The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1894-01-11
Found an Ear on his Doorstep.

Found an Ear on his Doorstep.
Lewis David, a crippled veteran of
TIE late war, lives six miles back in
the mountains from Moosic, Pa, in a
rude house which he himself built
Without any aid from logs he cut in
the woods surrounding his habitation.
s.ys the New York Sun. He lives
alone. For years he has tramped to
Moosic every three months to draw
his pension. He returns Immediately
to his lone cabin in the mountains
He never leaves his home except on
these occasions. 1t is supposed he has
money secreted in his cabin, as he has
never been known to use more than a
dollar or two in buying supplies on
his quarterly visits to Moosic. The
other day two hunters were passing
the old veterans cabin. He sat in his
door smoking. He called to the
hunters and they stopped.
Look what / found on my door
step last night" he said, and held up
a mans ear.
Before the hunters could recover
from their surprise sufficiently to say
| anything the veteran said:
"I'll tell how | think it must have
come to be on my doorstep. Some
time during last night l kind O woke
up, and 1 heard noises that sounded
like some one talking in smothered
sort O way. l listened and made up
my mind the voices came from that
clump O bushes yonder. l knew
there couldn't be voices unless there
was somebody with them, and 1
watched out OF the upstairs window.
The moon was shining bright and 1
hadn't watched long before | saw two
men crawl out of the bushes and sneak
toward the door. When they got to
the door they began to force it open.
Then | made up my mind that they
wanted to get in without asking, and
| went down the ladder to the lower
room and threw my body against the
door,
"'Open that door, one of the men
hollered, or we'll blow your head off >
I've got sword that | brought
home with me when l left the army,
and that's all the weapon I've got.
reached for that The men pushed
and showed until they forced the door
on crack, and one of them got his
head through. | fetched the sword
edgeways down on that head as hard
as could. The man dropped as if he
had been shot and lay grooming on
the sill. T'other dragged him out
just in time to save his friend from
getting another jab with the sword
and shut the door and put table
and a grindstonc and u barrel against
it, while the one man was looking tC
see what had happened to the other
1t wasn't long, though, before heart
loud report and bullet came clear
through tie door, which amt very
thick, and whizzed by my ear. Their
there came crash against the doc
and it was forced partly onen. say
part of the body of man and l made
iab at it with the sword The mai
grabbed the blade, but after strug
gle yanked it away and gave anothe
jab, and hard one. l heard a vel
and some one hollered:
"'My God! I'm stabbedr
81 pushed the door shut and barri
caded it. There were groans an
means a-plenty outside. l went u
the ladder again by and by and locke
out of the window. And what do yo
think saw? One of the chaps NAL
= ting for the woods with t'other one o
his back! l knew they wouldn't re
turn, and l went to bed. When | &c
up this morning | found this ear o
the doorstep. And you can see fc
yourself that trail of blood leaiin
into the woods"
There was no installing that fac
\ The hunters followed the trail unit
a it entered the thick brush and wer
G off toward the head of Panther creel
THAT'S the way think this ca
must have come to be on the doc
4. step" said the veteran, when til
hunters came back. IF you find an
one who has lost an ear, tell him
y come up here and maybe he can fiji
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