Wilmington daily gazette., 1873-12-12
6N AttAA6l
NEw CAsrLE IN ARMS "A HERALD CoRREsPoN-
psN1 ARRESTED on TIE ouTPosTs-hIs
TR1Ars AND TRouBLEs IN GET
NV CAsrLl


As our resderv are well aware, New Castle, on
Toeeday night, was we'll guarded, tor the purpose
of repcillnS any attack which might be made up
on tue town with the intention OF resculhg the
| bank burglars. Guards patTolled the streets, ana
all strangsra were called TO account cores.
poudOut Of tue New York Herald experienced
cOnsIderablo sdAfsculiy in getting through the
lines" whichihe alluded TO as follows, in letter
to that paper the next day:
sIt was my ill-fortune to arrive here by freight
train from Wilmington shortly before two O'clock
this morning, and as the town is halt mile from
the depot, aud O stage line dOseDt pay, walked
in the bright moonlight along the road to the VII
lage. ! noticed five or SIX registering "hoodlums
of about Is or 20 years, one or two OF whom had
guns and when had passed them some ~ or 70
yards one Of them discharged his musket ioT 'fun
Not having any idea of the "Iay-out," how0ver, /
walked bEskly on aud passed corner Whete two
policemen were on duty. Fifty yards iurther on
| saw half-a dozen men approaching me, ami four
OF them had guns. l had almost passed them,
when one, who had been talking - his fellows In
a loud, dsmOnstrattve way, saw business and,
lust as was about Two feet TO his rear, he reach
cd backward with his left hand "a very large and
strong one), took me by the front OF my overcOat
collar, and demanded, with o hoarse voice and
whiskey-arOma breath:
Hold on here Where are yoH goingf"
The man was about five feet eleTen inches high,
strong, ugly, drunk, and armed with double-bar-
relied shotgun. As he spoke he lifted me close 10
him. and consequently replied in soft tones
II am going 70 the Jefferson House"
"SoGt accents were utterly wasted on that man,
for lie Immediately commanded his party, "Hold
on Let's see about this"
80 you are going to the Jefferson IIousef' he
asked cynically. "Are you sure about that9"
THAT'S where stated for" replied meckly,
and he at once demanded TO know who was. 1t
would have taken 30 long time to answer that
question fully that | contentsd myself by telling
hfnat I tuoa n nd ha NJ
sharply twitched my collar tightly around my
neck, and said, gruffiy:
"What do you say Is reportedp
"Nothing," 1 replied.
One Of my capIors men-at-arms understood me,
and at once said:
care you the reporter taat telegraphed for
room at the Jefferson House Z"
"Yes," replied but 1 answered falsely sup
posing, however, from his remark, that some 9th
er reporter had telegraphed. Aud 1 firmly be-
lieNed was Justified in any attempt to gain my
freedom from his clutch
"Just then two gentlemen, who had come up in
the freight train from Wilmington and who had
seen me on board, came along, and, seeing trouble
brewing, stopprd and made inquiry. Upon the
assurance OF one OF thsw, 9 rssIc ent, who knew
the warrior Wh0 held me, that was i'all right"
he reluctantly withdrew his fingers from my
throat He must have had q fearful hand, for
never knew ot a man keeping his hold Sd long
and yet letting go all the time The two gentle
men who had InteTceded for me kindly consented
70 lead me to the hotel. On tho way we passed
one or two other armed patrols; passing the court
house and the entrance to the jail tae.e were still
other DslawaTeans resting on their arms, and
when at last reached the hotel bar room found
one or two more yolng defenders of the soil with
guns in their hands, drinking valor inspiring bev-
srages. Here learned the secret of the belllger-
ent pCmP that cOnfrpnte4 me everywhere, and
was told
"Oh, were waitin fur 'em. We're goin' fur
EN-. We're goin to guard all night, and it'll be
warm round this section if they come"
"In few minutes l went to bed and The last
sounds that fell my ear as l went to sleep were
the report of q gan In the distance and the tramp
OF several patrOiS Gs they went along the streets
singing ttt.
In the morning learned from number bf cit
Izens that about One-half, at least, OF the women
and children In the town had remained Nd all
night in q stats bordering on terror, for fear of
the expected attack and sacking OF the town, and
the peril OF their relatives, whose duty it was to
defend il. il was q shameless, heartless hoax,
hatched, as have tie best reasons for believing
IN the telegraph Offices at Wilmington and Phlla-
delphia. conversation which / overheard at
the Wilmington Office, and which did not fully
understand al the time, leads me to that conclu-
sion