Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-06-02

the cabins and "double-logs" along the
Wabash, from Reelfoot Pond to Big Rat
tlesnake Creek and from the Wabash to
the uttermost parts of the Overcoat road.
Everybody who told the story in after
times, and all those who took part in
the stirring events as they occurred, were
fond of making this commentary upon
them. OF course, there were the Dikeses,
the Sparkses, the Ellets, the Go-unses
and the Shipleys, that knew better. They
had seen excitement in their times-the
old people. They could tell you of times
| that were times! But for the time be-
I ing, and for the purpose of the argument,
this was conceded by everybody to be
the most exciting of all times. Just as
last winters coolest ten days are uni
versally conceded to have been without
a parallel in the history of meteorological
observations.
And what would you have? If there
are to be held in remembrance maximum
phenomena of every variety of Incident
epochal, meteorological and seismic
what is to become of posterity in the way
of story telling? Are we to be forever
silenced simply because our ancestors
| NNeu ana lied DefOre us J.!
For the purposes of this period. then,
there was never an approach to the ex-
citement Of the day that followed the
night of which we have just spoken. Men
seized the just and lawful excuse of the
late heavy rain to keep out of their
wheat fields, and away from their wait
ing meadows. Plow horses We're saddled,
where saddles were; and where they
were not, a padded sheepskin or a folded
horse blanket, glrthed on old Jim or old
Nance, or some 2-year-old colt. served
the present purpose, and every male in
| habitant over twelve and under a hun
dred was out and mounted, single" gen
orally, but not infrequently double"
and in each and every instance armed in
some sort of fashion-armed to the teeth.
Men frequently. but by far the most
generally, boys galloped across strips
of green prairie, loaded with long ham
merlock squirrel rife, carried upon the
right shoulder or across the lap. upon
the pommel of the saddle Here they
dash through a thicket of yellow bios
somed wild artichokes, and Indian cups,
and wild hemp, and purple-belled jimson.
They are expecting to come upon the en-
envy at any moment-all those who come
from Reelfoot Pond. For they have
heard that the enemy-the railroaders-
hold armed and hostile possession of the
Farmers Bank, and, in fact all Sand
town. including the captivity of their
leading citizen. Coonrod Redden, together
with the sheriff and all his posse.
A smoke has been seen in some unac-
countable quarter, for smoke, and from
suspicion unguardedly propagated
there arises the authenticated report that
little jim Dikeses' house is being burned
along with others, up on Big Rattlesnake
Creek
Boys are careering about with wild de-
light, looking eagerly for the enemy in
every thicket, at every crossing. Other
squads of boys, far off, up or down the
wide river bottom, are at times taken
for the enemy, and there is danger Of
collisions among the different squads of
the Wabash people themselves.
However, old Captain Joe Ellet, who
was in the Revolutionary War, and who
has mounted his antique cooked hat, his
blue brass-buttoned coat, his one huge
leathern epaulette on his right shoulder,
and is seated in two-hOrse wagon. play
ing on very shrill fife an absurd trav-
esty ON ',The Girl Left Behind Me-"
pauses to suggest that all Sandtowners
tie a piece of red flannel upon their right
arms for a sign by day, and a strip of
white tow-linen upon the same arm for
a sign by night. This suggestion is at
once bruited about as very remarkable
evidence of the practical knowledge of
an old soldier, and is acted upon at once
even very many women investing
themselves with this war badge.
Great numbers of people from all parts
of the country have made the wild ex-
citement of this bright, cool. sunny July
day pretext for concentrating at the
large house and gathering at the ample
board of Coonrod Redden. They all
wanted to hear, direct from headquarters
the story of the noted old Hoosier farm
er's capture. And then they were sure
that his house would be a sort of central
station for the reception Of dispatches
from the seat of war. The large stables
were full of the visiting nags" of the
immediate Redden family, and their
wives nearest relations; and the hitch
ing racks and the lane fences were
thronged with squenling, kicking and bit
Ing old mares whose maniacal young colts
were careering up and down lanes and
roads. neighing shrilly and in chaotic
chords as they dashed at every old moth
er mare save the dam that belonged to
the particular dasher.
Not by any possibility was any one
of the hundreds of careering and shrek
ing colts ever able to recognize the moth
er. past whom 1t dashed in mad pursuit
of some unsympathetic and petulant
horse having not the slightest resem-
blance to the abandoned and ignored
| dam.