The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-14
RHEUMATISM RI j |!

A AzAyxk. 81 81 y ~
among the boys that in this lat
! ter contingency there was to be little pri-
vate interview of some kind with Sneed;
but, of course. L was not informed of this
| fact-officially, at any rate. Acting on this
advice of my friends, 1 telegraphed the
| Tennessee sheriff, asking If one David
| Martins was wanted in his county; If so
to wire description Of man and particulars
of charge. The next day 1 received a reply
| something like this:
" Ten years ago David Martins butch
cred his aged mother, his wife and three
| little children, because he suspected his
| wife of informing the revenue officers
| about his moonshining. He was about for-
ty years old, six feet three inches high:
had black hair and eyes, and big scar
| across his left check. BY all means, hold
any suspect Five hundred dollars re-
ward. Win come at once after my pris-
| oner.'
This message puzzled us considerably.
| According to it, Martins ought by this
time to be about 50 years old, but Dixon
seemed nearer 90. Dixon's hair was
| white now, instead of black, and his hight
was rather too small for the description;
| but man guilty of the awful crime he
| was charged with would undoubtedly have
aged much and changed much in ten
| years. AS to the scar on The check, we
| could not judge. for Dixon had always
| worn several inches of beard over his full
face. We could hardly conceive how so
inoffensive a citizen could have been guilty
| of so awful a crime though we had known
things not unlike it to happen in Texas
| before. 1t was evidently my duty to ar
rest the old fellow. though on the
| strength of the telegram just received,
| and hold him, to await the arrival of the
| Tennessee sheriff. I never dreaded job
so in my life. For the first and only time
| in my official career l dreaded to make an
| arrest to such an extent that l put the
thing off on some of my deputies instead
| of doing it myself l was sitting in my
| Office, a few hours later feeling pretty
| tough over the whole matter, when In
! walked one of the deputies.
| Can the old fellow prove his inno-
| cence?' 1 asked, eagerly, looking up.
Prove hell was the reply; he's done
| confessed
What? I gasped.
Jest So he answered. we hadn't
more'n got to the door before he told us
| he knowed what we was coming for, and
that he'd been lodging for ten years, and
was most glad it was all over. You ought
to have heard him cuss that old villain,
Sneed, though. l believe Sneed is the
wuss devil of the two. Murderers is bad
| enough, but traitors is wuss.'
| Just about that time Sneed himself
| came in. l never saw a fellow so badly
worked up over anything.
Boys he says I never meant to give
him away. Before God, l never I was
mad and plumb crazy, and didn't know
what 1 was dom. We'd had tough luck,
! and his sickness was powerful bad on me
that had to take keer of him; but did a
good part by him-d shore did! Just you
uns ak him eff / amt staid by him day
! and night, an waited on him when he was
sick, jest like he was my own daddy For
| Gods sake, fellows, let the pore old man
| off! He's lived peaceably an honest out
! here, no matter what he done in Tonnes
see. KANT you let him off, Mr.. Sheriff"
"Of course, though, this plea was of no
use. l never hated anything so bad in my
| lie but / had to Jail poor old inoffensive
| Dixon, alias the iiend Martins, to await
| the arrival of the Tennessee sheriff. / felt
| sorry for Sneed's GRIEF, but / jailed him
also, by his own consent, to avoid the pos
sibility of any mistake on the part of the
boys.
THE Tennessee sheriff was named Jack
son, a young fellow of less than 80 years
| He had seen Martins but a few times, and
| that ten years ago. so his remembrance Of
| him was necessarily rather vague. He
said Dixon looked like him, but he couldn't
| Identify him positively. However as the
| crime had already been confessed, there
seemed scant need for Identification. Dixon
| agreed to go without a requisition, and
| Sneed agreed to go as prosecuting Wit
ness, without waiting for an attachment,
on the ground that if he stayed he might
| be mobbed by the enraged plainsmen; and
| I'm not right sure but his suspicious were
well founded. There was hardly a dry
eye in the crowd when the train pulled out
with the sheriff and Sneed and Dixon on
board. 1t did lock as If the old man
| ought to have been permitted to spend the
| few remaining years OF his quiet, lnoften-
sive life in peace"
Here Col. Harris paused for a moment
and looked solemn.
How did the case finally terminate, col
onel?' asked one of the crowd.
"Oh, 1 was about to forget to tell you
| that part of it." the colonel resumed.
! about a month later / wrote the Unaka
| sheriff to know about things, and in re-
ply he told me that Dixon was no more
! Martins than 1 was. Scores of noun
| taneers had identified him and Sneed as
| being honest men who had gone to Texas
| ten years before and had always borne
| the same names they then had. Dixon
! had denied all about his former confess
| sion, and Sneed had no recollection of ev-
| er having said a word against him. AS
| Dixon was evidently not Martins, there
| was nothing to do but TO turn him loose,
| and Sneed with him. Neither of them had
| sworn anything so there was nobody to
be prosecuted for perjury. They couldn't
! ship the fellows back to Texas, so what
| was to be done about IL? When the men
were released they had made for their old
| haunts among the mountains, like two
chickens Just let out of coop and Unaka
| county had the horselaugh on its sheriff.
| Martins whereabouts was still matter
| Of mystery. Jackson was fiery mad, and
| no wonder and wanted me to put up the
cost of transportation for his two charges.
! Il have known a number of fasteners TO
| be busted in Texas" continued Col. Har-
! ris "but never knew any other to DELHI
/ fa1x faea fO r1a41r In
| order to get free transportation back
! home. We admired the constancy of those
men In sticking to each other like they did.
| We also could not help admiring their in
| genulty; but we certainly did most deeply
begrudge them the tears we had shed and
| the sympathy we had wasted over the sup
posed awful interruption of the old mans
| peaceful and inoffensive Texas career"
WONDERFUL CAVES OF ADELsBERG
Said to he the Most Magnificent