Omaha daily bee., 1890-09-02
A PREACHERS PISTOL.
He Uses it as an Argument That He
Should Not e Robbed.

j. p. Mccullough, pastor of the Bap
list church in Nyack, read an advertise
ment in New y Ork paper to the effect
that Holstein bull and COW would be
sold cheap at the Blue Stone yards,
543 West Thirty-ninth street." this ony.
says New y ork dispatch to the Globe
Democrat. Mr.. Mccullough wanted
Holstein, so, as he is southern man,
he put a pistol in his pocket and
went in quest of the animal. There
we're no Blue Stone yards at
the number given in the news
paper, but, after passing the review of
several knots of particularly vicious
looking toughs, the dominic found a
long stable shed running back from the
street between tall tenement and apple
of rock shanties. The tenement is
"Hell's Kitchen and the ocks 'Sebas-
topol, both of unsavory reputation. A
man was washing buggy in the shed.
When asked about the cow, he pointed
the inquirer back to the rear end of what
seemed a succession Of sheds. Three
blanket covered horses were stabbed
there. One corner of this last shed was
fenced off with several blankets hung on
poles.
A this moment there appeared a red
whiskered man dressed like coachman,
with long whip in his hand. He said
he had come to get the Wilkes stallion
he had bargained for the night before.
A dapper man, who had also appeared
on the scene, turned with some indigna
ton TO the coachman. He could not
have the horse. Mrs. Hartley had de-
cded not to let it go to any one but a
person she was sure would take good
care of it. The coachman protested
that he had bought it and that he
ought to have it, and a heated argu-
ment was in progress when Rev. Mr..
Mccullough was invited to step be-
hind the curtain into the dark corner
| of the shed to see the beast, but the
preacher had seen enough. He had
| noticed that the coachmans get-up was
| altogether too new to have seen real
| service. He also noticed that the gate
| to the street had been casually closed,
and that it was very dark in the corner
where he was, a professed buyer, with
money in his pocket, in n neighbor-
hood that was doubtful, to say.the least,
| alone with two men whose actions i'm
| pressed him as those OF swindlers. The
| Nyack dominic took this all in with a
quick glance. Then he pulled his re-
| volver, cooked it with a deXterity that
was convincing, and said simply:
''Stand back there and open that gate
or l will blow the top of your head off. ,
Not IA word of remonstrance was Of
fered by the men. The gate was opened
and Mr.. Mccullough passed out. The
clergyman walked past Murderer 1
Row." congratulating himself that he
was well out of bad scrape, and went
and told the story to his friend, Rev
George Thompson of Harlem. Mr.
Thompson went to police headquarters
and was sent to the Thirty-seventh stree
police station. There he was told by tn,
police that the game was very old one
Together with a reporter Mr.. Thomp
son went over to "Hell's Kitchen" with
a newspaper containing the same ad
vertisement in his hand. Sure enough
there was the man on the lookout wash
ing the buggy. He pointed back to the
rear shed and the dapper man appeared
as did also the ''coachman.n The same
programme was followed as with h,
Nyack preacher and the same dialo gut
rehearsed. Rev. Mr.. Thompson left the
swindlers to again report the matter to
the police.