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VOL. XII.
1ST3UW BLOOMFIELD, 3?A.., TUESDAY, A-I'ItlT 2, 1878.
NO. 14.
' S S ,'L V V.A V III I V -fX
S
awn
. I I IP III " ' L. lb, . I I it fl I IPS " ft .ft ' r '.i;-r
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THE' TIMES.
An Independent Family Kewspapcr,
i i
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(wrrnm tn cocmr.
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FORBET NOT ME.
STOTTOABT."
'When the lovely Spring's returning,
-Jo; and gladness ever bringing,
1 Forget not me.
When the birds are sweetly singing,
And the air with music ringing,
Through the earth of man's rejoicing,
Forget not me.
In the bright and balmy morning,
When from sleep thon'rt gently waking,
Forget not me.
la the calm and lovely evening,
Daniel before thee, thou fairy, kneeling,
For thy hand so humbly pleading,
Forget not me.
When thy heart so fnll of feeling,
Answers yes to Daniel's pleading,
Forget not me.
When the wedding march Is pealing,
And the echo is resounding,
Thou to wifehood art advancing,
Forget not me.
In days of sorrow and of monrnlng,
Look for the morrow's coming,
Forget not me.
Fray to Him who Is so loving,
And the Helper will be moving,
For thy every want supplying,
Forget not me.
Now if thy love be turning,
Toward one who's gently yearning,
Forget not me.
His heart to often sighing,
For the love for which he's trying,
His affection ne'er disguising,
Forget not me.
A STARTLING ADVENTURE.
IN THE early autumn of the year
1849, about half an hour of sunset, I
drew rein in front of a large double log
house, on the very summit of the Blue
Ridge mountains of Eastern Kentucky.
The place was evidently kept as a
tavern, at least so a sign proclaimed, and
here I determined to demand accommo
dation for myself and servant, Bose, a
dark-skinned body-guard. Bose and I
had been playmates in childhood and
boyhood, and I need hardly say that the
faithful fellow was attached to me, as I
was to him, and on more than one occa
sion he had showed his devotion. There
had been a shooting-match at the Moun
tain House that day, and as I dismount
ed,! saw by the open window of the bar
room a noisy, drunken, and evidently
quarrelsome set of backwoodsmen, each
of whom was swearing by all possible
and impossible oaths that he was not
only the best shot, but that he could out
fight, out-jump, out-wrestle, run faster,
jump higher, dive deeper and come up
drier than any other man on the moun
tain.
" I say, Mars llalph'". said Bose, In a
low tone, as I handed him my bridle-
rein, " I don't like de looks ob dem in
dar. S'pose we goes on to de next house,
taln't fur?" -
" Nonsense, Bose," I replied, " these
fellows are only on a little ppree over
their shooting. We have nothing to do
with them, nor they with us. Take the
horses round to the stable, and see to
them yourself. You know they have
had a hard day of it."
And throwing my saddle-bags over
my shoulders, I walked up the narrow
path to the house. I found, ua I have
litimatedt the bar-room filled with
noisy, turbulent crowd, who one and all
stared at me without speaking as I went
up to the bar and inquired if I and my
servant could have accommodation for
the night.
Receiving an afllrmatlve reply from
the landlord, a little, red-headed, cadav
erous-looking specimen of the " clay-
eater," I desired to be shown at once to
my room, whither I went, but not until
I had been compelled to decline a score
of requests to " take a drink," much to
the disgust of the stalwart bacchana
lians.
The room to which I was shown was
at the far end of a long two-storied
structure, evidently but recently added
on to the main building, which it Inter
sected at right angles. A gallery ex
tended along the front, by means of
which the rooms were reached. I found
my apartment to be large and compara
tively well fuinlshed,there being besides
the bed a comfortable cot, half a dozen
split-bottomed chairs, a heavy clothes
press, and a bureau with a glass. There
were two windows, one alongside the
door, and the other In the opposite end
of the room. The first mentioned was
heavily barred with stout oak strips, a
protection, I presume, against intrusion
from the porch, while across the latter
was drawn a heavy woollen curtain.
In the course of half an hour Bose en
tered, and announced that the beasts had
been properly attended to, and a few
minutes later a bright-faced mulatto girl
summoned us to supper.
