The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-04-12
The SWanton Robbery.


in Swanton at my dwelling Sunday;
April LIST, 1894, while all of the
members of the household, except
Young woman employed as a cook,
were at church. The church lot
and my back yard are separated
only by the width of the county
road, consequently the church and
dwelling are close and in unob-
structed view of each other. AS
usual my family were at Sunday
school before ten O'Clock a. IN. but
the Rev. Mr.. Taylor, contrary to
his custom, did not that morning
attend the Sunday SHOOT and re-
manned in our sitting room reading
until time for him to commence at
eleven o'clock. Walking up to the
church door Mr.. Taylor met my
little daughter, of about nine years
old, leaving the Sunday school on
her way home. While reading the
psalter in the opening service the
little girl mentioned ran back to
the church IN almost breathless
haste with the message to me from
Ida, the cook, that two tramps were
in the house. Divining from the
highly excited manner of the child
that violence was Threatened | lett
the church as expeditiously as a
prudent caution against alarm to
the congregation would Justify,
bounded over the fence and ran rs
fast and as noiselessly as possible to
my room for arms. The one
thought dominant in my mind was
the danger to which the lone girl,
Ida, was subjected, and grasping
that which might become potent in
the pending emergency, ran steal
thIlv down the covered steps toward
the kitchen where slight movements
could be heard. At the dining
room door Ida met me, chatting her
arm and historical in lamentations.
Negatively ~ answering nv CUES
lions she pointed towards the stable
as the route the two tramps had
taken. The elevation at the stable
offered a commanding and clear
observation of the surrounding
community, and though less than
ten minutes had inteIv ened since
the first appearance of these men to
Ida, neither glimpse nor trace
of them could be had, and by that
time men had left both churches
and were running through the lots
about the stable, mp the road and
were deploying over the fields lead
ing to the woods. In brief while
about fifty determined men, noun
ted and on foot, were in active pur-
suit and continued it for hours.
The ground WAS fresh and exceed
lngly soft from recent ram but only
one tracking to which suspicion
could attach was discovered and
that was followed up to the man
and proved futile.
THE HOUSE GIRLS EXPLANATION.
The child, nine years old. had
reached the sitting room and was
looking through book. Ida came
in and exchanged few words
pleasantly with the child, then re-
turned through the dining room to
the kitchen. This must have been
a few minutes after eleven O'Clock.
Arriving in the Kitchen Ida says
two supposed tramps appeared at
the door, one masked. the other
wearing no mask. They asked for
something to eat. She left the
room through narrow hall to the
pantry opening on the hall between
the kitchen and the dining room,
and prepared two slices of bread
with butter and meat for each
tramp, then went back and handed
the bread in piece of newspaper to
each man. Observing noindicatlon
to leave, she inquired if more was
wanted. The masked man answered
1--WE want money. We know
MIR. Miller has been to Frank lille on
survey and got money; We were
here the other night, but a noise
was made and we left-uow we
mean to haye it," With that
declaration the masked man, who
seems to have been the trump in
the game, drew a short club to
strike her over the head. She
threw up her hand to parry the blow
and received it on the arm. Both
then ran up the steps to the floor
over the kitchen and she went to
the dining room and sent Mary, the
child, to the church for help. She
then went to the back porch to re-
yive herself with drink of water,
heard few quick strikes, then the
tramps rushed back over the
way they went up; reaching the
out door the "masked knight"
rushed from his path to deal her a
stunning blow from the back over
the shoulders, and she saw them no
more-both, just as they came,