The daily gazette., 1876-02-09
Letter fress sa..~es Te.c~se~d.
For the Delaware Gazette.


Herald to-day, / saw an article giving
officer Jones' story of hardships and
suffering among a barbarous people
a man denied admittance and driven
out in the cold to perish; and then
went on to identify portions of this
Hundred and adjoining Maryland.-
Now, sir, took it on myself TO make
some inquiry about this matter, and 1t
is as follows:
This officer Jones and some other
party, called John Hartman, and styling
himself detective from New Jersey,
have went to Smyrna, and from there
Wilson may have taken them TO Van
dykes, on Thursday; and they may
have beat about, and did stay in good
comfortable quarters Thursday night;
and on Friday morning they went to
David Morgan's; about l o'clock on
Friday, be was introduced to Jim
Sweatman; have known this Jim
Sweatman for 80 years, and from Jim,
to-day, got the following narrative,
as Jim was with Jones from Friday at
I o'clock p. m, until he helped put
him on the train, On Saturday, about
80 o'clock p. m, at Masseys:
Jim says these two men (that is the
Jersey detective and Jones) employed
him to assist in finding and arresting a
fellow named Tom Hand, from Jersey.
This Tom Hand has worked in this
Hundred at q saw mill, and / myself,
Jerseymau from Millville, he says
Jim Sweatman says that Jones, the de-
tective and he, left Morgsn's little
after o'clock. p. M, on Friday; went
out towards Morris station; beat
around; had carriage or dearborn
with them; come back to Vandyke's
station just about sunset; got supper
at either Vandykes. or his son -in-law's,
| Watts; they heard that the said Hand
had went down to Eben Dougherty's,
near Coxes' station, on the Queen
AIMS railroad; that Jones asked him
(Jim) if he would 10, he said "yes, of
course" The detective, as they called
hin, said he would stay and 20 over
to Massey's in the morning The
| Queen AIMS train leaves here at about
~ minutes past 8 o'clock; when it ar
rived at Vandykes, officer Jones and
Jim Swestman got on, with tickets for
Coxes' station; the detective handing
Jones money, which he said after
wards, he thought was ten dollar
bill, but it proved to be only two dol
lars; these men proceeded down in the
train to Millington; officer Jones made
himself known to mail agent, Thomas
Goldsburg, on the train, ana told him
he was short of money, and he ex-
pected he would have to walk back.
Mail agent Goldsburg told me, to-day,
that he told Jones no, he need not do
any such thing as walk back; that he
| (Goldsburg) would see George Proof,
the conductor, and get him to pass
Jones and Sweatman back the next
day to Masseys, and Proof told Jones
he would do SO, and all that matter
was arranged. They went ON down to
Coxes' station, which is three miles
below Sudlersyille, and Jones and Jim
got of and went to Dougherty's; the
man was not there, and Dougherty
being Delawarean, ,and knowing Jim
well, went with them to the hotel al
Coxes and saw the hotel keeper, anc
. he told them all right, and prepared
beds for them, where they were warn
and comfOrtable; but after putting
the landlord to the trouble of fixinl
. up for them, tones got it into his heaC
to walk back to Vandykes, which il
IL iu.]cs, and asked Jim Sweatman i
he would do it: yes, says Jim, if yol
are bound to go, ! am an Appoquini
mink forester | did not turn my bacl
I on the enemy at Antietam or Freder
Y icksburg, and shall not now on cold
showed ground of 18 miles, and if yor
mean to go, | will go with you, an,
In 4, 4 u
and it wanted Is minutes OF IL O'Clock
(nighD and 1S miles to face the wind
They got along very well until afte
q they passed Sudlersville and came t,
- the lower branch tressel work, abou
800 feet; they attempted to walk ovel
it was slippery, and they then tried t
It wade until they came to Blackwatel
,s Jim says he broke stick and run
a down until he found that would ne
D do; then they got on the tressel wor
p and crawled over; after they got owe
ne Jones complained of cold feet; the
II. were wet; Jim told him they mu
m m walk and run to get warm. When the
ve reached the tressel work at Millingtol
u of 800 more feet, they crawled over j
ID Jones then complaining of being yer
Il cold. They then went into Millin
ton, and tried to arouse the hot
keeper, but could not do so; then Ji
went to a person he knew, that kel
a shop; this person was not at hom
they then struck out for Masseys, an
to their left, saw light at a lar.
brick farm house. Had they we
there, their sutferings would ha
been over; but they continued on
OH to the railroad, until they came to
,ll, small tenant house; it was here Il
ep fellows were scared and would not
oi' ed' them in, and they had to 80 m
de. further, to get to Musseys; there Jol
nd son took them in; he knew Jim we
eni From that time Jones had all the
led tention possible, and it is TO be hop
ing Jones limbs may be saved, and he
doubt, will be a wiser man the balan
+, of his days, His partner, Jim Swe
man, the forester who went throu
IsE that nights ordeal with him, loo
ll.o' this afternoon, as fresh as ever, a
. ready for another such encounter
The worst of it all was, Jim says,