Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-06-09
CHAPTER xvI.-fCoptinued.,. !.


news of the rapid approach of the enemy,
now that everybody knows that Sand
'sown is in the lawful and peaceful pos
session of the SandtOwn Circuit Court
Judge Jim Skillet upon the bench for the
purpose of hearing motions in Injunction
proceedings, in a vast number of cases
oil sales to take place on the morrow,
unless enjoined.
Squads of ritlemen marching In no par
ticular order so far as the keeping of
step and alignments are cOncerned-but
not whit the less formidable, be it un-
derstood-marched or struggled out along
the Overcoat road past the fields of half
grown corn on the one side and the hazel
fringed edge of "Wickly's Woods" as
the timbered hills upon the left had been
christened year ago.
Away to the east along this junction of
bottom prairie and wooded hills there
were unwonted movements of men across
little patches of corn, or standing long
and steadily behind "string" of north
and south fence from which the occa
siOnal scintilation of the sun upon a
rifle barrel gave ominous electric warn
ing of the presence Of imminent war in
the land.
All manner of reports came thronging
into the Redden mansion, and directly
up to the bedroom where LizZy Wickly
and her mother sat at an east window,
and watched and thought, but spoke lit
tie save in answer to the frequent re-
ports and comments that some one or
another of the numerous visitors brought
up at frequent intervals.
Now it was that Mr.. Mason had been
captured by the sherjff's re-enforced
posse; and the Big Rattlesnake Creek
were upon the point of "hossun him up"
as the expression was, for summary and
dire vengeance. This frequently recur-
ring form Of the report always had its
effect upon Lizzy. Always startled her
ont of a pleasant reverie in which she
was going over some part of last nights
final colloquy with variations of her own
invention in the line of her after thoughts
and wishes.
Again there were martial stories of
samgUinary encounters somewhere in the
depths of of,"Wickly's Woods" or upon the
neighbOring banks of Big Rattlesnake,
where, according to all accounts, the
warlike clans were encamped and forti-
fled.
One man brought in a new and un-
heard-of story to the effect that Coonrod
Redden and the sheriff were not in the
hands of Mason and his men; but were
captives in the camp of an opposing arm
ed body of railroaders belonging to an
other and opposition company. He said,
tOo, that the whole difficulty was really
in fap cbo trio Of cb atn-I
overreaching between two rival railroad
companies. That Mason, representing
one of these had secured a legal advan-
tage over the other in the purchase of
some mortgage notes upon some very
valuable mining property somewhere.
And the other company discovering this,
had sent down a force of armed opera
tives to prevent the making of track
upon the mining lands. He also. said that
Coonrod Redden and the sheriffs posse
had not been held prisoners by anybody.
According to his story there had been
sharp and determined encounter be-
tween the men of the two contending in
tcrests, in which a number had been
seriously or slightly wounded, and sew
eral killed outright. And that up to the
present time Mason had the best of the
fight and his men were working like
beavers, protected by two lines of rife
men. He himself had seen few of
these men on picket guard in some open
ings of the woods; and the hills fairly
rang with the echoing blows of hundreds
of axes, and the crash of falling trees.
This story. not at all suited to the no.
tions and preconceived opinions of the
orally scredited-especially as no one
seemed to be acquainted" with the man
who told it. And hence. he was with
out voucher, and his story was without
corrohoration.
However, word was brought down di-
rectly from Judge Jim Silket that five
hundred armed men had been sworn in
as deputy sheriffs for the purpose of ar
resting q large number of railroad EN-
ployes who had been tighting-one party
ngainst another That these deputy sher-
ifs in columns of fours had ridden out
OF town and would be heard from before
night.
This news was brought by Columbus
Redden, who had prudently refrained
from joining his four brothers in the
morning hunt for their father, but who
now had his colt hitched in the front
yard, where he wouldn't be in danger
from the teeth or heels of the rapacious
mares of Redden township that were
making day hideous with their squealing
and trampling in perpetual combat. I'm.
mediately after dinner Columbus was
to take the road in person; and every.
body believed that he, too, would be
heard from.
In this state of active siege, with SC
many sorties in progress or contempla.
tion; with hundreds of rumors coming
and going, and the sight Of little squads
of men riding this way and that, becom.
ing of less and less moment to Lizzy and
her mother, the day went by.
Long before 1t had passed the hungry
Hoosier mothers of Reelfoot Pond and
vicinity had filled their good, strong, re-
liable stomachs to repletion; had smok