The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-07-06

| EIoauu. lie noTct ud-Icu NHut1
down the road. DIR. Hopkins, order
ing 10 to follow him, made his way
through the woods by a roundabout
course back home J9 had saved his
own life and believed he had done it by
taking that of young WiswelI, although
he had fired at random. The horse ar
riving at the WisweiI plantation rider
less, slaves were hurried back to see
what had befallen their young master.
They found him unconscious in the
road.
"When it was discovered that Wis
well had been shot, a variety of cir
cumstances fastened the suspicion on
DIR. Hopkins as having been guilty Of
the crime. He was arrested, but per-
mitted to give bail pending the result
of Wiswell's injuries. which were be-
lieved to be mortal. The action caused
great indignation in the community,
where Hopkins was most unpopular,
and the doctors re-arrest and incaTcer-
alton were demanded. In the mean
time he fled, taking 10 with him. They
got safely to Louisiana. He was never
followed.
Soon after taking up his residence in
Louisiana Hopkins formed the ac-
quaintance of young woman, the
daughter of u sugar planter named
Lyon. He married her within a year.
\ sister of hers married n planter nam
ed Moore The father Of the two girls
died soon after the marriage of the one
with DIR. Hopkins, and Hopkins was
dissatisfied with the disposition of the
property. He quarreled with Moore
aud swOre he would have revenge. One
day in the fall of 1851 Hopkins took
his bowie knife and his revolver, and
giving Jo shot gun, ordered the negro
to follow him. He mounted his horse
and rode TO MoOre's house. Jo knew
that he was being taken on another er-
rand of murder, and he made a men,
tai vow that if he was forced to shoot
any one that day it would be his mas
ter.
"Moore was at home when Hopkins
and 10 arrived there. He was unarm-
ed, and, conscious of the purpose Hop
kins had in coming, he sprang upon
Hopkins and threw him to the floor,
graphing him so that he could use nei-
ther pistol nor knife. Hopkins shout
ed to 10 to shoot. 10 could not fire
without endangerirg the life of Moore,
but he replied that if he fired he was
afraid he might hit his master. Moore,
Of course, did not know that Jo had re-
solved to kill no one unless it was his
master, and 50 when he heard what Jo
said he spraug from the floor and threw
himself upon the negro to secure the
gun. 10 made no attempt to hold il,
aud Moore, after securing it, ran out of
the house.
Moore's wife had come into the room
by this time. Hopkins goJ to his feet,
seized her, and demanded the money
that was I'm the house belonging to the
estate of Planter Lyon. She gave him
a bunch of keys and told him to find
the money. He did so, and then shot
his sister-in-law rs she knelt on the
floor begging for her life. His first bull
let cut all the fingers from one of her
upraised hands and lodged in her
breast. A second bullet entered her
right eye, and she fell over dead. Hop
kins emptied his revolver into her dead
body and mounted his horse and fed,
followed by Jo.
"They had ridden several miles into
the swamp country when they heard
l5arsuers on their trail. Joe dropped
from his horse and gave il a cut with
his whip. 1t galloped on after Hop
kins on his horse. 10 crept into the
swamp. A few minutes later the pur-
suers went dashing by. Jo laid still
and waited. In less than an hour they
came back. They had Hopkins. They
stopped opposite JOS hiding-place and
strung his master up on tree. 10 was
a terror stricken witness of Hopkins
fate, and yet he felt that it was no more
than his due. He knew that similar
fate would be his if he were taken, al
though he was entirely innocent of par
in his masters crime. For
two years, in some miraculous way, he
succeeded in eluding capture, lone
wanderer among the swamps and ba-
yous and canebrakes, gradually work
ing northward until he crossed the
Pennsylvania border and threw him
self upon the mercy Of the Fulton
county people, in the strongest pro-sIa-
very locality north of Mason and Dix
on's line.
''For years Jo was in constant fear
that he would some day be taken back
to Louisiana and lynched, and he never
threw Off that dread sufficiently to re-
lease the farmer and his wife from the |
vow he exacted of them TO keep his |
story secret until he died, and they |
kept Lis secret, even from their chill |
dren, more than forty years