The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-21
VETERAN DAVID FOUND AN EAR.

VETERAN DAVID FOUND AN EAR.
Accounted for It by the Circumstance of
an Unusual Call at His Cabin.
II was with the engineer corps that
was surveying for a railroad in the up
per anthracite coal fields last summer"
said William Emet of this city land
came across a curious character in the
woods named Lewis David He was
a crippled veteran of the civil war, and
lived six miles from the nearest vii
lage in a lonely place in the mountains
His shelter was a rude log cabin which
he had built without any aid, and in
which he lived alone. He never left his
isolated home in the wilderness except
that once every three months he tramp
ed the six miles into Moosic village to
draw his pension, which trip he had
made regularly for years. On these &C.
casions he purchased frugally of sup
plies and returned at once to his cabin
in the mountains AS his purchases
had rarely amounted to more than two
or three dollars at a time, it was be
lieved that rec1use veteran had no
small amount of money secreted in his
cabin.
"One day my accommodating brought
me near to Davids cabin and / went
over to see him. He sat at the door
smoking.
$ Look what I found right here in
front of my door last night said he,
holding up something between his fin
gers.
Il stepped up to see what it was, and
when l saw it I was a little startled.
1t was a mans ear. Before could re-
cover sufficiently from my surprise to
say anything, the eccentric veteran
said:
I'll tell you how think it must
have come to be on my doorstep. Some
time during last night 1 kind O. woke
up, / heard noises that sounded like
some one talking inba smothered sort o.
way. l listened, and by and by made
up my mind that the voices came from
that clump o bushes over yonder. I
knew there couldn't be voices unless
there was somebody with 'em, and I
says to myself:
g Now, whoever owns them voices
amt lookin' for an ice-cream festival
nor prayer meeting. I think III
watch OUT
So I got up and peeked out of the
window. The moon was shining bright,
and I hadn't watched long before I
saw two men crawl out of the bushes
and sneak up toward my door. By
and by they got to the door, and they
began to try to force it open. Then 1
says to myself:
" "Darned if them fellers don't want
to git in here.'
g I didn't have any accommodation
for EN-, SO I went and threw myself
against the door to keep 'em from COM
ing in and being disappointed.
open that door," one Of the
men hollered open that door, or We'll
blow your head Off"
I've got a sword that T brought
home with me when I left the army,
and that's all the weapon I've got. I
reached for the sword. The men push
ed and showed until the forced the
door open a crack, and one of 'em push
ed his head through the crack. Seeing
that they couldn't take the hint that ]
didn't want EN- in my house, l thought
I'd impress it on 'em a little stronger
SO I fetched the old sword down edge
ways on that mans head as hard as
could. The man dropped as if ned
been shot, and lay groaning on the sill.
T'other man dragged him out O. the
just in time to save him from getting
another clip with the sword, and shut
the door and put a table and a grind
stone and a half barrel O. pork aga inst
it, while the one man was trying TO
discover what had happened to his
comrade. I hadn't more than barricad-
ed the door when I heard the report of
gun, and a bullet came clear through
the door, which amt very thick, and
whizzed by my ear Then there came a
crash against the door and it was Fore
ed partially open. in spite of the barri-
cade. I saw part of the body of man
edging it's way in, and I made a sla sh
at it with my sword. The man grab
bed the blade, but after a struggle
yanked it away from him and gave an
other slash with the sword, and hard
one. / heard a yell and then some one
hollered:
:" My God. I'm stabbed"
80 I got the door shut again and bar
ricaded it. There were means and
groans a-plenty outside. I went to the
window and looked out, and what do
you think I saw? One of the chaps
making for the woods, carrying t'other
that they had made up their minds
didn't want EN- in my house, and that
they wouldn't return, so l went to bed
When I got up this morning I found
this ear on the doorsill and I shouldn't
wonder a bit but what it belongs to
one O. them chaps that were fooling
around here last night. If you run
against any one who has lost an ear
said the veteran. grinning. tell him to
come up here and may be he can find
it.
81 heard a few days later that two
notorious men from the Panther Creek
neighborhood had not been seen in their
usual haunts since the night veteran
David's cabin was assailed, and that
they were reported very sick at the
homfk of respective relatives at Pad