Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1873-10-10
Letter from Missouri.
MAYHEM, Lafayette co Mo-,
Sent 29th. 1874.

[
Sept. 29h, 1873.
Editor Rockville Sentinel-
DEAR SiE:-Some time has elapsed since
you have had communication from our part
of Missouri, and | thought a short letter would
be acceptable touching few of the good quail
ties our Commonwealth, and also some of
the drawbacks that are attached to the best
country that ever "a crow flew ofer.n
''lf your foot is pretty, show it,
lfyou've got good thing, blow it.''
We do proclaim the marvellous fertility of
our soil, the exhaustlessness OF our coal beds,
the salubrity of our climate, and our giant
mules cannot be surpassed by any county in
the State.
Lafayette county boasts to-day Of her mil
lion and a-half bushels of wheat raised In 1873.
Owing to the drouth from which we have snf.
fered, our corn crop will be cut short; never
theless, we have all we want. We will not be
obliged TO go to some neghboring county to
get it. If we did we would not be likely 10 be
successful, for when "Lafayette fails, Missouri
fails.' AS to the drawbacks we have been
branded with harboring, or, in other words,
they are residents of this county, the most no.
ted Missouri highwaymen, and as, perhaps,
some people think if they were 10 emigrate to
this place, they would be murdered in twenty
four hours after arriving, wish TO give you
short history of some of them, and the readers
of your journal can then judge for themselves
whether it would be more dangerous here than
in Howard or st. Clair counties
The most noted desperate in all Missouri
and the man most feared is Arthur p Mccoy
| lie is about thirty-five years ofage, giant in
STATURE and rs brave as a lion. Previous to
the war he followed the occupation of a pain
ter in st. Louis, but on the breaking out of
| the rebellion he joined his fortunes with some
| irregular command in the Confederate interest,
and thenceforward was known as a Desperate
of the most blood thirsty type. He has had
hand in every Bank robbery In Missouri--he
has earned the reputation of being the deadli-
est pistol shot in America, on horseback
While being pursued by some citizens whom
he had robbed his wonderful Workmanship
saved him from hempen neck-tie. While his
horse was at full speed he shot q citizen in the
'S'S"Aut wv "''S say janus W liSulj
then turning fred over his left shoulder and
put q ball through the brain of an unfortunate
vigilante, fully Ito PAGES distant. His home
is in Howard county. After the Iowa adven-
ture it was supposed that he would join the
balance of the gang at the home of the Young
ers, in st. Clair county. OF the Youngers'
record but little is known beyond the fact that
they reside near Johnson City, in St. Clair
county They are three in number, and two
of them served with the James under the com
mand of Quantrell during the war, so that
they, too, received a thorough education in
guerilla tactics. The James boys are clever
members of the mob, and to them is always
assigned the responsibility of planning robbie
ries. They also do their share of fighting,
when necessary, are excellent shots, superb
horsemen, and to use the expression, as "good
grit as ever drew trigger or handled knives
They reside in Ray county.
will just say to anyone thinking of coming
to Missouri, come to Lafayette county. The
desperadoes will not hurt you any sooner in
this than any other county in the State Our
lard is broad and rich enough, SO don't be
alarmed, but come along.
ALEXANDER X