Supper over, I returned to my room,
first requesting to be roused for an early
breakfost, as I desired to be on the road
by sunrise. Thoroughly wearied with
my day's ride, I at once began prepara
tions for retiring, and had drawn oft one
boot, when Bose came In rather hastily,
looking furtively over his shoulder, and
then cautiously closing and locking the
door.
" Mars Ralph, dar's gwlne to be
trouble In dls house afore mornln," he
said.
And I saw in a moment that some
thing had occurred to upset the faithful
fellow's equilibrium.
" Why, Bose, what is it V What do
you mean !'" I asked, barely restraining
a smile.
" I tole you, Mars Ralph, we'd better
trabble furder," was the rather myste
rious reply. " You see dat jailer gal
der tole me dar would be a muss if we
stayed in the 'founded ole house all
night."
By close questioning I elicited the fact
that the girl had really warned him that
four men, who I had noticed talking to
gether, were a desperate set of villains,
and probably had designs upon our prop
erty, if not our lives.
The girl had seen two of them at the
stable while I was at supper, and by
cautiously creeping into a stall,had heard
enough to convice her that they meant
mischief. Subsequently to this, she also
saw the landlord in close confab with
the entire party, and from his actions
judged that he was urging the men to
their nefarious work. ,
" I tell you, Mars Ralph, dem white
trash atn'tarter no good now you heard
me," persisted Bose.
I hud begun to think so myself, but
what was to be done I The situation
was full of embarrassment, and I felt
that nothing could be done save to wait
and watch, and being on the alert,deeat
their plans by a determined resistance.
I found that from the barred window,
in which there was a broken pane of
glass, a good view of the stable could be
had. Then for the other window. I
crossed the room, drew aside the heavy
curtain, and raining the sash, looked
out. A single glance was sufficient to
cause me a thrill of surprise.and I gave a
low exclamation that instantly brought
Bose to my side.
Far below I could see the faint glim
mer of water, the low murmur of which
came indistinctly up from the depths,
while, on a level with what should have
been the ground, I dimly saw the wav
ing trfe-tops, as they gently swayed be
fore the fresh uight breeze, and knew
that the window overlooked a chasm,
the soundings of which I could only
guess at.
In other words, the house, or that por
tion of It, was built upon the verge of a
cliff, the solid rock forming a founda
tion more lasting than any that could be
made by the hands of man.
I leaned far out, and saw that there
was not an Inch of space left between
the heavy log on which the structure
rested and the edge of the precipice ; and
then I turned away with the full con- J
vtctlon that if escape must be made It
certainly would not be in that direction.
There was nothing especially strange lu
this ; there were many houses so con
structedI had seen one or two myself
and yet when I drew back into the
room, and saw the look on Bose's dusky
face, I felt that danger, quick and
and deadly was hovering In the air.
Without speaking I went to my saddle-bags
and got out my pistols a su
perb pair of long double rifles, that I
knew to be accurate anywhere under
half a hundred yards.
"Dar! dem 's what I likes to see!"
exclaimed Bose, as he dived Into his
own bag, and fished out the old horse
pistol that had belonged to my grand
father, and which I knew was loaded to
the muzzle with Ko. 1 buckshot. It
was a terrible weapon at close quarters.
The stable In which our horses were
feeding could be watched, and by events
transpiring in that locality we would
shape our actions.
I found the door could be locked from
the Inside, and, in addition to this, I im
provised a bar by means of a chair-leg
wrenched off, and thrust through a
heavy Iron staple that had been driven
in the wall. I ts fellow on the opposite
was missing.
We then lifted the clothes-press be
fore the window, leaving just room
enough on one side to clearly see, and if
necessary fire through ; dragged the
bureau against the door with as little
noise as possible, and felt that every
thing that was possible had been done.
A death-like stillness reigned over the
place, broken only once by the voice of
the colored girl singing as she crossed
the stable yard.
I had fallen into a half doze, seated in
a chair near the window facing the sta
ble, where Bose was on watch, when
suddenly I felt a light touch upon my
arm, and the voice of the faithful senti
nel in my ear.
" Wake up, Mars Ralph ; dey's foolln'
'bout de stable doo' arter de horses,
shunah," brought me wide awake to my
feet.
Cautiously peeping out, I saw at a
glance that Bose was right in his conjec
ture. There were two of them one,
standing out In the clear moonlight, ev
idently watching my window, while the
other and I fancied it was the landlord
was' In the shadow near the door,
which at that moment slowly swung
open.
