The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1898-07-07
Al NIGHT OF TERROR.
IT PROVED The DOWNFALL OF Neg
LEY AND HIS PALS.

/ A Thrilling IncidenU q LIS - ehO SASy
/ OF pittsburg Early In tho Present Gem
tury, Related by . Woman Presence of
Mind Alone saved Her.
4 The following Incident, which, at the
time. caused much talk, and is still
told by the children of old settlers who
heard it from their parents has never
to nv knowledge, appeared in print,
and the only object in telling 1t now is
that so many people are interested in
anything Of an historical nature pertain
ing to the days of our grandfathers
NV ancestors were among the first
settlers of western Pennsylvania, my
grandfather being one of the garrison of
old Fort Pitt, dying there during the
Revolutionary war The incident refer
red to was told me by my mother, who
was attending a school in Pittsburg at
the time, and my grandmother Culber-
son. who was resident OF the city fer
| many years and who died there III 1864
! ut the age of 50 years. .
! About the first of this century a man
named Negley built house five miles
east of Pittsburg ON road running east
and west, midway between the Ale
ghany and Monongahela rivers. 1t was
| tavern and farmhouse combined.
Teamsters, drovers and travellers stopped
on their way to and from the city to get
meal or stay overnight.
These wayside inns were numerous in
early days, and are still found III many
parts CT the country. They are generally
pleasant places to stopa at. After Negley
had occupied his tavern a number of
years the place was named Negleyville,
afterward Rising Sun and later East
Liberty. ~
Negley was as bloodthirsty a villain
as could, have been found on the from
tier and had associated with him q
number of men as bad as himself, who
made his tavern their headquarters, and
whose business was to rob and murder
unfortunate travellers who might stop
there. The undoing Of these men was
brought about in this way: -.....
A poor woman with her two small
children started afoot from some point
east of Liberty to walk to Pittsburg In
the evening she reached Negley's tav-
ern, and as her children were too tired
to go farther she put up fer the night.
Soon after entering the house she began
to feel uneasy, as there was something
mysterious about the actions ct the in
mates. Before she retired to rest trfsv-
eler rode up and dismounted, and after
seeing his horse cared for entered the
60 k>o 4, ROT,
ing from the city after disposiIg of
some cattle.
Concealing her alarm, she followed
the landlady, coarse, brawny woman,
to a room up stairs, whose door wils
without fastenings and which contained
only bed and stool Retiring with her
children, she was unable to sleep. An
hour or so later she heard the traveller
being escorted to an adjoining room and
heard him complain that his door could
not be secured, ard tho landlord assured
him that he was as safe as he would be
in his own house, Gn assertion the ttrav-
eler evidently believed, as his heavy
breathing soon told TINT he was asleep.
Near midnight t,,s Us + c--4.s.l, VINO WIS
'stl. awec..-e, heard stealthy steps pass
her door and several persons enter the
adjoining room. In q few minutes there
was heavy blow, followed by q low
cry and then a short struggle. A little
after the murderers came into her room,
but seeing that she seemed to be asleep
left her, and she heard them carry the
dead man through the hall and down
stairs.
In the morning they were very po-
lite, inquiring how s,ao rested, etc,
stating that the drover hal set up early
and gone on.
After breakfast she and the children
started for the city, bat were soon met
by man coming from there, who stop
ped her, inquiring who, she was and
where she was going, where she had
staid the night before, etc. Believing
! him to be one of the band, she answered
truthfully, but told him that the people
at the tavern were very nice people and
| had treated her very we'll He passed
on, but she met another coming from
the city who made the same inquiries,
and still another; but she told the same
story, and they, believing that she knew
nothing, let her go.
1 On her arrival at Pittsburg she in
formed the authorities and the place
was broken up, but whether any OF then
1 were brought to justice am unable t.
i say. Sarah P. Farmer in Pittsburs
Dispatch.