Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1919-03-20
he TIME Of SILAS WRIGHT

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hill a few steps and stopped and
whistled to my filly. could hear her
answering whinny far down the dusty
road and then her hoofs as she gal
Hoped toward me. She came within q
few feet of me and stood snorting. ]
caught and mounted her and rode to
the nearest house for help. On the
way saw why she had stopped. A
number of horses were feeding on the
roadside near the log house where An.
drew Champion lived. Andrew had
just utlloaded some hay and was back.
ing out Of his barn.. I hitched my
FLY and Jumped on the rack saying:
'Drive up the road us quick as you
can. A man has been murdered"
What fearful word it was that ]
had spoken! What panic 1t made in
the little dooryard! The man gasped
and jerked the reins and shouted to
his horses and began swearing. The
woman uttered a little scream and the
children ran crying to her side.
The physical facts which are further
related to this tragedy are of little
moment to me now. The stranger was
dead and we took his body to our home
and my uncle set out for the constable.
Over and over again that night l told
the story Of the shooting: We went to
the scene Of the tragedy with lanterns
and fenced it off and put some men
on guard there.
In the morning they found the rob.
ber's footprints in the damp dirt of
the road and measured them. The
whole countryside was af1re with ex-
element and searching the woods and
fields for the highwayman.
The stranger was buried. There was
nothing upon him to indicate his name
or residence. Weeks passed with no
news of the man who had slain him. I
had told Of the gun with piece of
wood broken out Of its stock, but no
one knew Of any such weapon in or
near Lickitysplit.
One day Uncle Peabody and I drove
up to Grimshaw's to make a payment
OF money. I remember 1t was gold
and silver which we carried in little
sack. I asked where Amos was and
Mrs. Grimshaw-a timid, tired-looking,
bony little woman who was never seen
outside Of her own house-said that
he was working out on the farm Of q
Mr.. Beekman near Plattsburg. He had
gone over on the stage late in June
TO hire out for the haying. observed
that my uncle looked very thoughtful
as we rode back home and had little
to say.
"You never had any idee who that
robber was, did YEP he asked by and
by.
"No-I could not see plain-it was
80 DUSK" I said.
The swift words, ''Your money or
your life." came out of my memory
and rang in 1t. I felt its likeness to
the scolding demands Of Mr.. Grim.
shaw, who was forever saying in eff.
feet:
"Your money or your homer
That was like demanding our lives,
because we couldn't live without our
home. Our all was in it. Mr.. Grim
shaw's gun was the power be had over
US. and what terrible weapon it
was! 1 credit him with never realiz.
ing how terrible.
We came to the sandhills and then
Uncle Peabody broke the silence by
saying:
II wouldn't give fifty cents for as
much o. this land as bird could fly
around in day."
Then for long time heard only
the sound Of feet and wheels muffled
In the sand, while my uncle sat look
ing thoughtfully at the siding. When
I spoke to him he seemed not to hear
me.
Before we reached home I knew
what was in his mind, but neither
dared speak of it.
People came from Canton and all
the neighboring villages to see and talk
with me. and among them were the
Dunkelbergs. Unfounded tales Of my
bravery had gone abroad.
Sally seemed to be very glad to see
me. We walked down to the brook
and up into the maple grove and back
through the meadows.