As the man disappeared within the
building, a low, keen whistle cut the air
and at the same instant I heard the
knob of my door cautiously tried. The
tiling was now plain.
While those below was securing our
horses, those above were either attempt
ing to gain access with murderous Intent
or else on guard lo prevent my coming
to the rescue of my property.
A low hiss from Bose brought me to
his side from the door where I had been
listening.
" Dey's got de horses out in de yard,"
he whispered, as he drew aside to let me
look out through the broken pane.
" Take the door," I said, " and shoot
through if they attack. Iam going to
fire at that fellow holding the horse."
" Lordy, Mars Ralph, It's de tavern
keeper. He ain't no 'count. Drop de
big man!" was the sensible advice
which I determined to adopt.
Noiselessly drawing aside the curtain,
I rested the muzale of my pistol upon
the sash where -the lights had been
broken away, and drew a bead upon the
tallest of the two men who stood, hold
ing three horses,out In the bright moon.
light. The sharp crack of my weapon
was quickly followed by a yell of pain,
and I saw the ruffiau reel backwardand
measure his length upon the earth, and
then from the main building there rang
out :
"Murder! Murder! O, help!"
Like lightning it flashed across my
mind. There was three horses in the
open lot. There was, then, another
traveler besides ourselves. A heavy
blow descended upon the door, and a
voice roared :
" Quick 1 burst the internal thing
open, and let me at him ! The scoundrel
has killed Dave!"
" Let them have it, Bose," I whlsper
ed.rapldly reloading my pistol. " There,
the second panel."
With a steady hand the plucky fellow
leveled the huge weapon and pulled the
trigger. , A deafening report followed,
and again a shrill cry of mortal anguish
told that the shot had not been wasted.
" Babe us t " how it do kick 1" exclaim.
ed Bose, under his breath.
The blow had fallen like an unexpected
thunderbolt upon the bandit and a
moment later we heard the retreating
footsteps down the corridor.
" Dar'll be more of dem 'fore long
Mars Ralph," said Bose, with a omin
ous shake of the head. f I 'spects dese
belongs to a band, and, ef dey comes,
an' we still heah, we'i gone coons for
shuah."
This view of the case was new to me :
but I felt the force of it. I knew that
such bands did exist In these moun
tains. A hasty glance through the
window from which I had just fired,
showed me that escape In that direction
was impossible. I looked out and saw a
man, with a rifle In his hand, dodge
round the corner of the stable. He was
on guard, and then I knew they had sent
off for reinforcements.
Stunned for a moment, I turned round
and stared helplessly at Bose; but he,
brave fellow that he was never lost his
head for a single instant. , ,
"Bound to leab heah, Mars Ralph,"
he said, quite confidently. " An' dar
aln no way gwine 'oepttrodat winder;"
and he pointed to the one overlooking
the cliff.
I merely shook my head and turned to
watch again, hoping to get a shot at the
rascal on guard. Bose, left to his own
devices, at once went to work. I heard
him fussing about the bed for some time,
but never looked to see what he was
after until he spoke.
" Now den for de rope," I heard him
say, and in an instant I caught his
meaning.
He had stripped the bed of its cover
ing, dragged off the1 heavy tick, and the
stout hempen rope with which it was
corded. In five minutes he had drawn
the rope through its many turnings, and
then gathering the coll in his hands he
threw up the sash and prepared to take
soundings. It failed to touch bottom ;
but, nowise disheartened, he seized the
cotton coverlet and spliced on. ' He suc
ceeded, and the cord was drawn up pre
paratory to knotting It in place of cross
pieces. In the meanwhile the silence without
had been broken more than once. A
shrill, keen whistle, and as I had heard
before, was given by the man on watch,
and replied to by some one seemingly a
little way off. Then I heard footsteps
soft, cat-like ones on the verandah out
side, showing that the robbers were on
the alert at all points. At length Bose
announced the ladder ready. It was
again lowered from the window, and the
end we held was made fast to the bed we
had dragged over for the purpose.
"Now den, Mars Ralph, I go down
fust and see if um strong 'nough to bar
us." And he was half way out of the
window before I could speak.
" No, Bose, you shall not," I answer
ed, firmly, drawing him back into the
room. " You must" The words were
lost in the din of a furious and totally
unexpected attack upon the door.
The dull, heavy strokes of an axe
were Intermingled with the sharp, quick
clatter of hatchets as they cut away the
barrier, and once in a while I could bear
deep oaths, as though they had been
rendered doubly savage by our resls
tance.
