The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-10-27

. rst hack no the steep fall at the
no,,tst fend Of the pond. walking
.ernd ia tides we estimated its length
'V". .h.ao.ouarters Of mile. and ia
width from three TO four hnndred YARDS.
fjcep in its limped waters were 10 De
aeon the limbs Of large trees s'i'tchinS
mn their arms rs II beggipg 'of ono
more kiss from the joyous sun one
moro Whit Of mountain AR. lhe5e
,bev will never again enjoy lney are
.s ,nexorably buried IN iher "atery
90 ..ara IA are the victims OF >esuyius
.nspr the lava Of llerculum.
me FAMOUS LUCAS FAMILY.
I, os now late in the day. With le-
yret we found 1t necessary 10 Turn our
hacks upon this interesting spot Our
earnestly has been gfatiheo' ana Ne
turned with anxious STEPS IN me dircc-
ION of our horses. lett tied IN The viii
Jorn, "a below. They seemed as pleased
| 10 greet rs % we we.e 10 hnd them,
hon NJ hour or more after. we came
uoo, them lfctting and PAVING res
I'ssIv among the leaves and rocks. We
no,, d,scendcd the mountain. passed
tho mysterious cabin at the loot. ana
cross,ng the creek. found ourselves be-
Zorro n;shtfall safely lodged at the same
tavern perched on the hillside. In re-
counting the incidents Of the day 10 our
host no was astounded when informed ot
our leaving our horses tied m that forest.
ADDING that II any Of the struggling
mountaineers Of that region had found
,hon they would have been hurried ,u
/ A q An. 90
mo,e TO be seen by ourselves. l. ap-
peared. also. that We had gone some
what out Of our own way IN the dlrec-
lion of the small settlement where wc
had tried 20 get Information. We
i exnerienced shiycf Of Apprehension.
although now free from danger. when
he in formed Us that the man who bad
answered our call and presented so fof-
bidding an a-poc. was actually
the immediate .IepresontauVe of tue
famous Lucas family. 80 noted o. tht
criminal records OF that country. Nc
EXPRESSED his qualification and surprise
, that we had returned IA safety from
such an exposure 90 the Vicious Do
r 'stincts 81 that dangerous gang We
, could scarcely believe the facts b. de-
! tailed IN regard ID their present man
p ner Of living in that very caoin. lhe'
: should scarcely be- spoken of in ihe
5 hearing OK decent people W. Bad
e often heard OF thi, family. but We were
, not aware that any Of tnem were leii
. in this part of Giles county.
+. If the reader has never ara ~ them
n or their history. a short outline oi thDr
career may be appropriate before n'
p bring this sketch go close. Late iu the
D.. LAST century there lived on Doe creek.
I in Giles county. one r I'm Lucas. lh.s
n wild and remote region WAS az fhlt
. time avoided by Traveller, or account Oi
A the reputation Of us Inhabitants. Ran
h Lucas had several sons. One known a.
/. Dave. another Terry. and another lh1.
d In 1912. old Ran Lucas wa. ninety $500
3 wears Of age. and had lived INnr
A enough TO see most If bis progeny
q adopts IN crime of every sort, anl OBJ
Il be a witness 90 the execution Df
n several of his SON, ior capital
Is offences. lie once sand off nilsson Dave.
p that " he would Kill q man i0r twenty
= five cents. This promising youth Boz
L gan bis career as horse tl.ei whom
r ouiy nineteen years ul HeN. lie WIt
several times sent O. the 81 ntoutArt
for this crime. and afterwards iNr mur-
der. He killed two youths. One wae
{ his own cousin. BE- murdered p'd.
= dier. and afterwards killed a. p0Nr h.
: bjrer Tor his week 3 wages. lnr thIs
q be was at last hung. Nncn 900 iNe
y gallONs. AMI as the execut1ulr WAS
g about lo q Just The rope. Doe made $500
Z ATTEMPT o. bue of the hlu-mlu Dlr.
: aud died without the slightest -nHN Di
fear or remor-e.
The next son. Jerry. murdered % m>n
under most aggravatmg aud ienn-n
= circumstances He. too. WAS executed.
q and while undergoing the sentence OBJ
the law his Old father was amusing
' himself near the gall0Ws eating ginger
= cakes.
John Lucas. the third SOP. KILLED h.
own cousin M % pcrsonal difficulty Deb
: cause the latter was rash enough i0
! remind him that his brother Dave 1913.
then in the psuitenliary. For 'hrcfme
he would have been hung but tIa Do
was proved his cousin Dad lIu.
d vukod the quarrel. John HIn-
e ever. was condemned g. bong
- term in the peniteninfy. Many Nl ine
> grandchildren subs quentiy c0nunoa
ted ID the reputation II the family for
; viciousuess and deuiayi y. Within the
past thirty years many nave df1p
pearcd from the country. Some were
driven away and other, sent t0 OBJ.
State prison for hie. The females N'
the family were o. vicious rs the men.
q aud. in some RESPECTS not here to BE-
; mentioned. were probably worse. IN'
4 remnant left at the cabin we pl--00
were said 20 have inherited the chlrat
terstlcs OF their progenii0rs. They and
: their secluded haunt- Here regardea
4 with suspicion by the community an0
}; avoided As would be a den of reptiles
= Two days after our visit % the SAT-
= Pond aud the Bald Knob. We were near
y ing our original starting point. dehghi''
with the novelties we hal seen in ou
o ride. and regarding with prof. every
=, thing with which
I q