Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1891-09-11
BORDER OUTLAWRY.
TIMES WERE LIVELY AT THE EDGE
OF THE NEUTRAL STRIP.

How the outlaws That Lived By Levying
tribute on Peaceful Citizens Were at
last subdasd b. the Indignant ana
Z Desperate Inhabitants.
T. has always been a fact that the Dor
tieys az a country were the last to come IN
dsr tba influence OF civilization, and since
kbe DAYS Of the Red Gauntlet the border
ridara have been feared and respected py
80 more eonsiderate and law abiding class
~ neonIe. In the later days, OF course, the
AID Elders have ceased to levy tribute on
rroperty In neutral territory, but IN tns
ssr1e Vvev that the highland pirates OF the
oldap time exacted money from the border
Settlers. the dssperadoes of today exact the /
allegiance Of these subjects, and in return |
for their protection Of property against ene |
s'clans" they expect no settler 70 know any
thing about them when inquiry is mace
unless they know to whom the secret y
being divulged tn.
population Of 1000 but now a Amos, ~
T,ins has been for thirty years situated on
ebe border of one Of these neutral strips
where the law has been suspended, ana mas
nerhaps been the arena Of more bloodsnea
n The way Of clannish and single handed
encounters than any other town or Village
on the borders Of Texas. -
Two wears ago in the cemetery OF tnaS
town there were seventy-six graves u ~
who had fallen in combat with the knlIe,
S,stol or deadly Winchester, and IL Is ssIe
"a sav that half the victims never founo
resting place under the sod. This place 2
one beautifully situated, and Is SIX nl sl1
from the southern boundary OF the inelan
territory. At that point the heo FiVsr
49,. WINNING
about fifteen miles.
HOW THE PEOPLE ROSE Up.
Across the neck of this bend, called the
Delaware. Is a distance OF about eight
miles. and in that neck is situated the
town Of which / speak. It Is now fifteen
miles of the railroad, and has always Deen
the Mace where the desperadoes bought
their whisky and supplies and went TOT
S,fraeasD when their blood became worked
mn to the point that they had to hunt a
now which it frequently did. The tnhaD-
Itants of this village, as the expression IS
s'did not stand in" with the riders, as one
would suppose, and there was always
feeling Of distrust between them, when
often terminated in fight and one OF
more deaths. :.
The people Of the town, after time oe-
eided that the wild riding and shooting OF
the point that an outsider would not go 70
the town and q woman would not 20 On
abe street for the fear Of being killed by
norne stray bullet. Still, when the border
err came they ran things their own way,
and the citizens would not work In con-
cert. One man might resent their insults
with the result that be would be killed
and maybe one or two Of the riders.
The most noted Of the gangs-WeTe those
Of JinsE La I'd SEN n and Sears, besides
rthera With headquarters Tar up In the
viIda Of the territory. Finally herd OF
cattIe was stolen from the neigh0orhood'
and everybody knew that Sears clan oio H.
Vigilantes were organized and they pre-
pared to give them q warm reception VI
their return.
TERRIBLE FIGHT.
few weeks after Sears came in alone,
No 6onbt ~ see how the land lay, and
VvhiIe in crowd some one put pistol 70
his neck and shot him, though It failed 70
kin him. That night he was spirited out
81 the place, and the following day was
one Of regular Siege Tbs citizens threw
ont guards and pickets on all the roads,
and All went heavily armed. At night the
clan attacked the village, and for three
bours the battle ragged from behind fences
houses and wood piles until the desperadoea
were beaten back, having lost several Of
their men.
From that time on the citizens fought to
kill them out, though their rendezvous
was on the river in the bend, only eight
miles distant. On Dec. q, 1885, Bill oracle
a noted character, and several toughs came
through and attempted to take the town
All the people living in the country Wet.
in town that day, and everybody "eh'
armed.
into A saloon, but as his feet hit the hool
some one struck him with a billiard cui
and knocked him down. This was the sig
nal for the shooting to begin The deputy
sheriff fred a shotgun al Oracle, but missed
his aim. and the riders went down bh'
street shooting right and left. 80
Everybody took q hand. and about ~
sbots were fred. At the first volley Et
Long one of the riders, had his hOrs'
Killed. Heat once jumped behind Grael'
on his horse, but a pistol ball struck hin
in the neck, mortally wounding him
Oracle held him on behind him, and the
rode out Of town. The result OF the row
was three dead men, several wounded an'
a number of horses killed, but this was tn
last time they came In force to take tn
town. %
Soon after this Oracle killed Henry Pus
niger. sheriff of Pickens county, l. T., b.
striking him over the head with his pistol
He had the blood Of about dozen Of tn
clan on his hands, SO be went to the neares
railroad and left the country. lie was
fine specimen Of physical manhood, stand
ing feet 4 inches in height and weighin
800 hounds. Besides being very handsom
in appearance he was well educated an
always Gre costly dress Of the trontie
style Il.
lake many other border characters, q
onek knew where he came from or where ,
went. His followers Joined other bandi
and most Of them were finally killed. jill
Lee aud his two brothers, Pink and Ton
took refuge from the marshals in caDl
in the Indian Territory.
When they were attacked they killed a
the marshals, five in number, and fed thel
bodies to the hogs A large reward wa
offered for them, dead OF alive, and dnall
lin and Pink were killed on the Texs
side of the bend, in the summer OF lee
Tom left the country and has never bee
heard Of since. One by one the other claE
fan of and were killed out until now thel
Is little fighting there compared with Re
years ago.
I'VE majority Of the people who live
there then have gone and those Of dinerei
temperament moved in, 50 that now q
rough stone houses, the fences and doc
full Of bullet holes and the stories Of q
older settlers alone tell the dangers an
Iawlessness Of few years back.--1eNl
Cor. st. Louis Republic. t
Mr.. Lawrence Hutton has INDUCED o.
Of the aueerest whims that the fancy Of
New Yorker has evolved. Mr.. Hutton
hobby Is death masks, and he has gather'
together what Is BY all odds the largest al
roSst notable collection Of these works.