Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1882-07-27
A MAIL ROBBERS STORY.

With heavy gives clanking in dull, metallic
ring at each movement, Henry W. Burton,
confessed murderer and mail robber, sat wea-
rily on the bench in cell in the Central Sta
ton, where he was brought from the prison III
Detroit last evening by United States Marshal
Matthews, of Michigan Burton never smoked
a cigar or pipe or used tobacco in any other
form, nor has he ever taken drink OF intoxl-
eating liquor. lie never sWears, and he said
last evening that the sound of an oath cuts
him like knife. He was born in Texas.
my father was ranchman," said he, ''his
name was White, and my right name is Sam
uel White. When was thirteen years of age
my father was shot by James Rown in quar-
rel 1t was when [ was twenty-0ne years Of
age that 1 met Rown for the first time. 1t
was in a camp in Rockdale county, Texas.
was told who he was Stepping in front of
him exclaimed s'You are my fathers muir
derer," and before he had time to draw pis-
tol, shot him through the heart. was ar
rested atterward for the offense, and served
short time of imprisonment. After my dis
charge l began my career as a mail robber, or
train-agent. worked withOutany assistance
whatever always alone. In April, 1877,
stopped mail express in Rockdale county,
Texas. There were fourteen passengers in
the stage. You would hardly think it posi-
BILE that one man could intimidate so many,
but erected dummies that in the dark looked
like men surrounding the vehicle. THEN l
made the passengers step out OF the coach, one
by one, after first attending to the driver and
the guard by cripplng them with shot
piece from my revolver. AS the passengers
alighted threw black hoods over their eyes
and fastened their hands behind their backs.
/ got S4 900 from this haul, but was arrested
soon after and sentenced to an imprisonment
| for T nor6n thronrll
ence Of friends within two years.
II went to Colorado. I cannot tell how it
was, but after drifting about for time re-
turned to my old pursuits One dark night
about a year ago learned that the stage Oh
the road between Dreadnaught and Asamosa,
in Colorado, was full of passengers and carried
a rich mail I erected several canvas tents
and built dummies looking like men on both
sides of the road. I barred the road with two
poles, fastened forkwise. Shortly after mid
night the vehicle came dashing along the road.
The horses caught OH the stakes and rolled to
the ground. One by one | ordered the driver
and the passengers to alight. There were
fourteen passengers, any one of whom could
have knocked me down, for am cripple, re-
member but out they came as gentle as lambs,
looked at my dummy men and trembled with
fear. After my trial in the September term
of the court, 1881, in Colorado, l was being
taken from Chicago to Detroit when dlsarm-
ed the Sheriff and his two deputies who had
me in custody. This was in the cars. | had
the Sheriff's revolver pointed at his head. In
al instant more l would have blown his brains
out, but passenger, Miss Alice Smith, lady
whom had never seen before, and whom |
have never met since, threw herself upon me,
begging for the Shertf's life. 1 think am too
tender-hearted. Escape was open for me, but
Miss Smith called out, ''Thnk of the mans
wife and children" Without word l hand
ed the revolver back to the Sheriff and sub
mtted without sound of complaint to hav-
ing shackles placed upon my hands and feet"
Philadelphia Press.
MAMMOTH CAvE.-Bishop Warren gives
this vivid description of the great cave:
Ones general idea of cave is that of an open
space under ground, or in a mountain side.
Mammoth Cave is made up of passages, ave-
nues, and tortuous crooks, rather than vast
open spaces You can take the short route
| (seven miles, to be done in two hours, the
| long (siXteen miles, to be done in four, the
combined to be done in from five to twelve
or more We chose the combined. There
are avenues down which one could drive
coach and four if fairly cleared up on the floor.
There are places that are mere cracks, justly
named 'fat mans misery, "''tall mans abase-
| lU,
Styx, Lake Lethe, Echo River, running under
an arch so low that little rise in the water
renders passage impossible. Sometimes it
rises Unexpectedly and leaves parties in the
dark beyond the arches unable to return until
the water subsidies saw the eyeeSs fish OF
these dark rivers their principal use In this
world being to serve DR.. Bushnell for an IL
lustration in his sermon on ''extirpatlon OF
unused faculties"
Here and there amid these long passages
are open spaces called ''domes," where the
water-carved rock rise ninety or hundred,
or hundred and thirty feet from the floor.
When these places are lighted up by the bril-
liant Bengal light they are both weird and
grand. The variety of formations in the
cave surpasses anything l have ever witnessed.
| In most caves the Stalactite and Stalagmlte
system are easily understood but the lower
ends are delicately grooved in various direc-
tions by what process it is Impossible TO I'M
agine. Interminged with these ham like
figures are variouSly sized gutta, as delcately
cut as the figures cut by the Greeks upon the
| ParthenOn
In some parts of the cave the gypsum has
crystalzed into snow-balls that glitter over
the whole roof; in other places there are del
cate flowers some inches i'll diameter. Inc
stalactte pillars are comparatively few, but
| exceeding curious In one place half dozen
form kind of bower in which four couples
have been married The first bride promised
her mother not to be married while she lived
on earth. A very foolish promise, and this
was her way to keep it, and also get married.
THE MAN IN THE MooN.-The man in the
moon is one of the most popular, and perhaps
one of the most ancient superstitions in the
world. The name is given to the dark lines
and spOts upOn the surface of the moon which
are visible to the naked eye. Some say that
these lines and spots are the figure OF a man
leaning on fork on which he carries a bundle
of thorns or brushwOod, for taking which on
Sunday he was confined in the moon. Some
of those, versed in such lore, explain that this
story undoubtedly had it's origin IN the incl
dent recorded in the 18th chapter OF the book
of Numbers, and 32d verse. With the ltal-
| ians Cain appears to have been the oHelluer.
The Jews have some Talmudlcal story tiat
Jacob is in the moon, and they believe his lace
is visible. Bishop Wilkins wrote that ''as the
forme of these spots, some Of the vulgar thinke
they represent man, and poets guess It's the
boy Eudymion, whose company she loves so
we'll that she carries him with her Others will
have it to he only the face Of a man, as the
moon is usually pictured but Alburtus thlnkeS
rather that it represents lyon, with his tall
toward the east and his head toward the west
and some others thought it to be much ike
fox; and certainly it is as much like lyon as
that in the Zodiake, or as the Ursa Minor is
like beare'
bedroom VENTILATION.-Is it necessary
to state that the sckening Odors so perceptible
at the first of the morning many ill-ventllated
sleeping apartment arise from the fact that Il
considerable volume of carbonc acid, with the
vapor of perspiration and other animal eXhala-