Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1877-05-09
OH. 44 E
Petrena.

PetroIla. ..t45.i
Il In the autumn Of 1855, the little tow
Of Anglewort was afoat with gossip OF
account of very hasty marriage whicl
occurred between returned Californi
an by the name of Tom Cowley, AM
Leah Garrit, the daughter Of an avari
icious old man who, in his younger days
]won for himself the title of Penn,
| Garrit. Leah and Tom first met at ,
icounty fair, were introduced, met ;
fortnight later, and were married
iGarrit did not object to the match. a.
Tom was reputed to be rich, having
accumulated afortune in the gold mines
| Mrs. Garrit opposed SO hasty marriage
though not vehemently, as she enter
tanned an elevated opinion Of Tom, fol-
the simple reason that he belonged to
| a respectable family whom she hat
known by reputation for the last twenty
| years, although the families lived ffteer
miles apart.
I After the young couple were married,
| they sat up an establishment Of theil
own, and for awhile, for aught any one
knew, all went on as merry as mar.
Iriage bell. But in less than year.
stories were afoat that made Tom APP
pear,in the eyes Of the respectable part
I Of the community, a perfect reprobate.
The vicious habits he contracted in
| California were renewed, and he gam.
bled, drank, swore, and abused his
family in the most shameful manner.
Leah bore his abuse as patiently as
possible, but before she had been two
years married his conduct was too in
suferable to admit of further forbear-
ance !; SO one day she took her young
child in her arms and started for Angle
wort.
As badly as she had been been treat
ed by Tom, We doubt whether she
would have left him even then, if ne had
not failed to provide for her. She was
reduced to crust of bread, and as their
property was all squandered, she knew
that starvation as well as abuse was all
she could expect in case she remained
with him. So no one blamed her for
deserving the wretch who had brought
such undeserved misery upon her.
To walk fifteen miles with child six
months old in her arms was no easy
task for Leah, and when she reached
Penny Garrit's she was completely
overcome with fatigue. There was no
end to the curses Penny pronounced
upon Tom as he witnessed the fatigue
and suffering ofhis daughter, and he
declared if he eyer set foot in his house
again he would shoot him as soon as he
would a dog.
"You did well, Leah, to stay with
him till his property was gone but now
the impoverished scamp had better not
expect you to go back again"
About month after, Tom came and
pleaded for Leah to return the old gen.
tleman did not shoot him, as he threat
ened, but he babe him BECOME at once,
as Leah should never leave her present
home to share his poverty and bear his
abuse again.
Soon after, it was reported that Tom
had left the country, and nothing further
was heard from him until in the autumn
of 1864, when, as the Garrit family, in
Guiding Leah and her little girl. sat at
breakfast, who should be seen saunter-.
ing up the street but Tom Cowley.
Leah's first impulse was to run to the
gate and meet him, bat Penny Garrit
declared he never should enter his
yard. Selling pistol that lay on the
mantlepiece, the old gentleman rushed
to the door, and screamed ...i
ENTER that gate and you are dead
mani"
The man with the satchel halted,
made few grimaces, mimicked Garrit
IN way that was quite laughable, and
then cody asked,-
us my wife stopping with You now?"
At this, Penny was doubly enraged.
and, with his pistol levelled at the
young mans head, he shouted,- ii
"Begone, you poor vagabond! What
business have you here, you vampire
you who probably have not second
coat to your back?''
"But I've something BETTER" glee-
fully chuckled the son-in-law. Would
you like to take peep into my satchel,
old man, and see what 1t is ~ .-.7|
sit is doubtless nothing more than a
rum bottle, or other traps quite as dis
graceful" quickly replied Garrit.
"The deuce it is ~ said Tom, draw
ing therefrom an immense roll of green
backs, furnishing them in the air. 1
The old gentleman put his pistol into
bis pocket, aud took at least three steps
forward, as if to take a nearer view Of
the s.filthy luere." Tom, meantime,
was drawing from his satchel still larg-
er rolls of bills, until itseemed to Garrit
there must be great many thousand
dollars in his possession. sa
'sWhen did you get all that moneys"
he asked, approaching Tom.
''Been to the oil CITY,"
"Ah!" very pleasantly.
tHade1a 6ne thing out of it's
/ '.Indeed!n efe F,z
"Own q wen there that yields at least
four hundred barrels day."
'.Well, come in, come in, Tom. Leah