Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-04-16
KENTUCKY BANDITS.
How Unreal They ara Compared with
the Comic Opera Kind.

How Unreal They ara Compared with
the Comic Opera Kind
From tie louisville (Kv.l Commercial.
81 never was SO frightened in my life,v
said Miss May Fielding, the prima donna
of the Carleton Opera Company, recently,
referring to the collision the company had
with the Rowan county bandits at More
head last Thursday, when Mr.. w. 7.
Carleton, the baritone, came near being
shot.
"What did the bandits look like?" in
duired Commercial reporter.
'Weli, now, that's the funniest part of
the whole business, don't you know
said Miss Fielding, taking long breath,
'sphey were not bandits. Pm perfectly
familiar with bandits. Why, I'ye seen
Mr.. Carleton play FRA Diavolo' ever so
many times and nave known at least
dozen men who sang Devilshoof in sTbe
Bohemian Girl Why, l would know a
bandit with my eyes shut in the dark.
just before we got TO Morehead the train
people had been telling US about the
Rowan county desperadoes, but we did
not expect to see any Of them. When the
train stopped three great t-a-l- t-h-i-n
men came into the coacn with long pistols
on their sh0ulders.''
''PIstols on their shouldersl p echoed the
reporter.
81 presume they were pistols ex-
planned Miss Fielding, with look of in
tense surprise and inquiry. ssTheY had
triggers and barrels just like pistols"
'Rliles, guess" explained the repOr-
ter.
"They might have been rifes-that's
So" said Miss Fielding with a smile Of
delight. perhaps they were rifles. Pm
not familiar with anything but these
young pistols with which they shoot at
three-sheet poster cuts in the target gal
leries.
"Anyhow," she continued, merrily, 81
thought the men were trappers, you
know, going out to hunt. So | asked one
Of them if he found many rabbits.
"sRabbitsp he said, with fr0wn like
a railroad tunnel. Rabbits, woman and
he seemed to get madden at every second
Great God, rabbits don't go; Pm huntin'
for men,
&" Great goodness [ said, frightened to
death, we can't spare any but one or two
chorus singers. You can take your
choice, SIR
"You see, l was afraid he would change
his mind and 90 to hunting women. I
started to go back to my seat, when Just
then another one of the men leaped to his
feet in the aisle, and, pointing his gun to-
ward me, shouted:
+" Stop therep
"Of course ! stopped. / never was so
scared in my life. / said to the man:
oh, Phi stop, sir; you needn't be
afraid of me; [ didn't mean anything,
SIR
''I amt talkin' to you,' he said, and
then | saw he was looking over my
| shoulder and l turned and saw Mr.. Garlic
ton coming in the door from the smoking
If seams that Mr. (tov1ofnu bnI "a
bottle Of buttermilk in his pocket and was
trying to pull II out. l couldn't see what
harm there was in bottle of buttlemilk,
but Capt. Sam Gaines, of Frankfort, told me
that a bottle filled with buttermilk was
enough to arouse Rowan county men to a
tremendous pitch Of desperation. Some
how they regard it as a dead waste of bot
tie. While the men were occupied with
Mr.. Carleton | asked one of the eFakemen
who they were, and he said they were the
Rowan county bandits. But | don't be-
lieve word of it. They didn't have any
ribbons in their hats and there was not
glimpse of silk tights anywhere. They
didn't have even guitar, and they didn't
look like they had been shaved for a
month. Why, II Mr.. Carleton looked like
those men when he sang, Fra DiavolO' |
wouldn't go on with him. After it was
all over | went up to one of them and
asked him if he was real bandit and if
he could sing Fra Dlavolo.' He looked at
me a moment in the most ungentlemanly
manner and gr0wled out:
"tNo, marin, / amt no bandit. Pm a
wolf from the head waters of Bitter
Crick, whar the higher you 80 the bitter
er the water and the hungrier the
wolves. l don't sing; howl when it's
my night
Il knew at first that they were not
bandits" concluded Miss Fielding, with
look of absolute conviction, "beeause Pve
seen so many bandits, YOU know. ! don't
knowwhat they They were not wolves
either, and it was easy enough to see the
man was lying about that. ] don't know
what they were, but Pm real glad they let
US OFF,