Middletown transcript., 1899-06-10
KEPT THE SAELEION.
QUEER REVENGE OF a MAN WHOSE
FRIEND WAS MURDERED.

FnIENO WFAO tIOflOEnEO
He Took the Bones of the Murderer
From the Grave and Hung Them ON
the wall of His Outhouse-A Trag-
edy of the Civil War.
Morning, colonel
Morning, sir, . replied the man who
was leaning over the fence.
| He was a short, thickset man, with
clear and piercing eye, his face shaved
smooth. with not the suggestion of a
wrinkle; yet his hair was as white as
snow. He had a slight southern accent,
and his hearty manner of inviting the
visitors in and his cordial hospitality
were wholly southern. One of the visit
ors knew him and had told the other
that there was a man with bona fide
skeleton in his closet and that the skele-
ton had story. It did not require any
persuasion to obtain a glimpse of the
skeleton. The owner presently led the
way to an outhouse, and, opening the
door, displayed the skeleton of man,
badly fastened together and hanging
to the wall by the neck The Missourian
did not object to telling the story.
..That fellow" he said, motioning
with his thumb to the skeleton, twas
once an acquaintance Of mine, and I
liked him SO we'll this with laugh
'sthat have kept him by me ever since,
SO that can come out and stir him up
whenever feel disposed, and he gave
the skeleton dig in the ribs.
'It was this way" he continued,
closing the door on his acquaintance.
During the war lived in one of the
southern states, where I was about the
only northern man. They took nearly
everything that had as time went on,
killed my stock, killed some of my peo-
pie and finally announced that they
were going to kill me. Nearly all the
country was terrorized at that time by
a good for nothing chap whom we will
call Jim Conner; that was not his name,
but it will do-one name is as good as
another now.
"When the war broke out, he started
in as sort of independent guerrilla and
began system of looting and killing
I knew him well, and he sent me word
that he was coming my way and was
going to burn my house and hang me
to tree in the yard. ] sent word
back that I was ready for him. We
heard Of him all around-men shot,
niggers killed, houses burned-so that
the name Of Jim Conner became thing
to scare children, not to speak of men.
I was always trying to help northern
men, and one time had two or three
with me. passing them on as occasion
offered.
''I had not heard from Conner or his
raids for some weeks, when one day he
rode into the yard and swore that he
was going to burn the house. We had
no means of protecting ourselves ex-
cept by using a rife, and with that
tried to pick him off from the top story;
but he had picked up one of my friends
who had been in the field, and they put
him on horse and stood behind him and
shot at the windows of the house, at
the same time gathering brush with
which, they said, to burn the house
tBut no one dared to approach the
house, as was sure shot, supposed
that they would wait until night and
then creep up and burn me out. kept
out of sight and could not believe that
they would murder man in cold blood.
But, hearing shout, I glanced through
a bullet hole in the shutter and saw
them driving my friends horse up to
tree-a fine old tree that had planted
as boy. One of the limbs crossed the
drive, and to this they fastened the
rope and drove the horse away, leaving
my friend dangling there, and I watch
ing the operation totally helpless, while
they were looking on.
"Some United States troops finally
came along and drove them off and cut
the body down, and we joined in the
chase. I hunted the gang for weeks,
then gave it up, as it was evident that
they had given us the slip After the
war I moved to California and came
here. I soon heard Of a curious char
acter who lived up in one Of the cam
yons the life of hermit never con-
nected his name with Conner, it being
more or less common. But when he
died one day the story was that he had
had bad record back in Missouri; that
he had been murderer, etc., and it
occurred to me that it might be my old
enemy, the man had been. after for so
many years.
81 can't say that / have a particu-
larly revengeful disposition, said the
skeleton owner, "but he had murdered
my friend, and I had never given up
the hope of finding him and was always
on the lookout. The old fellow was
alone and homeless, it seems, with no
friends, and they had buried him by the
side Of his nut. I heard of it few days
later and employed some men to aid |
me in the investigation.
Conner had a bad saber wound |
across the face, by which no one could |
ever fail to recognize him, and when |
we opened the grave there was the |
man, while papers which he left showed |
that he was Conner. I had found him |
too late to turn him over. to the law. |
So proposed to hang him where |
could keep an eye on him for the rest |
of my life. and in my will propose to
leave instructions that he shall be left |
hanging, dangling in the wind, just |
as he had hanged my friend had his
skeleton prepared, as no one claimed
him, and hung him up as warning to
any Of his seed that might follow in his
footsteps. "-C Chicago Inter Ocean.
How He Explained.
"How do you explain the phenomena