Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1881-05-18

yes, there's lots of money in 1t, but 1t
is dearly-earned cash. But | wasn't
always a moonlighter Oh, no; used
to be as promising boy as ever walk
ed. and that was only short time ago.
am only twenty-six years old now,
but have felt to be nearly fifty for the
past two years. What made me
moon-lighter I'll show you. There
that made me a moon-lighter and-a
-murderern
1t was picture, small locket pic
ture of beautiful young woman with
dreamy brown eyes. sweet pouting lips
/ and wealth of dark-brown hair A
most lovable young lady, surely, if the
picture might be taken as basis of
calculation. The features were strange
ly familiar to me, for they resembled
the features of the wife of a prominent
oil operator whom | had met several
times at private receptions and small
parties The man continued without
interruption
'Ah, you start he said with fierce
luagh. You have ,seen the original
Yes? And you will see her again,
roo Four years ago | was engaged
to that woman, and | was as happy as
the day was long. | had bright pros
poets in the life then, and my father,
who was in business 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 a
beggar. | tried clerking and book
keeping in Philadelphia for awhile, but
it was no go and to cap the climax of
my misery the young lady / was en-
gagged to broke of tie engagement with
the polite excuse that she thought too
much of me to hamper me with an en-
gagement, and that could climb the
ladder of fortune much better if l was
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 worship
ed her, and when she threw me over in
that cool way l wilted right down and
left the city. 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 came here
| all the same and tried to make my
way. l had my mother to support in
Philadelphia all the time, and it was
through her that learned of the mar
| riage of the woman loved to a wealthy
man from the oil regions. l was
sick for two weeks after that, stranger,
and when | came to my senses
wasn't the same man. didn't care to
live; and if it hadn't been for my poor
old mother | should have killed my
self. / became rough and reckless and
did the toughest work could find.
| drove team awhile and then built rigs
and dressed tools. After awhile |
turned driller and tried to save money
for my mother, but did't make it fast
enough. The longer / lived in the
northern field the more reckless | be-
came, and it wasn't long before l was
u moon-lighter. made topedoes for
shooting wells, against the law, and
out in the woods in little log hut and
hated the sight of man. / soon became
the boldest and most successful moon
lighter in the country, and every cent
of money could get above expenses l
sent to Philadelphia. l got on the in
side of lot of information some lucky
speculators had and took flyer ON the
market with splendid result. l made
money hand over fst, but fortune came
too late to do me any good, and though
was still a young man | looked for
ward to nothing this world could give.
"A year ago this winter / took to
drinking 'tangle-foot' whisky, and after
two or three sprees got to going 1t at
a terrible rate, and one day in the ear
ly spring of 1880, some time in April,
think, got into q 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 a wild thrill ran
through me, the devil took full posses
sion OF my actions, and before | could
think twice had stabbed him to the
heart, and my hands were stained with
the blood of fellow creaturep
The dying man shook with agony as
the thoughts of that terrible deed came
upon him, and his pain-distorted face
was lifted in prayer for mercy and for
giveness. 1t was solemn hour for q
stranger to that country-tbe death
bed confession under the moaning pines
and the long shadows of the giant trees
casting their sombcr forms about in the
Pickering light Of tie gas-jet. A silence
fell upon us suddenly the moaning OF
the pines sank to the faintest Of wbis-
pers, while FROM afar down the valley
came the whirr and roar of the bull
wheel as the cable Of the heavy drill at
the well ran with lightning speed over
the crown-pulley down into the earth
two thousand feet
'Hark = said the man whom death
was about to claim. Big Jack is run
ming the tools and is letting them slide
so that / can hear 1t is the last time
I will ever hear that sound. | have
heard it often and handled the bull
wheel brake many times. Inever will
again no, never again on this earth
He was silent again, and so still was
the wintry night that could hear the
thud of the walking-beam and the rat
tie of the cable against the derrick. The
silence became absolutely painful, un-
til at last the melancholy face of the
dying man was raised again.
Stranger, come nearer; Pm gong
fast, and | must tell you the rest
After killed that man | hid the body
in clump of brush and searched him
to learn who he was | never found
out for he had on his oily clothes and
there was nothing in his pockets only
this, little piece Of paper. and on II
is written, What is life? IT'S but
vapor, soon it vanishes away True