Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1877-11-09
Tied to a Tree.

in the vault of the chapel at Crown Hill
Cemetery, .t.... ..- ..........
cd . Tied to Tree, hH 1.uu
Saturday morning Mr.. Abel knight, a
respectable farmer of this county, resid.
ing twelve miles southwest from Sedalia,
was hunting his cattle in the Lamine
bottom, when he suddenly came upon a
campfire, near which were hitched two
unsaddled horses. Surprised at the cir
cumstance, he drew up his horse and
was in the act of getting down to see
what was up, when he was confronted
by two men, one of whom presented a
drawn revolver at his breast and told
him to "light"-meaniug thereby for
him to dismount.
Mr. Knight replied: "That is Just
what | was going to do But what does
all this mean?" .rH D. a.s .. q ..l
"Ask no questions and Wen tell you
no lies" answered one of the ruff1ans.,.
II was evident to Mr. Knight by this
time that the men he had encountered
were either horse thieves or robbers.
The'spot was admirably suited for hid
ing place. 1t was in thick growth of
bottom timber, q mile from any road and
over two miles from a habitation. The
horses looked as if they had been ridden
all night, and the men in manner and APP
pearance indicated that they were des.
perate characters Under these circum-
stances he thought it best to comply
with their demands, and get into as lit
tie trouble as possible. Besides, they
were armed and he was not. Having
'dismounted, one of the strangers pro.
ceeded, in anot unfriendly way, to in
terrogate him regarding the layaof the
country, and wanted to know what was
their best route to Boonville without
passing through any towns. This infor-
nation Mr.. Knight gave as we'll as he
was able. He even went so far as to
make a rough chart for them on a piece
of paper which one of the men had in
his pocket. This done, Mr., Knight told
them he was in hurry, and would have
to leave them. At this the man who had
chiefly addressed him, and who had acted
the part of leader, told him that he
would have to stay with them until they
were ready to leave; that they didn't care
about him telling what he had seen, and
to prevent his doing this they proposed
to keep him with them. 1t was useless
to argue, and so he submitted with the
best grace possible. About two o'clock
in the afternoon the men got ready to
start, and, to Mr.. Knights infinite sur
prise, told him they wanted his money
This demand, however, he was disposed
to resist until the persuasive revolver
was again brought into use. He had
twelve dollars in his pocket, and this he
gave them. The leader then produced a
piece of rope, and while his companion
held a pistol against Mr.. Knights head
he proceeded to tie his hands behind
him. This done, he was pushed up
against tree and securely fastened to
it. All this was done without word.
When Ar Knight was firmly dashed to
the tree, in way that it was utterly i'm
possible for him to release himself, the
man made a halfway apology, saying it
was a matter of life and death with
them, and that they could not afford to
be overtaken.a .aar. o. l.-aoa-.a..a Lu
/" But you are leaving me here to die.
You surely don't wish to do that?" A
+" Somebody will come along after a
while. If they don't you must holler till
they hear you" a"H.1 INV i'a .E7H0a
With that they rode off, taking Mr.
Knights horse with them. OF course he
tried to get loose, but the rope resisted
all his efforts to unloose it. He took the
robbers advice, and yelled until he was
hoarse. But it did no good He was
left alone in desolate bottom, and night
was falling fast Then it begun to rain.
He said he had read of men being tied to
trees before, and had often wondered
what were their sensations. He under.
stood it now perfectly In the mean
time his family had become alarmed, and
by day ybreak his wife had aroused several
of their neiShbors, who had began to
search for him. She knew he had gone
to the bottom to hunt cattle, but what
part of it had only a general idea. Her
fears were that he had been thrown from
his horse, and was killed or desperately
injured The animal he had ridden was
wild and young, and this fact intensified
her apprehensions. So his neighbors
turned out and began the hunt for him
through the rain of that, what will be to
Mr.. Knight an eyer-memOrable Sunday,
He had yelled himself hoarse, and his
loudest halloo could not be heard over
100 yards distant. Fortunately, how
ever, toward nightfall they found him,
more than half dead from want and eX-
posure, and, to use his own words, as
bout sorry looking sight as a man
ever saw" He was taken home to his
half-frantic family, and was so far re-
covered on Monday as to proceed in the
direction of Boonville, to see if he could
hear anything of the villains who had
left him to perish in the woods. But his
search in that direction was in VAIN a. In
deed, they made fast time, and were
probably hundreds of miles away before
he started in pursuit. But Mr., Knight
says that he will never die satisfied until
villain, us he calls him, is the cue he is
particularly anxious to see, The proba-
bility is the men were horse'thieyes, and
had stolen the horses they were riding.
Mr., Knight, however, thinks they were
murderers or criminals who had broken
Jail and were hurrying out of the coun-.
try. Taken all in all, it is one of the
most remarkable cases that ever hap
pened in this part of the State, or, in
deed, anywhere else. Seddlia BazOO, r
...r ---r------s- s-S--------r---- .
You may talk as much as you please
about man being able to accomplish any.
thing he undertakes il he sets about It In
earnest-we demuT. When it comes to
scratching the back, dead square between
the shoulders, a fat man has to let out
the job He may pierce the ocean wave
with the lightning's flash, make fraud an
honoIed profession, get up a telephone
that wiz carry Russian names without
bending the wire, but he comes TO an i'm
passable stone fence sometimes Gin.
cinRati Breakfast Table sDiH7s om.e
4.i. B. t.--1--.------s--e -s--------ss-,l sirigl,
The Rev. Russell Jennings, of Deep
River, Conn, has within twelve years
given away more than $500, 900 for char