The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1910-10-25
HOW HE
WAS SAVED
BY WILLS BEACH POTTER
Copyright, 1910, by American Press
Association,


fer a warnin. Ole Man Thompson
had been murdered in his bed and
5000 taken. Bill Stimson was held up
on the road and relieved of his watch
and chain, These and other crimes
+ were committed, yet no one was ar.
rested
About that time my brother Tim
come from Californy and was stayin'
with me on the farm. Tim was as
peaceable a Teller as you ever see
wouldn't hurt nobody But he liked
to hunt, and, it bein' in the fall o the
year, when game was plenty, l got a
lot o. my friends to go over into Ma
son county, where there was wood
cock. We took kit with us, calcu-
latin to be gone week
= Waal, one evenin' when we was
collectin' In camp all on us got in ex-
cept Tim. When we sot down to sup
= per he wasn't there. and when it was
time to turn in we was obleeged to do
it without him. / wanted to 60 out
and hunt for him, but the rest lowed
i couldn't find him in the dark, that
he'd got lost or somep'n and would
turn up next day.
WAL, about midnight was woke up
by Tim himself
by gum, Timr' / says. Have y
seen ghosty
He was the most skeered Teller you
ever seen-white as the snow and his
teeth chatterin'. AS soon as he
could ketch his breath he said:
They're comm to hang me. / was
watchin' fer birds when l met a man
who looked at me kind o. queer. He
went of and come back with two 9TH
er men. They all tied my hands and
TUX me to a small town. A Teller was
brought in, who looked at me and said.
'Thats him" Then they all set around
and talked me over | knew they TUX
me fer some un else, and there wasn't
no use tryin' to make EN- think
wasn't Most of 'em was for hangin'
me right up at onct. They said If the
law got a holt Of me I'd never be pun
ished. / begged so hard for EN- to give
me one day to prove who was that
at last they consented.
"phey TUX me to some uns office and
left me in charge of two of 'em. One
of the two left me in charge of the
other. while he went off to git somep'n
for 'em both to drink. He brought
back a bottle, which they finished,
then the other one, he went off and
got another bottle. and by the time
they'd drank that they was both
drunk. First one went to sleep then
the other. | dug out and here / am.
AS soon as I'm missed III be follered. !"
| woke up the other men, Abe Wood
ruff and Oliver Swayne, and we held
a consultation. Eff they come to take
Tim there'd probably be enough of EN-
TO take him in spite of all we could
do, but we was four shotguns in the
party and concluded to put up a fight
rather'n have 'em take him. About 4
O'Clock in the mornin we heard the
barkin' o dogs, and | knowed they'd
find Tim shore. since they was after
him with bloodhounds.
We wasn't fur from Jimtown, where
there's postoffice, and the railroad
runs through ii. While we was CON
sultin' We seen a man git up on a plat
form and hang a mail bag to one O.
them posts what's used fer deliverin'
the bag 70 a man in the mailcar on a
pasln' train without its stoppin The
man left the bag and went away. The
barlin' was comm mighty near, and
concluded I'd go out and meet the
posse and have talk with EN-. Restin'
my shotgun across the pommel Of my
saddle, / rode forward, crossin' the
track beside which the mail bag hung
lookin' in the night for all the world
like n man swingin' on gallows. At
fust it seemed it meant that my broth.
er would swing shore. Then all on
student an idee come to me. There
was faint light in the east when
met the party comm down the road
! counted ten Of EN-.
"Hello.' | says. whats up7"
"Yistiday,' said one on 'em, I'VE
raught the man that killed ole Thomp
son. Sam Jones found him hidin' In q
wood. We TUX him and was keepln
him under guard till tomorrer mornin
TO hang him. Aft Andrews and Charlie
Moore was watchin him, but he got
fem both drunk ard 1T out"
WAL" says /, there's two crowds
of us got onto the same purpose, and
we got ahead Of you. He was hidin
from us when you TUX him. When be
escaped, like a fool, he run right agin
us, We strung him up at onct, fearin
he'd git away If we didn't"
you don't mean it,"
'Yas, we done it,"
"Whar did you hang him?"
Right over there. l kin show him
to you, but we don't want no interfer-
ence with the body, since / give him
my word Of honor I'd send it TO his
wife for burial"
/ TUX 'em whar they could see the
mail bag. but not very near it.
1T looks all right, said the leader o
the party, "but l think we'd ought to
see that it's our man"
mo" / says, 1--WE done all ort to
do shown you the corpse. We got a
huntin party over there, and I'm shore
none Of EN- would let any one inter
fere"
They consulted. and, SEEM we was