Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1896-12-31

Fiett anti SGT W Tor Himself, lie tOok y
small farm in what is now Bartholo-
NEW county, Indiana In his time In
diana WAS n territory. and was c,nsid-
cred in the Ear West 4. state high
way. r.niIing from Ind annapolis TO
Jcfferscuvillc. passed his humble log
cabin. and for maIy years the comfy
had Int few settlers, and his nearest
nelghfor was three miles away. Mr..
Davis hal lived on tic place al,opr two
years. and cleared mp Il good bit OF
land. when. one Ne & Years eve, us ne
stood az his door, n MIN WHO was on
foot and without Il burden of any sort,
turned in from the highway and said:
Good evening. Mr.. D.vis. | notice
many changes since | passed your
clearing. six months ago"
My grandfather soUid lsot remember
that ne had ever seen the man before.
He was 4 short man. being no more
than five feet high, and though muificd
up. as though TO conceal his face. his
voice sounded Ike thar Of Il very old
man. There was scarcely IA night in
which some %sirslng,r did not call ut the
cabin for lodss>s. and, though failing
TO remember HIM Il guest. Mr.. Davis
decided that the little old man had at
some time enjoyed his hospitality. He
replied TO his sllutatioD. and. after
some general talk. asked IL he intend
Ell 10 stop Tor the night.
mo. / cannot stop tonight" replied
the stranger. II turned aside To give
you warning, and ycI will do we'll 10
heed my words. To-m1rfcw evening
fx.v~ MON x.-ilI emma .Ionr FROM tina
south and ask for lodgings. They will
tell you that they are land-lsokers, bur
you must not trust them. They are
robbers, and mean you evil. IL yon let
them into your house DO not close your
eyes III sleep"
.sBut who are You. and how do You
know what's 10 happenYT asked my
grandfather.
"Ncvcr yon mind who ! am, CT how
\ como by my informatifn n replied the
stranger. II have given yoa warning.
and ycu must ooh out. I'hnt's ALL
goodnight"
With that he started off up the road
in the direction of indianapolis. and
was soon out of sight in the darkness
My grandfather gazed after HIN AMI
wondered Ii he was not III escaped lu-
matte. and he WAS quiet for such IA
length OF time that his wife came out
TO see what was the trouble. They
talked the matter over again that even
ing, and the conclusion reached was
that the little old man had slipped M
mis- bottle too often and was in a mood
tor joking. His warning fingered.
however. and thc next day, half nm
hour before sunset, my grandfather
was not greatly surprised when two
men turned In from the road and
agked TO he acc 1mnodatcd for the
night. Before he had said "A word in
reply they explained that they were
land-lookcrs from Eastern Ohio. Each
carried a rifle and a bundle of clothes,
and there was nothing suspicious In
their looks or talk. While the words of
the little old man were ringing In his
ears Mr.. Davis made the strangers
welcome. and his wife prepared sup
per for them.
The cabin was divided into two
rooms, and the one bed stood in the
front room. There was no door to tho
rude partition dividing this room
from the kitchen. bnt a sheet was
hung mp as a substitute. There was a
Fireplace in each room, ard at bed
time the strangers we're given n shake
down In front OF one In the kitchen.
AS s0on as husband and wife wera
alone they agreed that the, strangers.
well appearing as they were, had evil
designs, and that my grandfather
must remain awake to watch them.
He tool his place In the corner OF the
room, rifle In hand, while my grand
mother threw herself on the bed. and
the time dragged slowly along until
Midnight, without a nov on the part
Of the guests. Then they were heard
stirring about. and fifteen minutes lat
err the sheet Mt the door was carefully
drawn aside and one OF them pccred
into the front room. The fire was low,
and my grandfather was in n dark
cornec The fellow could see the bed,
and believing that both husband and
wife were there and sound asleep, he
entered the room and his companioh
followed at his heels. Bo,h had theif
rifles in hand. and they started on tip
toe across the sfiuor. handling their
weapons In such a way as to leave no
doubt OF tneir murderous intentions.
Without n word OF warning, my grand
father leveled his rifle Mt the nearest
man and fired. There was Il scream, n
shout and a fan. followed by the rush
of feet. The man fled on had been
killed, and his companion dashed into
the kitchen and out of doors as fast as
he could 90. The identity OF the dead
man was never discovered. In the
packs left in the kitchen were several
articles, evidently sto.en from the hous.
es OF settlers, with two silver watches,
which had probably been taken from
travellers Oh the highway. The rife OF
the dead man was a fine weapon, and
In his pockets was n sum of money
amounting TO over $500. My grand
fnther, therefore, made a pretty good
thing ont of it, altogether, and there
was no coroner to bother shout an in
quest. With the help CO his nearest
neighbor he buried the dead man on
his w land, and there was the end
OF It,
Three years later, having exchanged
farms, Mr.. Davis removed to the coun-
~ Of Lawrence. Tho cabin on this
darn was within d hundred feet OF the