The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1879-10-15
Litchfield County Coon Hunting,
How am Early Settler Escaped
From "a Gang Of Highwaynen.

EFOn a. SANS Oh highway men.
! To the Editor of the BEE:
! In my article, which appeared in late
number Of your paper, upon one Isle, .
the Litchfield County coon hunter I in
tended to relate an instance wherein this
coon catcher very narrowly escaped cap
ture himself by a gang of highwaymen,
who were lying in wait for him on his re-
turn home with money from cattle SALE
He had sold fine pair of fatted steers to
a party in the thriving village Of Winsted,
which we all know lies deep down in the
Naugatuck Valley, and had driven them
thlther from his home on the hill some
SIX or eight miles back, so on their
delivery came into possession of more
money than it was usual for him to carry
He was pretty well known there as all oc-
caSional visitor whenever he had a fatted
caJ for sale, and, bein of a convivial dis
position, generally gathered about him a
number of kindred spirits who made his
stay one JM Of enjoyment; on this occasion
he was so warmly greeted that the gold
| en- hours sped away so rapidly that the
| shades of evening were beginning to
gather before he was permitted to start
on his long and lonely walk homeward
His route was by the old highway road
that winds and winds circuitOusly up.
and among those everlasting Winchester
| hills, until the elevation of some twelve
or fourteen hundred feet above tide
| w "a lie rf11Tf !
mote from the residence of any neighbor
the cottage of the subject of this
sketch, himself the sole human occupant.
Whether any of his boon companions,
on this jolly occasion, were base and nm
grateful enough to steal march for the
purpose OF intercepting and robbing him,
never was known, but some suspicious
We're entertained by his real friends that
such was the case. Be that as it NAV, he
took leave of his companions with a part
lag glass or two, and commenced his long
and toilsome tramp with the bulk of his
money still in his possession; the road
ran between the two lakes, (the Winsted
Lake and what is called the Little
|
cinity of the latter several men sprapg
from the bushes, which there thickly
skirt the highway, and attempted to
seize him, but Sile was too quick for
them, and rushed for the pond with all
the speed that his legs would afford,
! closely followed by the would-be robbers
He had several hundred rods to run be-
fore his wished for goal could be reach cd,
but it was race on his part for dear life,
and bravery did tie win it, for his pur-
suers only arrived on the shore to hear
their game dashing off in deep water and
heading for the other side of the lake, u
half or three-quarters OF a mile distant.
Sile in his early trapping experience
was as much at home in tho water as a
frog or muskrat, and, although, it was
50 late in the fall when this happened
that the ice was nightly forming on the
shores of the lake, yet he suffered no i'll
effects from this unexpected bath, OF
from the stiff and frozen garments which
he was compelled to wear until he reach
ed the hospitable house of MI. Huhbell,
where he, in his own graphic manner, re-
lated his thrilling adventure. 1t was
doubtless lesson for him, wholesome,
though severe" against repeating such
visits to Winsted, where under the in
fluence of " inspiring bold John Barley
corn, " his boon companions nearly de-
prived him Of his money and his life to
boot.
Next to coon hunting, Siles' favorite
amusement is fishing, especially II he is
joined in 1t by his namesake, "Uncle
Sile," who is likewise a bachelor of three
score and upwards, and a well-to-do
farmer in the vlcinity-a man universally
beloved by his neighbors for his upright
integrity and amiablc disposition Uncle
Silas has no vices, unless it be one to be
an inveterate chewer of the "vile weed. !"
He is a staunch member of the Presby-
| terrain Church, towards which. and vari-
Gus charitable objects, he literally con-
tributes as far as his means will afford ::
no is never heard to utter an oath beyond
the words Of 81 snore, which as an oath,
L have not heard us ed since the days of
my green youth.
The legislative act passed some years
ago in your State, giving one Woodruff
the exclusive right to stock the lakes and
ponds with black bass, he never ceases
to deplore, for the reason, he contends,
that it is destined eventually to extermi-
nate the pickerel race, which he holds in
the highest estimation. Why" he says,
thedumb critters are not only shy at the
hook, but when you catch one he'll 'spile
before you can get hum with him, unless
you provide yourself before hand with q
fast horse" How correct he may be in
that assersion, perhaps your Taunton
fisherman, Mr.. Hawley Nichols, can tell
but with pickerel there need be no
necessity for haste, If his " CATCH" as the
whalers say, was small, / observed that
he brought them ham in his capaeious
pockets, Qnore commonly in those of his
pants), and he enjoyed them highly for
his evening meal. Uncle Sile is also fond
of hunting, from woodcock or partridge
to fox, and if your Newtown rimrods
| (Messrs. Bostwick and Cornell will pay
the Winchester hills a visit in the fox
hunting season, they will not only find
good particularly if they secure
the services of Mr.. Bovine, the old fox
| hunter there, but warm welcome from
one of the best hearted men dwelling in
| that section of the country. and that is
Uncle Sile himself, who, though no pro-
fessed hunter, is ever ready to make one
of any party in pursuit of sports of this
kind: SO long live I" Uncle Sile." and may
his shadow never be less. G.