The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1885-01-09

| hopperS and prairie dog~ were keeping up
/ their inccssaut sounds, but All else was still.
/ Dtsmountng, the elder hOrseman SAID
! Bill, / wonder if We will have the same
/ luck we had when stopping here one year
ago ." His companion answered Il don t
/ know; they told me at the camp below the
cabin was haunted that lights and strange
/ sounds are seen and heard in the cabin after
4 nl0htfaiI, one man saying that some evening
I since, having 70 pass here, be heard voices
and the sound of some one imploring for his
/ life and then followed blows and prOans,
after which all was dark 30 we must expect
to see something. Let's open the door any
wav''
The door creaked on lis hinges and. look
/ ing into the shadowy room from the bright
SUNLIGHT, nothing AT first was seen. Then,
I simu ltaneOus from both, CRY of horror
/ There. hanging to one of the rafters, was
the form of a man, whose protruding tongue
and eyes and blackened face gave CHASTITY
evidence of death by stiangulati0n An
overturned stove showed that the crime was
/ self committed and, looking around, they
saw a folded paper on the one table in the
room, which in the strange story therein
told made the manner Of death and its mo-
/ tive perfectly clear. On number of close
] " written pages directed ITO whoever finds
this" was a remarkable narrative as fol-
/ loyws
"Oh, the horrible remOrse of the murder
er, of the man who. in defiance of all the
laws of God and man takes the life of his
| fellow being Sleeping or waking, alone or
among men, the terrible Wis ion of his crime
haunts him ever; but for the fratricide
damned for here and for eternity. there is
4 no rest, no hope. ! was the son of a Pres
byterian minister in an Eastern town AL
/ though had received a good education, I
! was always of a wavward and restless dis
. position, and at the age of %. ir spite of the
/ tears and.prayers of a loving mother and the
/ express commands of nv father, l left nv
/ pleasant home and came out West, excited
by the numerous stories of danger and ad-
venture among the Indians. Besides nv
parents had a sister several years Younger
and a baby brother scarcely FIVE years old.
After terrible, rough experience as team.
ster and miner, | managed in the latter pur-
suit to acq ire several thousand dollars in
California. | then embarked In the cattle
business, fencing in a small range, and TAX.
iug the wOrn-out cattle which had pulled
the heavy teams across the plains, feeding
and caring for them number Of weeks. at
the end of which time they would be in a
good condition and I would sell them for
good sum in San Francisco. As nv herd in.
creased l enlarged ny rancho, which was in
beautiful valley near the mountains
zone day there was a tremendous tresbet
the greatest ever known since the country
was settled. All my cattle were drowned
d rI I
the West, mining in the gulches with rather
poor success. At last, driven by continued
bad luck, l fell into evil ways and eambJed
and drank, and many time nearly starved.
Every new mining excitement found me one
of the first in camp, but I had become as
dissOlute and unprincipled as the worst and
would shrink at no crime. Finally came the
Pixies Peak and other Colorado excftements
and found my way here. For time I was
moderated successful as a CuIch miner. but
the pay streak ran ont and I bitterly real
ized one day that my stock Of provisions
was exhausted, with nothing to repenish it,
While in this embittered state of mind feel
ing that luck was against me and in the
most desperate Frame a stranger came to
/ my cabin and sought shelter and lodging
/ told him he was welcome to the IOdoing
but that had nothing to eat Not dream
ing Of the terrible temptation he was plac-
ing before me, he quietly unbuckIed a belt
from around his body and emptied out a
/ considerable store of gold coin, saving he
could soon remedy that deficiency How I
glOated over the wealth he exposed. and the
/ demon possessing me / suddenly raised a
huge club and felled him to the floor. A
moment after l would have given worlds to
undo the cOwardly crime when I saw his
fair golden hair da5bling in a pool of blood
on the door
Fearing that some one would soon come
and discover me 1 quickly rifled bis pockets,
and noticed gold chain around bis neck
/ Pulling this out lOeket was attached TO the
end of it, which as 1 jerked it out opened.
disclosing the face of my own mother At
the same moment | glanced at an envelope
that was in one of the pockets and realized
the horrible fact that | had slain nv own
brother, my baby brother, who twenty wears
before had put his arms around my neck
/ and kissed me before left home at once
[ seemed possessed of all the demons of hell.
[ Rushing from the house l jumped on my
brothers horse, started on mad gaIlop up
the side of the gulch on to the high ridge
beyond, until, reaching the main road, l
never drew rein until reached Denver,-
Thence after very short stop, took the
train south, travelling through Colorado,
New and Old Mexico in various WAYS, but
going always ever haunted by the memory
of the horrible crime. Thus [ travelled
with no peace save that of the damned
seeking danger in every form, but always
coming out unscathed until, wearied out by
my life of horror. trying in vain to escape
the awful images continually conjured be-
fore me by my excited brain by an influence
for which l could not account, | found my
self at the end of a year at the scene of my
great crime. With the brand of Cain on my
brow, l suffered untold agonies and resolved
to end it all"
Inclosed in this strange communication
was the address of his parents, with re
quest that the finder OF his body should com
municate the fate of the brothers to theil
parents.
FRIENDs.--People who have warm friend.
are healthier and happier than those whC
have none. A single real friend is a treasure
worth more than gold or precious stone.--
Money can buy many things good and evil
All the wealth in the world could not buy
friend OF pay you for the loss of one. 9