The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1919-08-07
FIND BOLD OUTLAW
lust TAME LOVER
fContinued doom First PaEe.l

Continued from First Page.)
the materials down here IN Bluefeld
for another Jesse James story. with
scenes TO be laid on Flat Top Noun
tain. But all they had on Flat Tor
Mountain was the scenery.
wild and wOOIIy Days Gone.
All this seems to mean that the
wild and woolly days have gone. be-
cause.-the feud is a thing of romance
and Tradition down in West Virginia
Every West Virginian hopes that
Every. old historic combination Of low
ing, shooting, and bootlegging will
develSn into a feud with weeklong
hunts and killings and generations of
tnterfamily hate. That hope grew
out of the first news that came from
the mountains of the elopement of
Farley and Helen Abshire. 1t grew
and spread and weird stories bios
somed out OF it. Bluefield fell for
them, and by the time they got up
North they were full of rife fusil-
ladies' and nights of terror.
1t might all have been a better
thriller in Washington if old Kenna
Abshire hadn't become excited the
day he went UP Flat Top Mountain
alone to bring Helen back. But he did
get excited ana instead OF putting
into his shotgun the special man.
killing cartridge filled with nails and
buckshot that he had made himself
he reached in the wrong pocket and
gotaone full of birdshot. He sneaked
back home thinking he had blown
Maitland Farley's chin off, for he had
h 10
But Maitland had been hit with only
three birdshot. He went to a doctor
who wiped off the blood and sent him
home. Then Abshire went down TO
Prtpceton and swore out a warrant
for Maitland, not. ManderviIle, as the
other stories have had it, charging
him with abducting Helen Abshire.
Girl IL Years Old.
Old Kenna said she was fourteen
years old, and when the probation Of
ficefs Of Mercer county began to in
vestigate, they learned she was seven
teen. and knew her own mind. But
Sheriff Elliott thought he ought to
look up Maitland anyway and have q
little talk with him. so he organized a
posse. By this time the story had got
to Bluefield and had sprouted horns
teeth, and a-taiI. Five hundred men
volunteered to join the hunt. The
sheriff took twenty-four. Two days
ago this posse got into fleet Of
mountaineering automobiles and
started up Flat Top Mountain, accom-
panied by Bug Ellison. cousin Of the
FaIieys, who thought the boys
weren't acting just right and ought
to get some good family advice.
Bug Ellison and couple of other
FaEley brothers took this posse over
25.0O0 acres Of Flat Top mountain in
TIVE days. The Farleys. are strong UP
there, for they own most of the noun
tain. They took the posse in and gave
them breakfasts, dinners. and suppers
and showed them all the places where
they thought Matt" and Mandy" and
the girl might be- But there was no
gang Of outlaws lurking in the wood
ed hills, ALI the outlaws were busy
'teHding their corn and rustling grub
for the posse toSeat. ~ ,ss's
Firing Squad Looked Bad.
True enough. Matt and Mandy were
hiding around somewhere, but that's
because they've heard of ''you desert
the army and they'll shoot if they
catch you" Matt and Mandy did leave
Camp Lee q little before quitting
'tinie.
Having had a pleasant weekend,
the posse came back well fed, happy
and ready to go back to work. Old
Man Abshire, a lean leather-skinned
mountaineer, allowed as how Helen
could stay with Matt Farley If she
wanted to and be goldarned. Her
'stepmother isn't worrying. And The
Times correspondent having been
hlIed up within ten minutes after he
reached Bluefield with enough blood
and thunder to write book, pleads
guilty, like the rest of Mercer county,
TO having fallen for the ancient ro-
nance Of the mountain feud. There
are no more feuds. They are out OF
stock, like the IS silk shirts.
wouldn't you pay q quarter 20 buy