St. Paul daily globe., 1888-08-26

and comfortable by the citizens of Lake
port and their wives, and at the end Of
a week began to show signs of return
ing reason.
A STORY OF LOVE.
One day she called the wife of the
sheriff and told her the story that led to
the discovery of the men who had put
out the counterfeit money. She said
she was born of wealthy English par
entS and was highly accomplished, but
at the age of eighteen years she fell in
love with young sea captain by the
name of Woods. The captain wanted
to marry her, but her parents strenu-
ously objected to such an alliance, and
in fit of desperation she one day
sailed away with the captain to neigh
boring seaport, where they were mar
ried.
For time they lived happily, but the
captain began to neglect his young wife
and left her much of the time alone as
he sailed the seas. He suddenly con-
cluded to give up his business as a
sailor, and as he had accumulated con-
siderable money he set sail for Califor-
MIA and purchased ranch, changing
his name, for what purpose the woman
knew not, to James Essex.
Woods brought from England with
him two men who worked for him on
the ranch. After settling in California,
Woods acted so strangely that the curl
oSlty of his wife was aroused. He would
leave the house early in the evening
aud would not return until along past
midnight, when he would be accom-
panied by the two men, who occupied
the loft.
The woman determined to set a watch
on her husbands movement, and ac-
cordingly when he left the house one
evening she followed him. The barn
was quite a distance from the house
and was built with the rear end against
low hill. The earth had been cut
away and the barn set against the fiat
surface. Toward the barn Woods went
through the darkness, closely followed
by his wife. He entered the building,
walked to the rear, and, climbing on to
the haymow, pulled back soma hay
from the side of the barn and dropped
out Of sight in the cavity
A WOMAN'S TERRIBLE FATE.
With wildly beating heart the woman
clambered into the NOW and down into
the hole in the hay, where she found
herself in front of a door in the side of
the barn. She opened this and entered
a passage that led into the hill. 1t was
Intensely dark. but she CROPPED her way
along until further advance was stopped
by door, beyond which she could hear
the murmur of voices. She was crouch
ing in the dark trying to summon up
courage to open the door, when it
swung on its hinges and her husband
came out. He saw the crouching figure
Of his wife, and with an oath caught
her by the arm and dragged her into the
room, where the two men stood by a
furnace, with sleeves rolled up, and
about them on the floor were thrown
shining dollars and half dollars just
cast. 1t suddenly daWned upon her
that her husband was counterfeiter.
The excitement was too great for her
and she swOoned. When she recovered
her senses she was strapped to the wall
in a room in the house and there she
had remained for nearly three years,
subjected to terrible cruelty by her hus-
band, who SwOre she would never leave
the room alive to get him into trouble.
One night she managed to escape. How
she knew not. She was mad. She
climbed through the window, and the
next she knew she was when she found
herself in the sheritf'S house.
The wOman'S story created the wild
est excitement in LakepOrt, and posse
of men, headed by the sheriff, started
for the Essex ranch. When they en-
tered the house they found Woods, alias
Essex, stretched lifeless at the door
of the room where his wife had
been imprisoned, with a bullet hole
through his brain. His two ac-
completes were not found and
were never heard from. The cave back
of the house was searched and a great
quantity of coin and delicately made
dies found. Thus was broken up the
worst gang of cOunterfeiters that ever
puzzled detective. The wife of Woods
lived in Lakeport several years, where
she taught school, but she never fully
recovered from the shock on discover
ing her husbands guilt, and at last died
of melancholia.
The barn on the Essex ranch has been
moved, but the cave that was occupied
by the counterfeiters is still there, and
is used for a potato ''hOle'' or cellar.
This is the story told of the Langtry
ranch by the settlers of Lake comfy,
and it claimed that the ranch is haunted
by ghOStly figures that fit around and
through the house, and sometimes lights
are seen around the entrance to the po-
tato 'hole." while pistol shots and
shrieks and groans are heard nightly in
the dwelling.