The Wilmington daily Republican., 1901-04-06
OLD SCHOOL SQUIRE.


Justice of the peace Of the old school. He
has been the town squire for some months
more than half century. His father before
him was justice and his grandfather on his
mothers side also held the Office in the
same town, so that the family has had
squire for few years more than century.
The present justice is Theodore Sanford,
He is in his eghty-second year and has
fund of interesting "reminiscences, Tor when
he was young in his justiceship the physical
was about as important qualification for a
good justice as the legal.
In all his experience Squire Sanford, as
the whole neighborhood calls him, has never
carried a revolver or any other firearm, yet
he has captured many desperate. Hs
is about medium height, and in his most
vigorous days he never weighed more than
$50 pounds. He does not know the meaning
OF the word fear, even to this day.
Only a few months ago he captured
woud-be burglar who was trying to force
open one of his windows. lie walked up
softly behind the thief and brought his hand
down hard on the man 5 shoulder. Without
a word he led him inside the house and soon
the burglar was lodged in the lookup.
For 80 years the squire has firmly believed
that the great secret of his success in sub
DUNG desperate men is his heavy hand. He
always brings it down hard on the mans
shoulder, if he can get near enough.
"You can feel him go down under hard
downward grasp" he says. "He will weak.
en- almost always. 1t may be the conscious.
ness OF superior power; ! don't know II
takes him all unawares, and he collapses.'
Only once has the squire met with serious
injury. That was when man whom he had
been lecturing struck him with a slung shot.
The squire dropped, partly stunned, but he
soon staggered to his feet and made after
the man. He was not fleet enough, however,
and maybe he was dizzy and weak from the
blow. AT all events the man got away, and
he has not been seen in Bellcville since.
In his younger days the squire was cele
brated for his sprinting powers. Once
constable came to him with tough custom
er, for whom the county authorities had long
been seeking. The squire was busy in his
little office at the time and told the con.
stable to keep the prisoner outside until he
was ready to attend to him. Presently the
constable burst open the door, crying out
that the man had vaulted the low fence at
the foot of the front lawn and had made off,
The squire jumped to his feet tore off his
coat rs he ran and charged out into the road
There, learning the direction the fugitive
had taken he put up the street at top
speed. Reaching the corner he saw the
fugitive away down the street, and then he
settled down for a long chase. The pursuit
continued for about mile. At last the
fugitive became winded, and seeing this the
squire groped for his second wind and got it,
The fugitive dartcd into field and stopped,
drawing knife. There he stood, waiting
the pursuer. But the squire never hesitated
lie came right on and with one last des.
perate lunge threw himself directly on the
man and bore him to the ground. The knife
dropped to the ground, and the squire got
it. When the constable came up the man
was ready to 60 with them.
Shortly after the civil war man named
Kngsland, living in Franklin, town two or
three miles above Belleville, committed
murder He was ship carpenter, and when
he returned to his house after killing his
man he put the bloody broadax in a barrel
beside the door and with it he placed a
sword lie told the neighbors that if tho
squire came for him they might tell him
that he would have to face those grisly
weapons.
The squire was sent for, and he came
promptly. When he got to the house there
was crowd of perhaps hundred of the
neighbors grouped nearby waiting for him,
The house had long, narrow room running
along the front with two smaller rooms to
the rear. The barrel with the bloody broad
AK and the ancient sword stood just inside
the front door, which was at one end of the
long front room. The squire planned his at.
tack carefully. He decided that he must
get between Kingsland and the ak and
sword somehow.
He called man from the crowd and made
rooms which commanded a view of an open
door leading into the other back room. The
latter room was the furthest away from the
murdercrs arsenal, and the squire planned
to catch him in it. He instructed the man
at the window to raise his hand when he
saw kingsland in the room through the
door.
Then he looked the crowd over and Sc.
lected two men noted for their physical
strength. lie summoned them to the front
door and explained that, when the man at
the window raised his arm they, w~th him
self, would charge against the door, using
their bodies as batteripg ram He figured
that their combined strength would force
it open.
1t was night and there was a bright moon.
For some minutes the party stood silent,
listening to the sound of Kingsland's foot.
steps as he wandered about his dark house,
alone. At last the man at the window
raised his arm The squire gave the word
and the trio fell upon the door. 1t crashed
back and the squire shot down the long
front room and into the furthest back room.
lie came upon kingsland walking about and
in the dim moonlight he made straight for
him and threw his arms around him, say.
ing as he did so:
"Kingsland, its me- you know what that
means"
Kingsland was taken by SURPRISE and
never tried to escape. He was taken off to
the county Jail in Newark, and the old
broadax was used against him in court. II
turned out that the man whom he had
killed had given him some provocation, 30
he got off with sentence of 90 years
"Yon would scarcely believe it" said the
squire III tenIng the stony Lne otner uay,
"but when Kingsland got out of Jail he had
the nerve to come here and ask me for that
ak Of his. He got it, too, for | had kept it
all these years in the collection have been
making since 1851. IN. Y. Sun.