The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1895-01-04

ton he had taken from Charlotte. A score
of people turned out and secured the coun-
try, but no trace of him could DO found.
AT midnight, with most of the searchers
camped on tho highways and in the fields,
still believing that tho robber was hidden
in tho woods, snow began to fall and the
wind to rise, and at daylight a gale was
sweeping over the country.
Uncle Jim, as everybody called the old
man whose real name was James White,
had lived for many years in the outskirts
Of the village of Charlotte. He was what
people call "fated man." Ho married
In 1860 and had just got settled in a homo
when the house took fire and burned
down, and he lost everything. The next
year his wife was killed by accident. Six
months later no was badly hurt while at
work. When he recovered, he enlisted as
soldier, but had only reached tho front
when the accidental discharge Of cannon
deprived him of his right arm and most of
his left hand. He had not beSn homo two
months when he was run over by vehicle
and SO injured that his left leg had to come
of at the knee. With his pension money
he bought an acre of ground, with a poor
old house and n tumble down barn on it,
hoping to mako his living by growing
got along reasonably well.
Then his health gave out, his pension
was stopped on tho grounds that he had
given wrong date in his application, and
on Thanksgiving morning, which dawn
ed bleak and drear enough for the happi-
est in tho village, Uncle jim had two call
erp.
One was from villager who held
mortgage on his real estate and had called
TO tell him that 1t must be forcclosed, and
the other was n county official who tried
TO tell him in kindly way that the mat
ter had been talked over and it had been
decided to send him to the poorhouse for
the winter.
When the callers had gone their ways,
Uncle Jim sat down and alto his meager
breakfast and looked out Of n back win
dow upon tho dreary landscape and reflect
ed and wept Fate had followed him for
years and dowued him at last. Tho eli
mar had now come, and ms the old man
mt DOWN TO face 10 alone no could find
Dut one way Out Vt 90. mt wUdlu newer 40
to tho poorhousc, and hc would never hob
BILE around tho country as "a professional
mendicant. The alternative was suicide
aud ho would accept it, While other VIII
layers prepared their Thanksgiving dinner
VI bdV III tHO CiuTCHcS anu llSleuCu 10 Ullo
sermons prepared for the day his dead body
would be swinging at the end Of n rope in
the old barn ON tho back end of his lot.
Yes, he would hang himself. He had not
entered tho barn for month, but ho knew
there was a stout rope coiled ON peg out
there, and tho beams and braces offered
better chances to secure tho free end than
a hook in his humble cabin. After an
hours thought Uncle Jim got up, put on
his hat, looked around to bid his homo
farewell and started for tho barn. He
knew that a gale was sweeping over tho
country. but he did not realize its strength
until clear of the house. Half way be-
tvccn tho kitchen door and tho barn n sud
den gust caught him up and flung him
down, and at the same instant tho old
barn tunbled in with crash.
The old man got up dazcd and bewilder-
ed. The fall of the barn frightened him
and temporarily drove away all thoughts
Of suicide. He had turned to rc.cnter the
house, when he heard faint cries for help
from tho debris of tho barn, and in state
Of fyesBapAxepepth ethebhled out of the
1116Kass to INVESTIGATE. He.socn disec--