The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-05
A RESCUE.
An Incident of Kidnapinp DAYS.

| The sun was up and shining cheerily in the
tree-tops as PhGbus, who was its name bearer,
recovered his senses again, and he bathed his
| face, still lying down, and tore a piece of his
raiment off for bandage, and by the mirror of
a still, green pool of water, examined his wound
which was in the heshy part of his cheek-a lit
| tie groove or gutter, now choked with almost
dried blood, where the ball had ploughed line
1t had probably struck bone, but had not
broken it, and this had stunned him.
II was so ugly before that Ellenory wouldn't
more than half look at me-, Jimmy unused, IAN
now, 1 'spect, she'll never kiss that air cheek"
| He then bandaged his cheek roughly, sitting
| up, and took a survey of the scenery.
! The river was here full quarter of mile
| wide, on the opposite shore buffy, and in places
bold, but on the side where Phobus had drifted
with the tide, clutching his old scow with mortal
! grip, there extended point of level woods and
marsh or Cripple" 40 if by the action of some
| back water, and this low ground appeared to
| have a considerable area, and was nowhere
titled or fenced, or gave any signs of being
| visited
| But the opposite or northern shore was quite
| otherwise; there the river had wide bend or
| hollow to receive two considerable creeks. and
changed its course almost abruptly from west to
southwest giving grand view of its wide
| bosom for the distance of more than two miles
into Maryland; and the prospect was closed in
| that direction by whitish-looking something,
like lime or shell piles, standing against the
| background of pale blue woods and bluffs. =
Now, 1 never been this place before" Jimmy
Ph9bus muttered, but, by smoke! yon house
| looks to me like Betty Twiford's wharf, an to
save my iefe, can't help thinkin yon white
| spots down this side of the river air Sharptown.
| If that's the case which State am inl"
| He rose to his feet, bailed the scow, which was
nearly full of water, and began to paddle along
the shore, and sec ing something white, he landed
and parted the bushes, and found it to be stone
| of blush marble. bearing on one sidethe letter
NJ, and on the other the letter p and a royal
crown was also carved upon it.
''Yers o Lord Baltimore's boundary
| stones, Ph9bus exclaimed. Now see the ras-
cality o them kidnappersl Yon house. know is
Twiford's, because it's Almost on the State-line,
! but I'm ashamed to say it's leetle in Mary
| land. And that lane coming down to the wharf,
is my way to Joe Johnson's Pangymonum at his
| cross roads"
| my heads bloody and I'm wet as musk rat
so reckon | amt afraid of gittin' little mud
| dy," and with this the navigator stepped from
the scow in swamp nearly to his middle and
pulled himself up the slope by main strength.
| 81 believe my soul this yer is an island jim
my remarked; "a island surrounded with mud,
! that's wuss to git to than water island"
| The tall trees increased in size as he went on
and entered a noble grove of pines. through
whose roar, like an organ accompanied by a
human voice, the singing was heard
nearer and nearer, and, following the
track of previous feet, which had
| almost made path PhPbus came to q space
where an AK had laid the smaller bushes low
around large lobloly pine that spread its
| branches like roof only few feet from the
ground and there, fastened by a chain to the
| trunk which allowed her to go around and
around the tree, and tread a nearly bare place in
| the pine droppings or 'shats, sat black woman
| singing in long, weary throatsore wall
| little negro child, perhaps three years old,
was lying asleep on the ground at the woman's
| feet, in an old tattered gray blanket that might
| have been discarded from a stable. Near the
| child was wooden box in which were coarse
| loaf of corn bread and some strips of bacon, and
| a wooden trough followed out of a log, contained
water. The womans face was scratched and
| bruised, and, as she came to some dental sounds
| in her chant, her teeth were revealed, with
! several freshly missing in front, and her lips
were swollen and the gums blistered and raw.
| She glancedup as Phebus came in sight. looked
at him minute in blank curiosity, as if she did
not know what kind of an animal he was, and
then continued her song, YEARLY, as if she had
been singing it for days, and her mind had gone
into it and was out of her control. AS she
| moved her feet from time to time the chain rat
| ed upon her ankles.
'Well, )" said Jimmy eff this amt Pangymon-
UNI, reckon I'll find it at Johnsons Crossroads!
| Git up thar, gal, an let me what ails YOU
The woman rose mechanically, still singing in
the shrill, cracked, weary drone, and as she rose
| the baby awoke and began to cry and she stopped
| and took it up and, patting it with her hands,
sang on, as if she would fall asleep singing, but
| could not.
The chain, strong and rusty, had been very
recently welded TO her feet by blacksmith; the
| fresh rivet attested that, and there were also
| pieces of charcoal in thu pine strewings as if
| fire had been brought there for smiths uses
| Jimmy Phnbus took hold of the chain and ex-
| amined it link by link till it depended from
powerful staple driven to the heart of the pine
tree; though rusty. it was perfect in every part.
| and the condition of the staple showed that it
| wa ma " atnin cd in
secure various and successive persons while the
staple itself had been driven above the reach of
the hands. as by man standing on some plat
| form or on anothers shoulders.
Phoebus took the chain in his short powerful
arms, and giving little run from the root of
! the tree, threw all the strength of his compact.
heavy body into jerk and let his weight fall
upon it, but. did not produce the slightest i'm
| preston.
There's jess two people can unfasten this
chain" exclaimed Jimmy, blowing hard and
kneading his palms, after two such exertions
| zone of ems blacksmith and t'others a wood
chopper. GAL how did you git yerl'
| The woman, young and once comely person
| of about twenty eight years of age sang on a
moment as if she did not understand the ques-
| ton, till Phebus repeated it with kinder tone
Pore, abused creatur tell me as Your friend
amt none of these kidnappers. Git your pore,
| scattered wits together an tell friend of all
women an little children how he kin help you
fur times worth a dollar a second. an bloody
vultures are nigh by Speak Mary!'
The universal name seemed timely to this
woman; she stopped her chanting and burst into
tears.
My husband brought me here" she said, be-
tween her long sobs He sold me. give him
everything had and loved him, too, and he sold
meme and my baby
II reckon you don't belong fur down this way,
Maryi You don't talk like it."
mo, sir; belong to Philadelphia. was a
free woman and a widow. My husband left me
| n Ia "A and oh
another man come and courted me- handsome
mulatto man, almost as white as you, and
wanted me to be his wife; he promised me so
much and was 50 anxious about it. that l list
ened to him. o, he was beautiful talker and
my house and give him the money, and started
week ago to come to my new home Oh he
did deceive me so; he said he loved me dearly"