Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-06-16

has heard what / asked. But I feel
that the end is near and I'll tell you my
| story"
After having been propped up with .
pillow of old coats and boots he began:
81 s'pose you have heard of Torpedo
Jim, the moonlighter? Yes? Well.
that's me, and got the name because
I'm the only living man that took active
part in two giycerine explosions and
lived. I've handled hundreds OF tons
OF the Internal stuff, both in the employ
| of Roberts, the torpedo monopolist, and
| working for myself, skulking around the
| woods at night and shooting wells
against the law. I've been q pipeline
man, tool dresser and driller and n
heap of other things beside, but the
worst business l ever got into was this
same moonlighting. A man will stay
out of it so long as he fears God and re-
CARDS man, and tell yon he gets pretty
| well hardened before he can sneak
around nights with enough frozen stuff
to blow him into four different town.
ships in the wink of an eye. When a
man gets so that he don't care whether
he lives or dies the next minute he goes
into moonlighting and makes heap of
money. Oh, yes, there is lots of money
in it, but it is dearly earned cash. But
wasn't always moonlighter. Oh, no ;
used to be as promising a boy as ever
walked, and that was only short time
ago. 1 am only twen.y-six years old
now, but L have felt to be nearly fifty
for the past two years. What made
me moonlighter? IN show you.
There, that made me moonlighter and
-a-murderer!
1t was picture, a small locket pic
ture, of a beautiful young woman with
dreamy brown eyes, sweet pointing lips
and a wealth of dark-brown hair. A
most lovable young lady, surely, if the
picture might be taken as basis of cal
culation. The features were strangely
familiar to me, for they resembled the
features of the wife of q prominent oil
operator whom had met several times
at private receptions and small parties.
The man continued without Interrupt
ton:
"Ah, you START he said, with fierce
laugh. ssYou have seen the original?
Yes? And you will see her again, too.
Four years ago was engaged TO that
woman and 1 was as happy as the day
was long. had bright prospects in life
then, and my father, who was In bust
ness in Philadelphia, where we lived,
was supposed to be pretty comfortably
fixed in life. But somehow or other
after he died and his affairs were
Strengthened out my mother and hadn't
cent to give beggar. l tried clerking
and bookkeeping in Philadelphia for
awhile, but it was no 60, and to cap the
climax of my misery the young lady l
was engaged to broke off the engage
ment with the polite excuse that she
thought too much of me to hamper me
with an engagement, and that could
climb the ladder of fortune much better
if were not bound by ties of any kind.
Very tender and considerate, wasn't
she? She never cared for me as much
as she did for my money, but just wor-
SHIPPED her, and when she threw me over
in that cool way wilted right down and
left the city. 1 landed in the lower oil
country and tried to do something.
And then when / saw my mistake it was
too late to get good bargains on leases
in the northern field, but I came here
all the same and tried to make my way.
had my mother to support in Philadel-
phia all the time, and it was through her
that learned of the marriage of the
woman l loved to a wealthy man from
the oil regions. / was sick for two
weeks after that, stranger, and when /
came to nv senses / wasn't the same
man. 1 didn't care to live, and if it
hadn't been for my poor old mother /
should have killed myself. / became
rough and reckless and did the toughest
kind of work could find. drove team
for awhile and then built rigs and
dressed tools. After awhile turned
driller and tried to save money for my
mother, but didn't make it fast enough.
The longer / lived in the northern field
the more reckless l became, and it
wasn't long before l was a moonlighter.
l made torpedoes for shooting wells
against the law, and lived ont in the
woods in little log hut and hated the
sight of man. | soon became the bold
est and most successful moonlighter in
the country, and every cent could get
above expenses / sent to Philadelphia.
1 got on the inside of lot of informa-
ton some lucky speculators had, and
took flyer on the market with splen-
did result made money hand over
fist, but fortune came to late to do me
any good, and though l was still q young
man l looked forward to nothing this
world could give. A year ago this win
ter took to drinking : tangle foot
whisky, and after two or three sprees /
got to going at terrible rate, and one
day in the early part of 1850, some time
in April, think, got into = row with
man at the head of Tram Hollow and
we had a red-hot fight. We were both
drunk, and when found was getting
the best of him wild thrill ran through
me, the devil took full possession of my
actions and before could think twice /,
had stabbed him to the heart and my
hands were stained with the blood of
fellow creaturein - -
The dying man shock. with agony as
the thought of that terrible deed came
upon him, and his pain-distorted face
was lifted in prayer for mercy and for
giveness. It was q solemn hour for q
stranger to that rocky country-the
death bed confession under the moan
ing pines and the long shadows of the
giant trees casting their somber forms
about in the Pickering light OF the gas