The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-04-10

known. They declared that they ought
to ride in all directions on fleet horses
and hunt the robbers down.
Not so much because he's a rob
ber,' they said, but to keep him from
wearing them haunted boots. We can
Jail him for being thief. It'll be a
capital punishment if we let him wear
Claudius Smiths boots
eff they did any riding they didn't
overtake the robber in time to warn
him against the fatal boots. Two DAYS
after the robbery young George Pier
son, Brainard's son, was hunting on
Seven Springs mountain, and, going
over to one of the springs to get a
drink, he found dead man lying near
it, black in the face and swollen. Near
by the body lay big bundle. The dead
man had on the stolen Claudius Smiths
boot! Young Pierson pulled off the
boots. On the mans right ankle was
a little purplish-red puncture.
ga rattlesnake had struck him, as
sure as fate!' exclaimed young Person
1.-THE bundle contained the things
stolen from the Pierson family. George
backed them home, and brought the
boots along. Then he spread the news
aOout finding therobber on SevenSprings
mountain, dead from a rattlesnake's
bite.
"'And the haunted boots?' folks
asked.
He had 'em on said young George.
"'Claudius Smith might just as well
be living and prowling and butchering
along old Schunnemunk again. they
said, if we're going to keep them
haunted boots of his working for him!'
But still the Pierson folks couldn't
see what Claudius Smiths boots had to
do with rattlesnales biting people, and
they kept the boots. No one ever knew
who the dead robber was, and they
buried him on the mountain.
Seems queer, too folks said, that
if Claudius Smith is haunting the boots
he'd turn 'em against robber.'
Several years went by again before
anyone else wore. the haunted boots.
Then a relation of the Pierson folks,
who lived down in the Ringwood valley,
came visiting them. He saw the boots,
and took a great fancy to 'em. He
wanted to buy 'em, although he knew
the fate of the only two persons who
had worn 'em in years.
There amt any rattlesnakes in our
section said he. I'll risk the haunt
THE Pierson folks wouldn't sell him
the boots, but they made him present
of 'em. He took 'em home with 'em.
Some folks say that he didn't tell his
father-in-law the story of the boots
when ne made him a present of 'em
after he got home, and some say he
did. At any rate, the father-in-law
had a good deal of property which
would go to this Pierson relations wife
when her father died, and her father
was in the best of health. The son-in
law made him present of Brainard
Persons haunted boots. The father
in-law put 'em on one day and went
for walk. Not long afterward he
came staggering back home.
''He was a dead man an hour later,
with a black swollen face and body.
On his right ankle was the mark of
rattlesnake bite, as there had been on
Brainard Persons and on the dead rob-
bers. And there was not rattlesnake
in all that country! The father-in-law
of the Pierson relation was dead before
the doctor could get there. The doc
tor was told the story of the haunted
boots. Selling the right boot he slashed
it down to the ankle with his knife.
Something white fell from it to the
floor. The doctor picked it up. He
examined it for a moment.
ga rattlesnake's fang said he. And
there's poison enough yet in its channel
to kill another mani
1T was the missing fang of the snake
that had bitten Brainard Pierson. 1t
had been pulled from it's socket by the
taken of it. Held fast thus, with it's
point on the inside, contact with it had
been of sufficient force to puncture the
ankles of the persons who had since
worn the boot. The venom, though
dry, was still potent, and it's work as
deadly as when it lay in its sack in the
rattIesnake's jaw. That was what the
doctor said.
"'S'posin' he does say SOP Schunne-
munk folks said. If Brainard Pierson
hadn't worn Claudius Smiths boots the
rattlesnake wouldn't left his fang in
'em. would it? So it was Brainard
Persons haunted boots that done it,
and that's all there is to It'll
"And a good many Schunnemunk
folks think so to this day."-N. Y. Sun.