Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-06-13
SURPRISED BY NIGHT
HOW THE FAMOUS PONY CLUB WAS
CRUSHED BY THE "sLLcks.n

A Secret Bind of Horse Thieves,
which Committed DepreNat;onY
Throughout the south Was ErfnniIy
Wiped Out by Another Secret Baad.
Back in the thirties and forties there
roamed over the states of North and
South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Ala
batua, Louisiana. Mississippi, Ohio and
Tennessee u devil may care land of men
who styled themselves the Pony club"
They were regularly organized, had I
grips, signs and passwords and duly |
elected officers. The initiatory oath was /
flied with blood curdling nlasphcmies 3
and iron bound benetlictioils. .iie penalty
being death to those WHO were so fool
hardy as to break ii. Tho story goes that
many u poor fellow has fed allisators in
Florida hogs and pastllc.s and wolves
in Tennessees wilas for tho least tenden-
cy toward being inliarronious.
Their plan of operation was to steal
FloriGa horse and maci u. midway
/ ground and esehtnge him "a one fresh
+, from Tennessee. o- Ohio: vice versa with
One FROM South Carolina D. one from Mis-.
sissippi and il WAS extremely difficult to
catch up with TIE right party. But these
/ depredations became so numerous and
during aud the consequent loss so great
| mat the pioneers gathered together and
determined TO stop their maraudngs and
| bring the offenders to justice. So Il Sc
cret convention was called and band or
gained styling themselves v,e Sticks
When horse was stolen from COM
muniiy, runners We're sent to every coun-
ty. and thus the news spread until from
the Ohio to the Everglades and from Tie
| Petlee to the Mississippi the warning
rolled along. and i, seemed well nigh i'm
1 possible Tor n thief to escape with
horse. notwithstanding all these precau-
tons and watchfulncss the club existed
aud did some business.
During those days Heard. Carroll and
HARRISON We're the dark corner Of Geor-
4 gia, and il u cAbnlan could only get his
4 booty i'll their thick juugles and forests
pursuit was OF little consequence. The
truth is. the majority of the settlers eli
Their belonged to the organizations or
were SO coerced that they dared not fight
/ them. This is said with all due respect
to u great many heroic pioneers, whose
4 honest souls yearued for Il better civili-
cation, and when sorbearance did cease
to be virtue rose in their might and
joined the Sticks"
About FIVE miles north. above Buchan-
an, on the banks of the Tallapoosa river,
are two old race paths, now oyergrown
with saplings and brush, some of the
trees being as large as mans waist.
The tracks run parallel with the river,
which at this point is straight and wide.
Parallel with and overlooking these
tracks is n steep bluff about 40 or 80 feet
high. which completely shuts the track
from view, aud excepting small ravine
Il there is no entrance or exit. At this
place the Pony club" had its rendez-
vons. From all quarters they came here
and ran horse races, gambled. danced and
caroused generally. and here it was they
exchanged their horses to be showed in
opposite directions. No one lived near
the place, and the gang only entered it
at night. and then only on Saturday
night. Sunday night there would be a
general carousal and leave takings.
1t was years before their retrent was
discovered. The information fortunately
fell info good. honest hands. and on the
Saturday following there was more than
one Slick winding his way toward an
appointed rendezvous. carefully and Sc
cretly The uninitiatea thought every
turkey and deer in the country was go
ing to he killed. Judging from the pronis-
cuons rubbing up, printing and loading of
the old flint and steels." Twelve o'clock!
The sentry at the ravines mouth put his
hand 70 his mouth and "Whip-poor-will!
n Whip-poor-will Whip-roor will plnnt-
I i've and weird. trembled upon the mid
nisht air and fioated off toward the
swapps below.
Far away ,;p the hills came the answer
ing note: Whip with will. Whip
, with will. Whip with n will AS the
reply. waited down the ravine. fell upon
the scntincl's ears. he paused and listen
ed. An was still; nothing was heard eA-
cept the impatient stamping Of the horses.
He cautiously advanced to The entrance
md gazed mp md down the stretch of
track. Lying upon the ground, wrapped
in blankets. were the forms Of about 100
men. They were sleeping soundly. most
of them being fatiguei by hard DAYS
ride. More thar hundred horses were
, tethered alon. the bank of the stream.
Some were beautiful Kentucky thorough
breds; others Florida mustangs. There
, We're Mi sorts ani sizes. but as the .'Fonv
boys" were Inclined 70 BE fastidious in
their tastes ard Kiss riost of the horses
; Were beautiful ard well kept.
Stacked in pies were short carbines