Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1900-09-28
CALAMITY MURRAY.

One bright Summer morning John
Murray kissed his wife and newly born
babe, and with a light heart hurried
away to his work, singing merrily as
the lark. The sun came over the hills
and made the dewdrops on the flowers
sparkle like so many diamonds; birds
sang in every tree, and the skies
seemed bluer and brighter than ever
before, but how many days Of sorrow
have dawned as bright?
A storm came up after noon, and a
cyclone swept over the hills, leaving
a trail of death and desolation. John
Murray came home-no, not home His
home had stood in the path of the cy-
clone The humble cabin was now a
pile of broken tlmbers.
Strong arms and willing hands
cleared away the logs, and beneath
them they found the mangled body Of
the young wife, dead.
Like the giant oak of the forest, rent
man when all that is near and dear Is
taken from him in one moment, with
out warning. By the mangled body
of his dead wife John Murray cried
aloud in his anguish. Friends and
neighbors came by and bye, and took
him away, and when his first terrible
grief was over they brought his
child. Clasped to its mothers breast,
they had found 1t unhurt. Maternal
love grows stronger when face to face
with death, and, dying, the woman had
saved the child.
John Murray turned from the chilt
with a shudder; from the little whit,
face the eyes of his wife looked up int,
his
"What shall we call him, John? p
asked the kind neighbors who had
cared for the child, one day when it
was several months old.
The mangled form of the dead wife,
the ruined home, rose before the
father, and he answered: "Call him
Calamity"
So Calamity Murray was named.
Before the child was a year old John
Murray sickened and died, of broken
heart, his neighbors said, and Calamity
grew up like the wild flowers on his
native hills. The rough mountaineers
had tender hearts, and the child never
suffered for food or clothing, but no
one ever spoke a kind word to him,
and early in life he realized somehow
that he was an outcast. He grew to
manhood, ignorant and rough as the
poorest of the people around him. and
with the feeling that he had no friend
in the world. Why did he not go away
in by the blue hills around his native
valley.
Calamity found work with the moon
sinners, and he soon became an expert
at making the mountain dew" as the
liquor was called. But somehow the
moonshiners distrusted him, and his
every movement was watched. Once
he was intrusted with a wagon load OF
the Illicit whiskey and sent over the
mountain into Willis Valley to dispose
of it. Before he had sold a single gal
Ion the wagon was captured by reve
nue. officers, who started to Huntsville
with Calamity, after disposing of the
team and the load. Somehow Calam
| ity managed to escape from the Off
GERS and made his way back to tbs
still in the mountain. His story was
not believed, and he was openly ac
| cused of being a spy and a traitor
Four well-armed ard desperate moon
sinners bound Calamity with ropes
leaving only his legs free, and started
with him to Willis Valley to learn Il
there was any truth in his story. They
found the story of the capture true
and released Calamity after cursinl
him for his stupidity and carelessness
After all this he went back ant
worked for these men again, because
he knew no better, but the distrust Of
him had been increased, and his Hf'
was made harder than ever before.
During the Winter of 1S- the reve
nue. officers made number of success
full raids into the Sand Mountain coun
try and destroyed number of stills
1t soon became evident to the moon
sinners that there was a traitor ant
spy among them. For awhile the!
made no more liquor, but met ever!
night at some secluded spot to tall
over the situation and try to diseove
the informer.
Calamity Murray hain't got no rea
son not ter give we'uns erway ter the
revenoos," suggested one Of the leader
Of the gang one night and immedlatel.
a dozen of them agreed that Calamit
was the guilty man. Notwithstandin
his protestations of innocence, swif
and terrible punishment would hav
been meted out to him had not one o
the eldest members OF the band inter
ceded for him and urged the moon
sinners to do nothing until they sc
cured some proof that Calamity wa
the traitor.
No raids were made for severa
weeks, and the mOonshiners were sui
ficiently recovered from their alaru
Millions will be spent in polite
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