The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-09-12
A BRAVE ALABAMA HEROINE.
Romance and Reality of Mira. Annie P.
Shackleford's Life.
(From the Boston Globe.)

Alabama gives to the world true
heroine, whose life furnishes many
striking incidents, bringing out in full
relief her remarkable nerve power and
strength of character. History may
furnish examples of heroic conduct in
one particular direction, but none to
eqnal that of Alsbama's fair daughter,
Mrs Annie P. Shackle. ord, of Pleasant
Hill, Dallas county.
None who behold this charming wo-
mans fsultless form and winsome mar
ners would ever suspect that in that
fair form dwelt will invincible, spirit
irrepressible, nerve power that enables
her do and dare what few women ever
can or do.
A few years ago she gave her hand
and heart to her young hearts choice.
Her happiness was complete and un-
alloyed, and when the household was
gladiened by the advent of q cherub she
thought that nothing more could be de-
sired or was desirable. But the dread
scourge of consumption came and swept
away her companion, leaving her en-.
veloped in sadness and gloom. The very
brightness of her married life made her
sorrow the darker and gloomier. Her
father and mother having passed their
three score and ten, being invalids and
helpless, she, with 6lial love and heroic
determination, resolved to make it her
life work to take care of them and her
little boy. While attending to their
wants daily and nightly, as well as t.,
the duties of the household, she con-
dncts large farm, overlooking every
detail. The pressure upon her time
and energy is enormous, and her nerves
must be of steel to resist 90 much and
keep up the daily round.
Some twelve mouths ago she had rid
den up on horseback from the farm, and
hitching her horse outside, entered her
room to write an order for some supplies
she needed. While writing she heard
the shutters OF the window opening out
on the porch rattle, and snatching a
pistol from the mantel, jumped behind
the door. She had scarcely gotten there
before the shutters opened and in walked
burly negro, over six feet high, weigh
ing over one hundred and seyenty-6ye
pounds. He did not see her and went
straight to her dressing case from which
he took all her money. Mrs. s. tried TO
shoot, but the pistol, being uulosded,
simply snapped. This attracted the at
tention Of the negro With howl he
rushed at her, grabbed her with one
hand, while with the other. he tried to
cut her throat. He succeeded in inhict-
ing several wounds in her arm and one
| in her breast, the latter painful and
severe one. Our heroine. finding that
the mnzzle end was powerless, rever>ed
it, and rained blow after blow upon the
negro's head. This felled him to the
foor, and as he fell she sprang past,
and, procuring loaded pistol, cooked
it aud brought it to bear upon the pros
trate negro. Just as che was about to
pull the trigger, the negro made g leap
through the open windos and ran Ike
deer toward the woods. Although every
wound was bleeding profusely, and the
one IL the breast extremely painful,
Mrs. s., pistol in hand, ran out and,
leaping into the saddle, pursued the
fleeing negro. AS soon as she got
within shooting distance she took de-
liberate aim, and brought the miscreant
down, having shot him, through the
thigh. She stood over him with the
cooked pistol in hand for three qcarters
of on hour, until the officers arrived and
carried the negro off to jail,
In the conduct of her farm this year
she went on the bond Of twelve Of her
colored tenants for supplies, in sums
from 5000 to $500. Two of them, one
for $500 and the other $500, skipped ort
of Dallas county on July 4, leaving Mrs.
s. to pay the amounts. But they had
not then calculated on her push and
nerye. On the 5th of July she left
home, determined to run them down
and in. The run was long one. Start
ing from Selma. she visited Montgone-
ry, Calera, Shelby Iron Works, Burn
ingham, Pratt's mines, Alice mines,
Atlanta, Augusta, Macon, Rome, Jack
sonville, Fla, Montgomery again, Cald
wells mills, Greenville, Miss; Mobile,
New Orleans, back to Shelby Iron
Works, Montgomery and Birmingham.
While at the Richards House she saw
one of the negro men pass by. He did
not see her. Hastily procuring pistol
she started in pursuit on August at
noon, and the sun was hot as fury. By
this time the negro had caught up with
the other man she was in pursuit OF.
They discovered her, and for fifteen
blocks the race was lively one. But
the plucky and invincible widow won.
When she got near enough she shot at
random several times, and demanded the
fugitives to halt or she would kill them.
remembering the sureness OF her aim,
they halted. The police came up and
placed handouts on them.
Fifty dollars being demanded as the
price for delivering the negroes to the
Sheriff of Dallas county, the plncky
widow refused to give it and took them
herself. At 4.20 that evening she
started with her prisoners to Selma, ex-
pecting to go through without delay.
But at Calers she had to stay until $50
the next morning. Here she guarded
them all night, and it is said a cold
shudder crept through the darkies'
frames whenever they saw the ''cold
iron" in the steel-nerved hand of the
widow. They were as quiet as lambs.
On the I'd Of August she turned them
over to the sheriff OF Dallas county,
after race of twenty-seven days.
Rescued in Mid-Ocean.
BosroN, Sept. 5.-The Belgian steamer
Pieter de Coninck, which arrived here to-
lau from AntMern brought Captain IYer.