The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-06-13
Wheeling Intelligencer and
Ritchie Gazette on Calhoun
County Maidens.

kitchie Gazette on Calhoun
County Maidens.
"a West Virginia farmers daughter, down
in Calhoun county, exhibited a rare amount q
of courage considering her tender age, six
teen years, when she drove off the premises, 4:
az the point of a revolver, two swindlers who .
were engaged in victimizing her father out
of a large amount of money. The two men
had been operating among unsuspec ting far
mers in that region, by making bogus deals {
for oil leases and then engaging them in a
"shell' game during which they would swim
die them out of all the money they possessed.
In this case, the confidence men permitted
the victim to win small sums several times
until he became confident enough and then
proposed higher stakes. He was induced to
bring from his house 500 to put up on an
other game. The innocent victim Fortunate
~ told his young daughter of his good luck
and aroused her suspicious She secured
pistol and followed him out to the barn
where the game going on, but found |
that her father had bet and lost his money !
and it was still lying on the board, together ,
with the 500 the sharpers had put up. |
Before they could pocket the money this !
courageous child of Calhoun county opened |
| fire on them and they ran for their lives,
minus the $1,000.
Aiterp putting the robbers to flight the
heroic girl gathered up the money and took
1t to the village bank. She says she accom-
plishcd two things. She not only saved her
father from losing his money, but won for
herself $500 from the sharps, and this she
now declare, she is going to use to finish her
ed"cation-a very commendable disposition
OF the money. 1t is likely that the conf
dence men in the Calhoun region will here
after steer clear ofthis farm and leave the
field open to Legitimate oil lcasers. -Intelli-
gsncer
Now ifthis was written for burlesque it
is tremendously funny and if it was written
seriously it IS funnier tremendously. If one
John L. Day was not ut times concealed in
the columns Of the Intelligencer, the Gazette
would be confident the stirring production is
the latter, but it may be the production is
one OF Mr.. Days choicest pieces of humor,
dressed down so as not to he too moving or
pungent. The doubt about the whole mat
ter really makes the situation charming, or
sad, or bcwildcring, or something.
1T kind of pains the Gazette to expose
the veal, points in the romance Calhoun
county girls and some in Richie, do not
handle revolvcrs. They simply kick II man
with pair of number CTS" and he dies
Sometimes they pull up Il hickory or oak
sapling by the roots and strike down band
OF handitti or Janditti of bands Us the case
may be.
Swindlcrs never venture into Calhoun
county. 1t is well known that the peculiar
atmosphere over there transforms Il swindler
Into stone in twenty minutes by the watch.
Some one always takes pleasure in holding
the watch, so swindlcrs always stay out of
the county.
Again there are no uns,lspecting farmers
in Calhoun. Any farmer in the county
would at once suspect Il blacksna<e of swal-
lowing rats, and would feed the rats eight
ounce tac!is to annoy the industrious SER
pcnt.
Again there are no ''young daughters" in
Calhoun county One of the requirements
Of the realm is that every daughter shall be
twcnty-one years old when she is born
Then think of Calhoun county farmer
with five hundred dollars. The only man
over there who ever saw that much money
was newspaper fellow by the name of Barr
Sam Rarr-Col Sam Barr-and lac bcheld
it while in some great foreign city like
| Wheeling.
All novels end with a climax. This APP
p;Tatus is reached by the Intelligenccr in
having the heroic girl gather up the mon
ey and take it to the village bank" See
the noble creature as she approaches the
bank Observe her flashing eye Notice
her sconiul smile. o, the Calhoun maiden
is fair to look upon as she takes the cash to
the bank!
But stop! Calhoun county villages have
no banks. Mr.. L. NJ. Carver, ofthc Richie
county bank, was recently over at Grants
willie with one in his pocket, but he failed to
leave it.
No bank, no heroic girl, no unsuspccting
farmer, no swindlcrs, no 500, no nothin'-
'is this The basee>s fabric Of drcam?'-
Gazette