The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-04-18
THE HAUNTED BOOTS.
THEY ORIGINALLY BELONGED TO THE
TORY TERROR, CLAUOIUS SMITH.


tlesnaikes-Christy Lords Story.
mo ono In tho Schunnemunk noun
tains will ever forget tho story of Brainard
Pierson's haunted boots" said Christy
Lord Of that historic part of Orange
county. "The story dates back q good
way, but it's always new and fresh along
the old Schunnemunk.
"Brainard Persons boots, so tho story.
goes, wcre the very boots that Claudius
Smith kicked off his feet just before Lo
was hanged at Goshen in tho Revolution
nry times. Claudius Smith was the bloody
Tory cowboy who, with his following of
cutthroats and robbers torrorized the
Schunnemunk and surrounding country
for years.
After tho patriots had ut last captured
tho desperate 0nd he was taken to tho gal
lows at Goshen he kicked his boots off Us
tho rope was placed about his neck and
eXclaimed:
My mother said would die like
troopers horse, with my shoes on. will
make hc- out u liar
''Those wero Ciiud!us Smiths last
words. His boots, through some manner
or succession, at last fell into the posses
sion OF Brainard Pierson years after tho
cowboy was hanged. Two often heard my
father say TINT when folks heard that
Brainard had got Claudius Smiths boots
thcy went to him and said:
Woo to you, Brainard Pierson, il you
wear those boots Not for all tho treasure
Claudius Smith buried In old Sohunne-
munk would wo wear those boots! There's
blood on emf
And even IL there u.s., Brainard said,
III walk IL off tomorrow, for I'm going
to drive some cattle down Jersey way
couldn't get pair o. boots like these for
the price o. tho best critter Two GOT
"Brainard Pierson laughed and next
day started with his cattle down Jersey
way, wearing the dead Tory's boots
Somewhere down near the Ramapo pass
man coming this way met drove of cat
tic. They went on by and tho man noticed
that no drover was behind them. He went
on. Ho had gone quarter of n mile or so
when no almost stumbled over man ly-
ing In tho road Ho noticed TINT tho man
had on a remarkably fine pair of boots,
but no started back in terror as he cav q
fattlcsnake lying near his feet Discover
ing that tho serpent WIS dead he advanced
and was Mortified to see that tho PROSTATE
mans face was black and swollen and
that no was dead. 1t was plain that the
rattlesnake had bitton tho man, who had
then killed tho snake before he died.
Tho dead man was Brainard Pierson.
Tho discovcrcr of tho tragedy sought the
nearest help and the rattlesnake's victim
was brought home to Schunncmunk. The
head of the snake had been crushed by a
Stone and one of its fangs was gone. Tho
snake had bitton clear through ono of tho
boots Brainard wore and tiny puncture
on his ankle showed where the deadly ven
ON had entered to do its deadly work
'ClauCliuS Smith'S bOntS y wac tho Drc+
exclamation that folks made whom Brain
ard Picrson was brought homo dead from
Il rattlcsnakcs bite 'Thores blood ON
EN- and wo told him sol!
For long time nothing was talked
about all through tho Schunnemunk coun-
try but Brainard Persons haunted boots
and the awful fato that Brainard met with
because ho flow In tho face of warming and
wore them. Somehow or other though
Brainard's folks didn't seem to be able to
sec just how it was that he wouldn't have
been struck by the rattlesnake If no hadn't
had Claudius Smiths boots on, and so the
boots remained in tho family. There was
no ono big enough yet In the family to
wear boots and so they wero put one side
And there thcy remained unused for ten
years. Then tho house was robbed ono
night. Among the property stolen were
| tho haunted boots. Two days after the
robbery young George Pcrson, Brainard $
son, was hunting on Seven Spring noun
tain, and, going over to ono of the springs
to get drink, he found dead man living
near 1t black in the face and swollen Near
by tho body lay a big bundle. The dead
man had on the stolen Claudius Smiths
bootsl Young Piorson pulled off the boots.
On tho mans right ankle was littlo pur-
plish red puncture
rutt1ncnoI-n b,, II
as fate! exclaimed young Pierson.
Tho bundle contained the things stolen
from the Piorson family. George backed
them homo and brought the boots along.
Then he spread tho news about finding
the robber on Seven Springs mountain,
dead from rattlesnako's bite.
Several years went by again before any
ono else wore the haunted boots. Then a
relation of tho Pierson folks, who lived
down in tho Ringwood valley, visited
them. Ho saw tho boots and took a great
fancy to 'cm. He wanted to buy 'em, al
though no knew the fate of tho only two
persons who had worn 'em in years
There amt any rattlesnakes In our
section, said he. III risk tho haunt
1.-THE Pierson folks wouldn't sell him
the boots, but they made him present of
EN-. Ho took EN- home with him. Some
folks say that he didn't tell his father-in-
law the story Of tho boots when he made
him present of 'em after he got home.
and some say he did. At any rate. the
father-in-law had good deal of property
which would 60 to this Pierson relations
wife when her father died, and her father
was In tho best of health. The son-in-law
made him present Of Brainard Persons
haunted boots. The father-in-law put
EN- on one day and went for n walk. Not
long afterward he came staggering home.
" He was dead man an hour later. with
black, swollen face and body. On his
right ankle was the mark of q rattlesnake