Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-01-12
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he would live to take his oath OF ONCE
That August court day was . mem
'orable one in Hixon. Samson South
was coming to town to take up his
duties. Every ono recognised 1t as the
day Of final issue. and one that could
hardly pass without bloodshed. The
,Hollmans. standing In their last
trench. saw only the blunt question Of
IHolman-south supremacy. For years,
the feud had Aarsd and slept and
broken again into eruptions, but never
before had South sought to throw
his outposts Of power across the wa.
tiers Of Cippleshin, and into the coun.
~ seat That the present South came
bearing commission Is an officer Of
the law only made his effrontery the
more unendurahle.
Samson had not called for outside
troops. The drilling and disciplinins
OF his own company had progressed in
silence along the waters of Misery.
They we're = slouchins, unmilitary
band of uniformed vasabonds, but they
were longing to tight. and Callomb had
been with them. tirelessly whipping
them into rudimentary shape. After
all. they were 90 much partisans az
they had been before they were issued
state rifles. The battle. II 1t came,
would be az fractional - the fight of rs
years ago. when the Hollmans held
the store and the Souths the court.
house. But back Of all that lay one es.
sential difference. and 1t was this diff.
ference that had urged the governor
TO stretch the forms Of law and put
such dangerous power into the hands
Of ono man. That difference was the
man himAelf. He was to take drastic
steps, but he was to take them under
the forms Of law. and the state execu-
tive believed that. having gone through
worse to better, he would maintain the
improved condition.
Early that morning. men began to
assemble along the streets of Hixon;
and to conEregate into sullen clumps
with set facea that denoted grim.
unsmiling determination. Not only the
Hollmans from the town and immedi-
ate neighborhood were there. but their
shasgier. dercer brethren from remote
creeks and covers. Who came only at
urgent call. and did not come without
intent Of .vindicating their presence.
Old Jake >Hollman. from cover yon" on
tho headwaters Of Dryhole creek.
brought his son and fourteen-year-old
grandson, and al Of them carried Win
chesters. Long before the hour for
the courthouse bell to sound the call
which would bring matters to a crisis.
women disappeared from the streets.
and front shutters and doors closed
themselves. At last. the souths began
to ride In By half.dosens. and to hitch
their horses ct the racks. they also
fell into groups we'll apart The two
factions eyed each other somberly.
sometimes nodding or exchanging
greetings. for the time had not yet
come to fight. Slowly. however. the
Hollmans began centering about the
courthouse. They swarmed in the
yard. and entered the empty Jail. and
overran the halls and Offices Of the
building itself. The souths. now COM
ing in solid stream. flowed with
equal unanimity to Mowers hotel.
near the square, and disappeared in
side. Besides their rifles, they carried
but not one Of the uni
forms which some Of these bags con-
tanned, nor one of the cartridge belts.
had yet been exposed to view.
Stores opened, but only for . desul-
tory pretense Of business. Horsemen
led their mounts away from the more
public racks, and tethered them to
back fences and willow branches in
the shelter OF the river banks, where
stray bullets would not ind them.
The dawn that morning had still
been gray when Samson South and
Captain Callomb had passed the MIL
Ter cabin. Callomb had ridden slowly
ON around the turn Of the road. and
waited quarter Of . mile away. He
was to command the militia that day,