Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1893-12-15

watching and listening. | had a cooked
revolver close at hand, and the yell which
followed the report told me that he had
been hit. What the four unwounded men
would do during the night ! could only
guess at and be on the watch to checkmate.
BY ten o'clock it was so dark | could not
see the beach, and then two of them, as
subsequently appeared, went down to the
shore and undrcssed and swan off to cap
ture the sloOp. 1t was daring thing to
do, for the craft was quarter of a mile
away, the tide running strong, and the wa
tiers infested by sharks. Wilson not only
found the shotgun, but a loaded revolver
and a cavalry carbinc, and he rightly rea-
soned that as soon as night came the gang
would attempt to retake the sloop. Being
at anchor and swinging with the tide, he
knew that she could only be boarded at the
bows, and he took his station there and
was on the alert when the swimmers came
off. One of them was swept past him and
out to sea, shouting for aid, while the 9TH
er was shot as soon as he seized the fore
chains l saw the flash and heard the
shot, and Wilson afterward waved light
ed lantern as signal to me that he was all
right.
|, of course, could not tell how many of
the gang had gone off to the sloop, and
continued watchful for any move against
the door The two wounded men must
have suffered a great deal, but the leader
was determined fellow and bound to get
revenge if nothing more. He sent the two
unwounded men back to the woods for fag-
OTIS, and about midnight L heard sounds
which made me suspicious. OF a sudden
both loopholes were closed up by limbs be-
ing thrust into them and the fagots were
heaped against the door. had anticipat-
ed this move and planned what to do Be
fore the fellows could fire the fago.s, |
opened on them from the parapet with my
revolver, wounding both. 1t was not un-
til two hours later, however, that | knew |
had hit either one of them. had manag-
ed to clear one of the oopholes, when one
of the gang crawed as near as he dared
and shouted:
"Say, yo' in thar? We want to surrend-
ery
"How many are there of you?'
"Four, and we are all wounded and suf-
fering. The captain will be dead man
unless he kin git help purity soon"
"Where are the other two?"
"They went off to the sloop and got
shot. Say, mister fur heavens sake don't
90 back on us. We come to rob the place.
as won't deny, but we've got the wust of
il and want to cry quits
| believed it was a plot to get me off my
guard, and refused to open the door
Twice more before daylight the same man
came and appealed to me, but he received
the same answer. When day broke look
ed down on them from the parapet and
saw that the leader was dead and the other
three wounded. Before opening the door
| made them discard their revolvers and
knives, and as went out to them Wilson
was coming ashore in the small boat. The
captain, as they called him, had bled to
death, one of the men was wounded in the
foot, another in the back, and the third in
the knee, and they were as humble as you
please. We bound up their wounds and
made them as comfortable as possible and
that afternoon government steamer took
them up to Georgetown. We had a good
overhaul OF the sloOp before we let her 20,
and We made several surprising discoveries.
She had about $4,000 of Confederate
money aboard which was Of course worth
less butt we also found 5000 in gold
and greenbdcks jewclry. which we after
ward sold for $50; and a number of knick-
knacks, valuable as keepsakes. She was
also valuable prize for the government, as
We found in her shallow hold two bales of
cotton, about twenty muskets and car
bineS, and lot of medical stores. 1t
turned out that they were a bad gang, most
of them being deserters, and in their opera
tons along the coast they showed no par
TALLY. The one who was wounded in the
foot was an outlaw who was wanted for
several murders and robheries. and he was
either hung or shot at Beaufort. The 9TH
ers were sent TO prison for long terms, and
thus the entire gang was wiped out.
Seventeen years after the close of the
war ! was at Bucksville, ;. c., and hap
pened 10 be wearing a gold ring which was
part of the plumber found on the sloop.
The ring was identified 10y gentleman
named +. \. Haynes as one stolen from
him in 1864, and was, OF course, cheerful
ly handed over.-ChdS. b. LctciS in the
Ner York Sunday sun.