Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1890-03-17
RAFFERTY, AT BEDFORD.
An Irish Tourists Experience In ouair
Kentucky Village.

An Irish Tourists Experience In n Quainl
Kentucky Village.
People in the East will hardly believe Il
when they are told tiat Kentucky has a
county in which only cue man was ever
killed, but 1t is q fact Notwithstanding, says
Bedford (Ky) letter to the New York
Sun. A number Of years ago two intoxi.
Gated men fought in tbs town and one was
shit to death. That was the only serious
crime ever committed in Trimble County.
Trimble Is a real Arcadia, Bedford, the
county seat, being situated almost midway
between two large cities, forty miles from
Louisville and sixty niles from Cincinnati,
fifteen miles from thenearest railroad. Yet
the strife of the outer world has never
reached here. Crime of any kind is prac-
ticaily UNKNOWN. TIE people are all small
farmers aud frult-growers, descendants OF
Virginians and Marylanders who settled
here hundred years ago, and are scrupu-
lousy honest. The last lawyer who settle d
in Bedford came near starving to death,
and went to Kansas half-dozen years ago.
There is a court-housein this town, but it
Is needed only for the preservation of the
county records, title deeds and such thin gs.
At the last term Of the criminal court there
was only one case to be tried, and that was
on charge Of petty larceny. But it was
proven that the man was not guilty.
Every resident Of this county is Of pure
English or Scotch descent. There is not q
forelgn-born person in Trimble. Although
so close to both Louisville aud Cincinnati, a
German or Irishman would be q curiosity
in Bedford. Last spring an Irishman, Mike
Rafferty,, from Louisville, came to Bedford.
How he ever got here or why he came no
one knows, but soon after his arrival word
was circulated that foreigner had come to
town. Rafferty, went into the grocery to
buy fifteen cents worth Of cheese for din
ner. The proprietor stared curiously at
HIM, but gave him the cheese, and he sat
down in chair TO eat it. In few minutes
crowd of small boys entered, and ranging
themselves in straight line in front of the
Irishman, gazed at him with the most evil
dent curiosity. Rafferty, thought there must
be something the matter with his personal
appearance, and asked the proprietor if
there was any thing wrong. The latter re-
piled in the negative. Mike then wanted to
know why all the boys were looking at him
"Why, don't you underestimate" said the
merchant. "As soon as you bought that
cheese sent out word that there was an
Irishman here. An Irishman don't come to
Bedford every day. In fact, it's been ten
years since one was here until you came
Ou are Jne nrSL 1rlSnman tnoSe boys ever
saw, and of course you are show to
them"
Rafferty, whistled and then grew indig-
nant. He said he was neither q heathen
Chinee, nor lid he belong to museum. He
left the store, followed by an increasing
crowd Of small boys and some rather large
ones. At the street corner he met a little
girl carrying a bucket of water. The
weather was warm and he asked her for
drink She looked up, for the first time
in her life saw strangers face, shrieked,
dropped the bucket of water, and
fed in dismsy. That was enough for
the Irishman. He set out for the nearest
railroad station, fifteen miles away, and
never stopped tramping until he got there.
For over mile crowd followed him at a
respectable distance. Since then Bedford
has not been troubled with strangers.