Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1885-12-24
NUMBER 18.
CAPTURING A TOWN.

How q western fsTerrorr Ram
Things FOR a WhEle-FAfs Nemesis.
A burly form-a thick necklace
covered with bnstles-hands covered
with hair-a voice ike the below Of a
bull--a natural swagger to his gait
eyes like mad dog's-mouth no cleaner
than hog's-a clustering, roaring, ma
Iicious brute!
Such was the Terror.
A mile away from the little town Be
halted his horse and braced his courage
with half a pint Of whisky. It was a
fluid which would have killed dog; he
smacked his lips over it. He pulled out
his revolvers and saw they were loaded
and in order. He drew his bowie-knife
from its sheath and tried the keen edge.
He was going to capture the town ana
run it.
This thick-necked human brute, this
staggering, drunken, Boosting, fighting
beast, proposed to intimidate, overawe,
shoot, slay and kill. The people had
never seen him; he would show himself
off Some of them had never heard Of
him; be would see that they remembered
his name and the date of his visit.
In the town men were at work on the
streets-in shops. Women sat in their
doors or passed to and fro. From the
open windows of the school house came
the voices Of the children aslessons were
recited. It was an hour of peace.
"Yil Yil YiI Shoot Crack! BangF
The Terror had struck the town. In
five minutes be had captured it. Two
men lay dead in front of the store-an-
other at the door Of the blacksmith shop
two more were groaning with grievou5
wounds.
"Whoopi waugh Come out, ye
skulksI Pm the only and original Ter
rorl Hundreds initiate memo one
equals my styleI Who OWES this bloody
town9 Whar hev yer fghtin' men hid
away2 Whoopl Heven't ye got woman
in this town who kin aim a gun9 Waugh
ye set of babies!''
There was a woman. Her husband
was the first man shot, and her eyes werr
upon him as he fell. she did not scream
out nor faint away. Her face turned
whittier than chalk-she gasped for breath
two or three times, and then her teeth
shut hard. The sewing fell from her
hand, and she rose up, walked into the
bedroom, and was back in moment with
a rifle. Kneeling down at the window
she pushed the barrel over the sill, aimed
straight at the Terror's head, and pulled
the trigger.
''Whoopl Waugh They call me
the TerrorI Come out and see me and
shake
He threw up bis arms as the rife
cracked, and lurched out of the saddle
to the ground. the bullet raking his
skull. Three or four men ran to him at
once, and finding that he was wounded
and stunned they tied him stout and fast.
"say, men," be called, as his senses
came back. ''What does this meanl
Unite mel If was only in fun, you know.
I'm the best hearted fellow in the world;
wouldn't harm chicken
''You must diel"
1t was the voice Of the woman who
had fred the shot, and she still held the
rifle in her hands. Twenty feet away
was the lifeless body of her husband.
She did not even look at it.
''You don't mean itI' gasped the Ter
ror. "You wouldn't murder me for my
little jokem
"Get ropeW
The voice of the woman had the ring
Of steel in it and her eyes had such
stony. merciless look that men retreated
step. A rope was brought.
'For Gods sakeI don't murder me ~
whined the Terror. "Ohl you won't
you can't-you don't dare toi I'm sorry
took your town-won't never do such
thing againl sayl you may have my
horse and shootersp
The woman made moose with her own
hands.
''Throw the free end over that hmbl"
she commanded.
"Ohl have mercyI I'm an innocent
maal This woman is crazv-keep her
awayl"
With her own hands she placed the
moose over his head, and then stepped
back and said:
ssEvery one take holdr'
nOhl you musn'tl I'm q bad man
want time to repentl I can't al.
this
"Pull him upl"
Twenty strong arms walked away with
the rope, and the terror was pulled ten
feet from the ground. He kicked
struggled whirled round and round
and died the death Of dog.
Not until all was over did the womans
stony gaze leave his face When the
body hung limp and lifeless she turned
away, walked over to that Of her hus-
band, and sinking down beside it shc
mourned and wept and could not be
comforted. She was woman again.
Half mile below the town is head
board beside the highway. On it il en-
graved:
.......s...... ....-..-.. ...........-
THE TERROR.
.s'Humbled to the Dust by a Womans.
..s...-. ....I.-....a .....ass-. ...-'.....