The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-05-17

know if / was there and took part in it. !
| told them / was there and took part in
it. Being still uncertain as to who they
were and what their mission might be |
determined not to tell who else helped
take it. should they ask me. They then
asked me what we did unto those robbers
I replied that we tied them to stakes and
shot them. The lieutenant in command
sfid: 81 am glad of it; you have saved
us the trouble of it, for if we had taken
them we should have executed them" He
then told us that the message which we
sent while on our way to Fort Handy
had reached their headquarters and that
they were on their way to settle all these
troubles and put an end to all the law
lessness 1t can be truthfully said that
no men from whatever section ever came
into that part Of our State who were
more cordially welcomed. The lieutenant
had tkirty-one men in his command on
that trip, but two other divisions of
them had gone to other places for break
fast.
SIMMONS.
They went on into the mountains and
captured the notrious Simmons whose
name has been mentioned in connection
with that of Wade They took him to
their eneampment near Lexington, n. c..
and put him into the guard house. While
plundering and numbering in the noun
tains he had supplied himself with a
good sum of gold and silver with some
of which ne bribed the sentinel and got
away, and has never been heard from
since in those parts.
In August 1865, was asked to open Up
a school in Wilkesboro and entered upt 4
the work the first of September. Phe
school house was on a high ridge west of
! the town nearly a mile from the court
house. ] boarded in the home of Mr.. II.
Curtis, at the ford of the Yadkin River
on the road leding from Wilkesboro to
Jefferson, in Ashe county 1t was just
one mile from Mr.. Curtis's to the court
| house, and about a quarter of mile to
the school house. l went my boarding
place each day for dinner. as did also
his son, and daughter and young lady
who was boarding there. The first week
| in October the first court that had been
| held in long time was in session, Pre-
sided over by Judge Anderson Mitchell,
of Statesville One day during that
i week, just after dinner, while in the
sitting room with the two sons and three
daughters of Mr.. Curtis and the young
| lady who was boarding in the family, two
men rode up to the gate and into the
yard and right up to the window of the
room in which we were sitting and one
asked Judson, the eldest son of Mr.. Curtis
for powder to load his pistol, saying with
an oath that he had Just shot at rebel
and must have powder to reload. Judson
told him he could not get it. He replied
that he would then come in and take it by
force Judson then turned to me and
said What must / do?" / replied, do
not let him have it from now until noon
on Doom's Day, and if he attempts to
come in here we will kill him.
On two occasions before this the Handy
gang had entered this home and rifled
every trunk and drawer and broken up
furniture, and these TWO men were known
| to be their sympathizers. He then rode
to a negro cabin nearby and learning
where Mr.. Curtis was at work, galloDed
| up to him, pointing his pistol at his head,
said, GIVE me powder tn load my pistol
| or / will blow your brains out" MIR.
| Curtis replied: If you get powder from
me you will get It burnt. lie came t1ruo
the house as pale as a corpse and told
| his younger son, Finley, to go into a
small room in the rear of the building
and load those guns as quick as possible.
Finley and | had them loaded perhaps in
| less than five minutes. The young man
demanding the powder was still in the
yard on his horse. I took my stand at
the front window and turned to Mr..
Curtis and said: II want you to under
stand that l propose to kill him if he
attempts to come in" He said, THAT is
exactly what / want you to do"
The young man had dismounted and
was throwing the Bride rein over the
horse rack. At this momen Mr. Curtis's
oldest daughter came to me frantic with
| fear, begging me to put down the gun
and let him come in and take what he
would saying if we resisted some one
would be killed. l bade her go to the
rear part of the building where she would
be out of danger, and to go at once, say
| ing that l would rather die than to live
in this way Finley had taken his posi-
ton at the front door, and his father at
the parlor window. Seeing that we were
armed and ready, he at once remounted.
and leaving the other man on his horse
at the gate, said to him, "You remain
till / return / will go to town and get
my crowd and will come back to get what
| want He galloped away toward town.
went out to the gate and told the one
remaining to take his companion away as
soon as he returned; that we did not wish
to hurt any one. He said to me, You
have guns in that house, have you not?'
He was told that it was ours to know
what we had. In the meantime we sent
Judson Curtis down the river through
the bottoms to the court house to inform
the Judge and Sheriff of what was going
on. | sent the two young ladies who
were my pupils to the school house to
tell the young men there and who had
been soldiers in the war to come to me
Immediately. They came and I had not
more than time to- tell them what was
up, before he with eight or ten others
came galloping down the hill with their
pistols and as they approached the gate
we all moved into the house and took
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