Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-09-24


CAPEs WHILE HER CAPTORs ARE
AT sUPPER--H FLIG II 7
THROUGH A MICHIGAN FOREST,
DETROIT, MICH, Sept. l5.-The
recent abduction OF Mrs. Lewellyn
Martin, of Maple township, near
Newaygo, Mich, is a remarkable
case. Why the lady was abducted
is a mystery. Young Martin, who
is a well.tO.do farmer, married Miss
Fannie Mervlne about four months
ago. She was a New York lady,
and is very handsome. After she
had been married a month, a
strange young man from the East
appeared on tie scene. He called
upon the bride two or three times
when the husband was absent
from the house, and on one Occa-
sion she went ont driving with him.
1t began to be whispered that the
stylish stranger was a former suitOr
for Mrs. Martins hand, and soon
stories gained currency about her
earlier life, which, if true, proved
her to be a coquette. One day the
stranger disappeared as quietly as
he had come, and the episode had
served its nine days wonder, when
the abduction took place. Last
Sunday Martin left the house with
his wife in q buggy for a ride, as
was his usual Sunday afternoon
custom. At six o'clock he returned
home and told remarkable story
of his wife's abduction from che
buggy by several men, all of whom
appeared to be strangers, but none
of whom he would be able to iden.
tify on account of the darkness,
and because they had partly dis
guised themselves by turning up
their coat collars. He claimed that
the men came out of a dense copse,
through which they were driving
about an hour after leaving home,
and asked him the way to this
village; that be stopped the horse
for the purpose of giving the men
the desired direction, when two Of
the men passed around to the left
side Of the buggy where his wife
sat, one came around to the back
of the buggy to where he sat, and
a fourth, who had asked the way
to Newaygo, remaining where he
had stopped in the centre Of the
road near the horses head. Martin
thought their action was peculiar,
and hurriedly giving the requested
information, started to drive on.
At this moment the man in the
road grabbed the horse by the bit
and, drawing a revolver, command
ed Martin to be quiet. The man
OH his right at the same moment
showed a pistol in his face, and told
him the penalty of moving was
death. The men on the bridge
side of the vehicle then seized Mrs.
Martin, pulled her gently from the
carriage and started for the woods.
The two men who guarded Martin
remained behind, probably ten min
utes, keeping him covered with
their revOlvers. At the end of ten
minutes, as Martin thinks, they
told him he could drive on, but be-
fore giving him this permission,
unfastened the tugs from the whlf-
he-tree, so he had to get out and
make them fast before proceeding
While he was thus engaged the
men disappeared. He hurried
home, and soon a posse of his
friends were in pursuit, but no trace
of the abducting party could be
found. At the time many persons
did not believe Mr.. Martins story,
and thought it an attempt to pre-
serve the family honor, and that
Mrs. Martin had elOped. This
gossip continued until yesterday,
when the husband was Over-joyed
at his wife's return. She came
home in company with j. ID. Robb,
a farmer. Mrs. Martin says that
after the men abducted her, she
was taken some distance and put
into a buggy between two men ;
that they drove for two or three
hours, but on the matter of time
Mrs. Martin is far from positive.
The men offered her no violence,
and treated her with the greatest
respect. She inquired where they
were taking her, and was told to
wait and see. She did not see any
thing of the other members of the
abducting party after leaving her
husband. During the ride her
mind was so occupied with schemes
to Outwit her capt0rs and escape
that she did not notice in which
direction they were going. The
men stopped about eight o'clock,
as near as she can Judge, at a creek
to water the horse and eat supper.
One man got out, took a bucket
from under the buggy seat, and
unchecked the horses, while he
went to the creek for water. Mrs.
Martin then jumped from the buggy
and, with a force born of despera-
ton, dashed away over field and
into an adjoining woods. She
heard the men following her and
ran on, fear giving her wings. FL
nally exhausted, she sank to the
ground, expecting the men to come