The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-06-21
SURPRISED BY NIGHT
HOW THE FAMOUS PONY CLUB WAS
CRUSHED 81 THE "SLlcKS.H

Which Committed Depredations
throughout the South Was Finally
Wiped Out by Another Secret hand.
Back 10 the thirties and forties there
roamed over the states Of North and
South Carolina. Florida. Georgia. Ala
bama. Louisiana. Mississippi. Ohio and
Tennessee q devil may care band Of men
who styled themselves the PONY club"
They were regularly organized, had
grips. signs and passwords and duly
elected officers. The initiatory oath was
filled with blood curdling blasphemies
and iron bound benedictions, the penalty
being death to those who were SO fool
hardy as to break 1t. The story goes that
many . poor fellow has fed alligators In
Florida bogs and Danthers and wolves
In Tennesses's wilds for the least tenden.
cy toward being inharmonious.
Their plan Of operation was to steal
q Florida horse and meet on halfway
ground and exchange him for one fresh
from Tennessee or Ohio: vice versa with
one from South Carolina or one from Mis-.
sissdppi. and it was extremely difficult to
catch uD with the right party. But these
depredations became % numerous and
daring and the consequent loss 80 great
that the pioneers gathered together and
determined to stop their maraudings and
bring the offenders to justice. 80 q Sc
cret convention was called and band or
sanized styling themselves the "Slicks"
When a horse was stolen from q COM
mHnity, runners were sent to every coun.
~. and thus the news spread until from
. the Ohio to the Everglades and from the
Pedes 10 the Missiasippi the warning
rolled along, and II seemed well nigh Inn
possible for a thief to escape with q
horse. Notwithstanding all these precau-
lions and watchfulncss the club existed
and did some business.
During those days Heard. Carroll and
HARRISON were the dark corner Of Geor-
gia. aAd il a clubmsn could only get his
booty IN their thick jungles and forests
pursuit was Of little consequence. The
truth is, the majority Of the settlers eli
Their belonged to the organizations or
were 80 coerced that they dared not fight
them. This is said with all due respect
70 Il great many heroic pioneers, whose
honest souls ysarned for q better civili-
cation. and when torbearance did cease
to be virtue ross In their might and
Joined the Sticks"
About FIVE miles north. above Buchan-
an. Oh the banks Of the Tallapoosa river,
are two old race paths. now ,overgrown
with saplings and brush. some of the
kees being as large as a mans waist.
The tracks run parallel with the river,
which at this point Is straight and wide.
Parallel with and overlooking these
tracks 10 u steep bluff about 40 or 80 feet
high. which completely shuts the track
from view. and excepting a small ravlne
there is no entrance or exit. At this
place tho PONY club had its rendez-
vous. From all quarters they came here
and ran horse races. gambled. danced and
caroused generally. and here II was they
exchanged their horses TO be showed In
opposite directions. No one lived near
the place. and the gang only entered II
at night. and then only on Saturday
night. Sunday night there would be Q
general carousal and leave takipgs.
1t was years before their retreat was
discovered The information fortunately
fell into good. honest hands. and on the
Saturday following there was more than
one 'sSlick" winding his way toward an
appointed rendezvous. carefully and Sc
sretly The sninitisted thought every
turkey and deer In the country was go
Ing 70 be killed. Judging from the promis-
cuous rubbing up- printing and loading Of
the odd "fint and sieels" Twelve O'Clock!
The sentry at the ravtne's mouth put his
hand to his month and "Whip-poor-willl
Whip-poor-wiH! Whip-poor- plant
I've and weird. trpmbled upon the mid.
night air and Hoated OF toward the
swamps below.
Far away up the hills came the answer
ing note: whip with q will! Whip
With Q WIN! Whip With a willr' As the
repH. waited down the ravins. fell Hpon
the sentIaef's ears. be paused and listen.
ed. An was still; nothing was heard ex-
eept the impatient stamping OF the horseA
Tie cautiously advanced TO the entrance
and GaEed up and down the stretch OF
tvach. Lyme upon the Rround. wrapped
In blankets. VIEW the forms Of about 100
men. They were sleeping soundiy. most
Of them bt4ng fatigued by hard days
ride. More than q hundred horses were
tethered along the bank Of the stream.
Some werS beautiful Kentucky thorough
sreds: others FLORIDA mustangs. There
were an sorts and sizes, but a. the "Pony
boys" were Inclined to BE- fastidious In
their tastes and Hikes most Of the horses
were beautiful and we'll kept
Stacked IN piles were short carbines
and rifles. sucA a. could be hidden under
coats, shawls or cioaks. and hanging all
over the Enclosure were huge horse pis-
tolls. Sitting alongside the bluff In regu-
lay order were jugs and bottles and cups
In rich prOfHsion.
The tired forms Of the men never
stirred: they slept IN peaceful security:
their sentry was At bis post.
Presently q dark form. slipping from
tree to tsee. from bowider to bowlder,
was seen TO pass around to the mouth Of
the ravips: snother and yet another until
the whole wood seemed to ha alive with
phantoms A Wild shrek. a shot. q
splash into the river. and then pnndemO-
MUM for ahout ten minutes. The "Slicks"
had conquered for once. II was a hand
to hand fight The PONY boys" awoke
amid the flame and smoke to find that
the enemy was upon them. They rushed
into the shallow river and scattered as
fast as they conld. They nearly all es-
capped. Not one was killed outright.
though many were wounded. Some Of
tho fugitives had to tramp the unbroken
wilds In attire like that Of Father Adam
until they found succoring friends. AL
The horses and q great deal Of money
were recovered.
The "Pony club" was finally crushed.
The Bones Of the Conqueror.
A splendid monument brilliant with
gems and gold was erected by William
Rufus over the ashes Of his father. but
in the Huguenot wars Of the sixteenth
century the Abbey Of St. Stephen was
plundered and partly destroyed. the
shrine WAS wrecked, and the bones Of the