Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-10-06
. Tramp's Revenge-Heroism Of 8
Young Farmer.

a Cnrllllug scene was witnessed last
night at the burning of a saw-mill ON
the Six-mile Creek, south OF Wesleyyille.
a few miles from this city. One Of the
owners, Dallas Crawford, drove from
his premises a gang of tramps who re-
quested food and lodging, but were un-
willing to work a few hours in pay
ment. A vagrant who refused to 90.
and drew a deadly weapon, received the
contents of a shot gun in his leg. He
lurked around several DAYS, waiting for
revenge. After supper last evening he
saw Mr.. Crawford's two little daughters
enter the mill, on the upper floor of
which q play room had been partitioned
off for them. Following them the wretch
fastened the door, while the children
were playing inside. Descending to the
basement he piled heaps of infamma-
BILE material in several points and then
set the whole on fire. The fiend's inten-
ton was to burn the girls alive, in retail
iation for the shot imbedded in his flesh
by their father. In a few moments the
whole lower portion of the mill was en-
veloped in flames. Ingress and egress
alike were cut off and the girls seemed
doomed to die the most agonizing of
deaths.
They crawled through a hole upon
the roof, but were afraid to jump, as the
distance was thirty-five feet and the
ground thickly dotted with Jagged
boulders. No ladders were avail
able, nor could the flames have
permitted their use even If
at hand. The father and spectators
turned away sickened, m%omentarily ex-
pecting to see the rafters yield and the
children disappear into the roaring
flames. The mother, shrieking that II
her darlings could not be saved she
would perish with them, rushed to the
blazing building, but strong arms pre-
vented the execution of her frenzied
resolution. At this instant q deliverer
appeared, a young farmer named Alfred
K. Bonnell, carrying a coil of rope to
which was fastened a strong iron hook.
Hastily strapping climbing irons to his
legs, he assembled a tall oak tree near
the mill. In a moment he stood on q
limb high above the children, who
gazed at him with eager eyes. The
young man threw the rope so precisely
that the hook caught in the smaller
girls dress. Drawing the cord hand
over hand, the girl swung clear and
was lowered safely into her father arms.
The crowd stood like statues as Bon
nell cast his hook a second time to
snatch a human being from a death
that but a few seconds before appeared
inevitable. He succeeded in getting
the rope to the other child, who
hung suspended in the air, her clothing
catching fire as she left the p~erilous
place. She was saved, however. with
out being much burned. When the in
trepid hero regained the earth he sank
down o~verpowered by intense excite
ment, and was carried away. not q Sec
ond too soon for the safety of himself
and friends. The boiler in the burning
mill, surrounded by a mass of glaring
Goals, exploded, the defamation being
heard for miles. Fragments of IRON
plates, red-hot farming machines and
flaming timbers were hurled hundreds
of feet, though, fortunately, not a per-
son was injured. The i%ncendiary tramp
fled from the scene of his crime on a
stolen horse, and escaped the vengeance
of the furious farmers.-Erle Special to
| PHILADELPHIA Press.