Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1885-05-09
An n Onest Ibf~f

A representative Of the Lancaster
Ne Era b IS had face to face inter
view with Abe Buzzard, the Welsh
NJ ,untaia terror, bandit or outlaw,
wbic1e he may be rermed, and Of
course is ahe 70 tell more about Abe's
d res aud iutenti ms than those who
have been 81 unfortunate as TO be in
troduced % nj IL aud have been honor.
ed with us visits at useasouable
hours Of h. eight. Tas Era man has
at least ,e-n able 10 lay before the
public As-,'s version of the reasons
which III pei him TO lead Ffe in
which h. compelled to carry his life
in his hauJ aud consider every man
outside OF tis c,nhdenc- an enemy, and
in which ne il compelled TO BIZ an
enemy 10 everybody.
This distinguished free booter, while
admitting hat he was a thief and owes
the county Of L lncaster an honest four
years term of service in all, does not
owe nine years more which the county
claims and the payment Of which he has
evaded by walking out of jail and not
returning to it until matters are adj
Indicated and Justice done him. He
is willing he says to go right back vol
UNFAIRLY into all and serve out honest
ly the four years Of his time he owes
the county, but those nine disputed
years that he says the county wants
him to serve for somebody else's crime
he says he will not serve, no, he will
die first before he submits to such an
injustice.
While he admits that he com nitted
one robbery for which he honestly owes
four years imprisonment, he proposes
to help the county to settle the disputed
claim Of nine years which he says he
does not owe, by convictiHg the real
culprits. He says he knows who they
are, and knows all about the robberies
they should be convicted for and fol
which he was uujustly convicted, and
unless this great wrong is righted, Abe
proposes 10 fight it out on the line he
has been pursuing.
Much of what this bold Mounta
robber thief said to the Era man may
be true. II not unfrequently happens
that when man commits q crime In
the community, everything else thai
goes wrong in that community is i'm
puted TO him. So 1t may have beer
with Abe Buzzard. His nam,
having gone before the people as al
outlaw and robber, others with i'm
punity may have committed robberie.
and while they took the sw,g CAV
Abe all the credit or discount whicheve
it may be considered
Many a man thus starts on the dow
hill course in life. Either by accider
or design he steps aside from the striC
paths of integrity and rectitude, an
thencefor:h he is loaded with the sins
other people as well as his own. n
wonder he sinks under the burthen an
becomes an outcast, nay worse, an on
law like Abe Buzzard, who says he d,
sires to, and would return to Il
practice of An honest life If the Peep
would let him do 30. In Abe's ca
there seems to be more than mere i'd
expression Of fippant sentiment. I
seems not to desire to escape punis
ment-only he says he will not subm
to bear the punishment that should
melted out to the real guilty culprit
the real guilty Larties who commit.
the robberies for which he was Civ,
nine years, but which he has not ser
ed yet, and says he does not intend
serve.
1t looks to us from this distant stan
point tina, Lancaster County would
making no compromise of her digni
nor honesty by taking Abe at his wo
and letting him come back to ia
which he proposes to do, witho
constable or tip-ssave. and serve out t
four years he says he honestly owes t
county. AT the end of those four yea
OF service, Abe proposes to lead
honest lit7. We understand the a
thorities o. Lancaster County ha
under consideration the acceptance
A res proposition. Certainly nothil
will be loss by it, and much may
gained by it, At any rate, Abe will
10 Jail four years, provided he does n
take offense a. something and walk o
OF it, with the possibility by the a
and information be will give, of brea
ing up The rhleviDg that is done in t
east end of Lancaster County, and {
tribu: ed to Abe Buzzard.