Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1885-06-19

Of "Uncle john" which hung over the
door between the two apartments.
Then he closed and barricaded as best
he could tho doors OF the cottage and
waited.
He had not long to wait, for very
soon the posse, composed OF . dozen
men, halted in front OF the dwelling.
and tho leader advanced and raped
loudly on the door.
IL is probable that the posse had lin
gered little, knowing the direction in
which Mrs. Richie had fled with her
child, and guessing that the family TO
whom she would impart tho informa-
ton of the destruction of her own DWELL
ing would bo frightened thereby into
leaving also, and thus enable them 10
avoid the scene which, in justice, it
must be said was no pleasure to them;
and evidently they thought that tho
ruse had succeeded, for the leader of
the squad remarked MS he halted the
men;
"Guess we shan't have TO frighten
anybody to death here to get them to
leave.
He was right. The occupant OF the
cottage was not frightened, but in
another minute tho officer was, for lie
heard the click of rifle lock and
knew that there was not only some
body within, but that that somebody
meant business; and, hastily stepping
back off the porch, he said TO the men:
Nobody at home here; guess we've
done enough for one day, anyhow;
let's quit and 90 homc.n Aud in
another moment the whole posse was
out upon the road and headed in the
direction from which they came.
II is more than possible, it is prob
able, that the officer did not intend to
destroy the house from which this little
Hemingway had determined to de-
fend at the risk of his life.
1t was one OF the best cottages in the
whole ranch and was too valuable to
be destroyed if the family could be
frightened into leaving without; hence
those nearest it had been destroyed
first, with the expectation that il would
result in its abandonment il not i'm
mcdiatcly, at least within very short
time; and the purpose of the posse in
stopping at all had been to add to the
fright of its occupants by threats and
by their presence; instead of which
their leader had received fright him
self, which induced him to move lit
tie more rapidly than was his wont,
and to keep his person well sheltered
behind the wagon in which was de-
posted the axes and iron bars, by
means of which they had carried on
their work of destruction at other
places.
When Erastus was satisfied that the
men were really gone, he unbarricaded
the door and returned to the anxious
group behind the bluff.
At first they could not be persuaded
to go back to the house, the little girls
crying and begging their mother to
''hilch right up and go back to the
States where at least their lives were
safe; but finally venturing far enough
out TO take look, they saw approach
ing man, whom Mrs. Ritchie recog-
nizcd as a neighbor, and were rcas-
sured, ~
The neighbor proved to be another of
the evicted squatters looking for shelter
for his honselcss family, and when John
Parsons and Bill Ritchie reined up their
heated ponies in front of the cottage
that night, it was the only one standing
within a circle of two miles on every
side, and n dozen families with their
little stores of household goods were
domicilcd within, or camping beneath
its hospitable shadow