Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1871-03-09

HIS statement tlaJ ne iOunu tne
horse aud saddle bags, but lie adj
Emittsd that there had been money
in thclateosva
He sto0d-bcfore them looking
very unlike a murderer, calling on
them for justice-callirg on God
TO witness the truth of bis words
speaking of his young wife and
bis old father; bidding his neigh
bors remember that he had never
done them any wrong.
But Judge Lynch has no mercy,
no compassion, no belief in the pos
sibility Of false accusation; and
this Judge lynch was an avenger
Of blood. The end was what the
end of such a trial generally is;
the awful sentence of death; and
in less than three hours from the
moment when they first saw the
bridegroom happy and blithe, with
his bride standing at the head of
the gay country dance, his body
dangled, a horrible sight to look
upon, from the branch Of the tree,
that shadowed what all believed to
be his victims grave.
When all was over, they found
the old father dead in his chair, be-
side the fire. place, and found among
the women a hopeless, gibbering
maniac, whom they would hardly
have known for the rosy-cheeked
young bride.
They were avenged but at what
cost? The two men returned to
their homes, saddened and altered,
yet not remorseful, for they had
but avenged their comrade; and
this, to them, seemed common just
ice. The legal code of border life
had been adhered to; but for the
last look at the mad bride they
would scarcely have realized how
awful all this had been. They lived
on together, friends still, speaking
often of poor Charley, and fancy
ing that in some other world he
might even know how well they
had avenged them selves upon his
murderer
And so five years passed; and
one day the two went together into
coffee room kept by Frenchman
in the city of San Francisco, and,
being in low spirits, out Of luck,
and with slender purses, were sit
ting disconsolately over their meal,
when hand came down on each
shoulder, and & voice said, J"Tound
at last I've searched the city for
you. Heaven bless you, my dear
boys"
1t was Charles Chester, handsome
and cheerful, we'll dressed, and
well to do-looking, Charles Chester
whose murderer they thought they
had lynched years before.
And this was the story he told
them, wondering at their pallid ap
lpearance and awe stricken silence,
tile while: "The money he had
with him being in gold, and heavy
for his belt, he had placed it in his
saddle bags. and had completed
many miles of his journey, when,
near new, but apparently desert
ed dwelling, he saw man lying on
the ground and groaning terribly.
Dismounting, he assisted him, and
found that he was a traveller who
had been set upon by rufIans, rob
bed and wounded. He had crawled
to this house for assistance, but
found it empty, and now lay dying
in the road, He had done his best
for the poor fellow, but without
avail, He died in his arms just as
the sun went down; and, by its
fading light, he had dug grave on
the turf before the empty house
and there hurled him. There was
no one in sight, and his fears Of an
attack upon himself, warned him TO
hurry on; but when the last sacred
rites were over, and he turned to
mount his horse, it was gone. The
animal had escaped into the woods,
and, with night coming on, all at
tempt at search seemed useless.
The money in the saddle bags rem
dered the loss q maddening one.
He treaded his way through the I'M
derbrush, calling his horse by name,
until total darkness hid alIobJects
and, at last, striking his head yio-
lently against tree. be fell to the
ground insensible- When he came
to himself, he was lying in a wag.
on, to which he had been conveyed
by a kindly German who could not
speak English. In falling, he had
broken an arm, and was very weak
and ill, Before he was able to com
municate his story to any one, all
hope Of recovering either horse or
money, had deserted him. He was
IN despair He could not assist
his parents. TO return to his
friends would be to cast himself
upon their bounty. This would not
do. His struggles had been great
at first, but they were now over.
He had done well by the old folks.
and had returned to pay his debts
and resume his friendship with his
old friends"
He was with them-he lived
The farmer had doubtless told the
truth, He did not even know why
the turf had grown so green in the
little yard, and he had found the
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