Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-01-07
mally in tho intense stiffness. 1t proved

TO be a man clothed In tatters, with
the fragments Of heavy iron shacklos
IN" to his wrists and ankles. The
nalis.-. the strange visitor
hair and beard O. - former
were tangled aid tihkct,rt. uD...
hanging below his Shoulders Tha
brute stretched his full length out BY
the fire. and giving grunt Of satsfac.
ton fell into q deep sleep. The occu.
pant Of the bed, realizing that at day.
light she would inevitably bc discov.
cred, cast her eyes wildly around for q
hiding.placc. The hcavily-curtaincd
recess in one Of the windows caught
her eye, and she instantly resolved to
make an effort to reach II. Raising
herself on her hands, she crept noise
lcssly from the bed. and reached tho
window in safety. From this point OF
vantage she looked with agonizing
dread on the sleeping brute: Over.
come with fatigue and fear, she was al.
most in the act OF sinking to the floor
when she suddenly became aware OF
the baying of hounds and the rapid
hoof.bcats Of galloping horses. They
approached nearer and nearcr, I'LL
she could distinguish the cx.
cited voices Of the riders. She
realized suddenly that they were
on the track Of the strange In.
trudcr, and silently prayed for immc-
diatc succor. The voices died away in
the distance, grew louder, and then,
sank fainter, the alternate conflict of
hope and despair nearly rendering her
frantic. They again approached closer,
till they seemed to be Just outside the
cabin door. While listening she had
anconsciously dropped the curtain
folds from her face. and suddenly
glancing in the direction of the fugi-
tive, she saw that he had also been
awakened by the confusion, and hav-
ing risen 20 his feet was glaring at her
face with an expression that left no
doubt as to his madness. For mo-
mcnt she gazcd iixcdly into his eyes,
and then made an involuntary move-
mcnt toward the door. The spell
which held the maniac was broken,
and he sprang toward her with wild
snarl. The unfortunate lady gave q
scream of despair, and sank sensclcss
to the floor. As her eyes closed to un-
consciousness she became dimly aware
OF bursting crash and n terrific strug-
gle around about her. When she again
came to she was lying In bed
in her aunt's residence, sur
rounded by weeping relatives. The
terrible shock incident to the night OF
horror resulted in an aggravated at
tack of brain fever, the effect of which
was such rs to unscttlc her reason. The
str3ugest part of the story is, that dur
,n3 her illness ncr hair, which was OF
beautiful chestnut tingc. began to
change color, and ultimately became
white rs YOU see il now. This, too, In
the period Of u few weeks. She is at
long intervals apparently conscious OF
our presence, but has been pronounced
hopclessly incurablc by eminent physi-
clans. The maniac was the son Of a
neighbor, and had been mad from
birth. He was considered so danger
ous as to cause his being chained to the
wall of an outbuilding. The night my
aunt arrived at her destination he had
broken his chains and made his escape.
His friends who made the discovery
shortly after 1t happened secured u
bloodhound and started on his trail
They traced him to the cabin. and had
sent servant for the key when my
aunts scream told its own story. and
caused them TO break the door down
aud ovcrpowcr the mailman. who
fought like tiger. The hostess never
got over the terrible shock even to the
day of her death. and could never hear
il mentioned without her eyes filling
with tears.-St. Louis Globe Democrat