The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1876-03-02
Selert Story.
A RURAL ENOCH ARDEN.
HE is FOUND IN CLEVELAND AFTER BEING
HOURNED FOR YEARS AS DEAD.

The following Romantic story comes
from Silverse's Station, Pennsylvania,
and the narration is datedFebruary 18th.
The story was first published in the
New York Herald ofrecent date.
The death, on Wednesday of last week,
of James Swingle, at the residence of his
son, two miles from this village, savedhis
family from the consequences of most Sc
rious business and social complications
complications resulting from singular
freak of the deceased, who has been be-
lieyed TO have been dead for the past ten
years and buried in the family grave
yard. =,
The Swing'e family is one ofthe wealth.
lest in this section. James Swlngle was
fnrmer, and had lived on the farm where
he died, for thirty-tive years. Twelve
years ago his wife died and year and
half afterward, being sixty years of age
he married young woman who had lived
in his family for several years. She was
TWENTY-FIVE years old He had six child
rem, all older than his second wife, and
three of them married. She being an es-
timable woman, however, the match was
acceptable to all. Old Mr.. Swingle was
one of the most prominent men in the
township, dev0ut member of the Bap-
tist church, and man very generally re-
spected.
swINGLE's DISAPPEARANCE,
In the fall of 1864, Mr. Swinge pur-
chased through the agency of William
Wiltsey, lawyer of this place an ad-
,dition to his farm for 81, 800 One rainy
evening in October of that year he left
home with the above sum of money, tell
ing his wife that he was going to the sta
ton to pay it to Wiltsey. He did not re-
turn that night, but the fact created no
uneasiness, as he occasionally remained
over night in the village. Not appearing
next day however, inquiry was made for
in this place. He had paid the money for
his purchase and received his deed, and
had been seen to mount his horse about
nine o'clock in the evening, and although
it wos very dark and stormy, start for
home At this time there was an organ
ICED grng of desperadoes in this region,
whose exploits in horse and cattle stealing
and other depredations had made them a
terror to the people. They were under
the lead ofa man named Jim Smith, and
it was believed by many that they were
guilty of blaCker crimes than stealing
horses. When it became generally known
that farmer Swingle had disappeared it
was stated by several that two of the
worst members of Smiths gang-"Fee
ny and Gowan and a Frenchman named
Dubois-had been seen az the station
that night, and it at once became the
general belief that the farmer had been
Waylaid by them and robbed and
murdered, and his body hidden in
the woods. This theory was given a
still stronger foundation by the state
ment of Mrs. Mary Mosher widow, la
dy, who occupied house in a lonely
place on the road about midway between
the station and the farmers house. She
appeared in the village in the midst of
the excitement, caused by. the supposed
murder, and said that somewhere about
twelve o'clock on the night in question,
she was aN akened by the sound Of voices
in the road in front of her house. She
got up and looked out, but it was so dark
that she could see nothing. AS she was
returning to bed she heard the cry of
murder w repeated btwiCe: then the
sound Of groans and footsteps hurrying
away down the road. Afraid to 60 to
sleep again, with the cries ringing in her
ears, Mrs. Mosher awaited the return of
day, confident that it would reveal to her
the mutilated corpse of a murdered man
"a victim no doubt, of Jim Smiths gang
of cutthroats. AS soon as it was light she
looked out, but saw no evidence of
murder. Going into the road, however,
she discovered signs of struggle, and
several pools of blood
LOOKING FOR THE SUPPOSED MURDERERs.
This story settled any doubt that might
have existed as to the murder of the far
mer and armed bodies of men hunted the
woods for miles, seeking the supposed
murderers and the body of the murdered
man. The feeling of the public against
the Smith gang was SO intense that the
leader left the vicinity, which resulted in
the breaking up of the organization, no
member of which has ever been seen
about here since. The day after the dis
appearance Of The farmer his horse was
found tied in the woods near the road,
about half a mile from his house. The
search for his body was kept up for
weeks and large rewards were offered for
any information that would lead to traces
Of his murderers, but all to no purpose.
The matter at last ceased to excite any
interest in the community and was al
most forgotten save by his family and
immediate friends, when circumstance