the
window 50 as to tumble if any one h9sted it,
| Upon being aroused at the house, the back pas
sage door was found open. Mr. Moons friend
| had been doing in the parlor-he had heard
some noise once OF twice hnt. nothing to arouse
him. The disposition of the inside of the house
they had made showed that this door could only
have been opened By some one who came in at
the front door and locked it behind him. The
report Of young Mons gun probably frightened
whoever it was, and he ran out at the back door,
leaving it open. -
The next week Mr. Moon was compelled to at
tend Court again. After al interval Of several
nights, while Two Of MIR. Moon neighbors were
inside the house, watching the front door, some
one came to it, and struck forcbly GA the door
and top, lights, nest probably with the butt end
of a masket Che. first stroke aroused the whole
family. One ct the men flred through the door
at him. Al p Moon sister-in-law saw him. from
an upper window. run around the corner of the
house and pause to peep back to see if he was
pursued. She fired at him twice from the win
dow which was open, with a little pocket pistol.
He fell to the grouaa the arst fire, and moved off
after conc hesitation. The men rushed out in
wrong direction to hunt for him. He was seen
in the yard again that night A little closet win
dow overlooks the shed at the back of the house
the closet opens into an upnen cham berthe back
passage winaoW up stairs looks across th& she'd
These two windows are about six feet apart and
each fronts across the line Of vision from the other
The next night Mr.. NJ sister.in-law saw from
the closet wjnd0W y tall man coming from the
direction Of the ice-house door which is about
twenty-five yards from the house, Half his form
WAS SOOff llltpu dtfoFp the Sflcu lie 0aQ pTOUd-
bly, stepped on an old goods box which was by
the side of the shed, and from that on q high
shelf below the eve OF the shed. She Immediate
~ reported to the three men then on guard in the
house. One OF them stationed himself at sae back
passage window. Before the ladies left this guard,
footsteps We're heard on the shed---the scraping
OF matches was also heard, and light seen on
the she'd The lady went back to the closet win
dow-the man on the shed iad peen alarmed and
had dlsappeqred. In few minutes, however,
he appeared again, and Mr.. Ms sister~ia-law
again reported his presence 20 the guard at the
back passage window, She went back imme-
dsateiy 90 the closet window. The guard stood
ready to shoot him it he came in sight Just as
she opened her closet window to look out. she
saw a man crouched close to the wall between the
two windows-a scrapipg OF matches was heard
q light flashed ID 1T both windows, and the man
on the She'd rushing by the closet window on the
barely missing her head, and singing her eye
brows and hair. The powder backened the side
OF the mouse next to the WindoW, and the ball
struck and glanced off. The man ran over Mr..
Ms chamber roof and jumping down OIL the 9TH
er side, escaped. ,r
Since this last described night, several weeks
have elapsed but no night has passed IN which
the burglars did not demonstrate their presence,
Enthusiastically, IN some way or other Lights
have been thrown IN at Mr. Moons windows ey-
cry night. and frequently over tbs heads Of from
ten to forty aimed men, Sometimes a small
light. no larger than a quarter OF dollar is
played upon the walls Of his houSe-SOmetlmes a
much larger spot-then broad or narrow streak
sometimes fash, and sometimes broad glare.
\ bright, Tadiating light has been seen on the
shed, at the chamber window, and at the office
window, -
The men who watched in Mr. Moons parlor
last night, say that light was thrown in there,
they suppose. at least fifty times, and apparently
an effort was made to throw the shadow OF men
on the walls Nearly every night knocking or
scraplng sounds have been heard en- the sides OF
the house. Stones have been thrown on top or
against the house Footsteps have been heard
on the shed and chamber roofs-windows have
been opened, or attempts made to open them or
something of the sort has occurred.
One morning a roll of cloth about SIX inches
long, and an inch in diameter saturated with ke-
rosene oil and burnt at one end, evidently wick
for large light, was found on top OF Mr. Moons
she'd On another morning, q bottle was found
IN the flower horder, covered with two toids OF
flannel. and having leather string for loop to
hold it by. The fragments Of q broken glass YES
sell probably about the size of an orange, have
been found on the top of the shed.
We should add that in the last several weeks,
ald shot at twice. The demonstrations last night
were violent and darng
ls5~ Lawyers Clerks, Sheriffs', Constables'
and all kinds of BLANKS are printed in the best
style and at the cheapest rates at the SPECTATOR
Office.
The UNITED STATES SENATE. The term OF
twenty one United States Senators will expire
on the 4th March, 1869, of whom IA are repub-
licans and democrats; but it is scarcely possible
for the democrats to break the two thirds power
of the republicans in that body during the ex-