" Here, Bose, your pistol ! Quck !"
whispered, and the heavy charge went
crashing through, followed by shrieks
and curses of pain and rage.
"Now, then, out with you! I will
hold the place," I said, rushing back to
the window. "Come, Bose, hurry, or
all will be lost."
The brave fellow now wished to insist
upon my going first; but he saw that
time was wasting, and he glided down
the rope gradually disappearing in the
heavy shadows. The fall of one of their
number had causedn!y a momentary
lull, and I beard them renew the assault
with tenfold fury. I dared notfireagaln,
for I felt that every bullet would be
needed, when affairs were mere pressing.
It seemed an age before I felt the
signal from below that the rope was
ready for me ; but It came, and I let my
self down, pausing an instant, as my
eyes gained a level with the sill, to take
a last look into the room. As I did so,
the door gave way and the blood-thirsty
demons poured over the threshold.' I
new that I had no time for deliberate
movement. Thev would InstauHv dis
cover the mode of escape, and either cut
the rope or else fire down upon me. I
had taken the precaution to draw on my
neavy nuing-gioves and my hands thus
protected did not Buffer as much as mlcht
have been expected. With my eyes fixed
on tne open wlndow.I slid rapidly down,
and struck the earth wHh s Jar that
wrenched every bone In my body.
Quick as llghtnlns I was seized hv
Bose, and dragged some paces on one
siue, ana close against the face of the
cliff. Not a second too soon, for down
came a volley, tearing up the earth at
the foot of the rope, where a moment
before I had stood.
"Thunder they will escape! After
them, down the rope!" yelled a voice.
almost inarticulate with rage. And I
saw a dark form swing out and . begin
the descent.
" Now, Mars Ralph," whispered Bose,.
significantly, and with a quick aim 1
fired at the swaying figure.
Without a sound the man released his
hold and came down like a lump of
lead, shot through the brain. Another
had started In hot haste, and was more
than half-way out of the window, when
suddenly the scene above was brilliantly
lit up by the glare of a torch. Again,
the warning voice of the watchful black
called my attention to the figure now
struggling desperately to regain the
room, and, as before, I threw up my
pistol, and covering the exposed side,
drew trigger.
With a convulsive effort the wretch,
springing far out into the empty void,
turned once over, and came down with
a rushing sound upon the jagged rocks
that lay at the foot of the precipice.
A single look to see that the window
was clear we knew there could be no
path leading down for a long distance
either way, or tbey would never have
attempted the rope and we plunged
headlong into the dense forest that cloth
ed the mountain side. We got clear, it
is true, but with the loss of our animals
and baggage ; for the next day, when
we returned with a party of regulators,
we found the place a heap of ashes, and
no living soul to tell whltherthe robbers
had fled.
Aneedoto of Stark
Of the famous General Stark, whose
victory over the Hessians, at Benning
ton, Vt., during the revolution, was cel
ebrated with much pomp last August in
ttiat town, the Manchester (N. H.)
Union says that his business habits at
home illustrated his energy and severe
vigilance and ability to bold his own in
an emergency as forcibly as did his con
duct In the war.
Many instances are related of the Gen
eral's shrewdness and quick wit. It is
said that he very rarely came off second
best at repartee, so ready was he with a
sharp reply foi any occasion. While on
his farm, in his latter days, it is related
that one day he walked out in a field
where his men were haying. The work
was badly done, and the General was
not slow to notice this fact and comment
upon it. Among the men was one nam
ed Whittaker, who was frequently the
butt for the jokes of his fellow-workmen.
The General passed over the field, and
finding a spot particularly bad, asked
sharply :
" Svho mowed that swath K"
"Whittaker," said the man nearest
the General, with a wink at the others.
Passing on, the question came again and
again :
" Who mowed that swath and that
oneV"
"Whittaker," was the invariable
reply.
General Stark made no comment, but
went away. When evening came, the
men collected for their pay,and the Gen
eral, after a slight mental calculation,
paid Whittaker a sum which was equal
to the amount due the whole number.
"Ain't you going to pay us, General ?"
was asked in a chorus by the others.
" Well," said Stark, in his high-keyed
voice, "as near aa I could find, Whittak
er did all the work, and so I gave him
all the pay."
The men found that the laugh had
been turned against themselves, and it
is presumed that Whittaker divided the
funds equally.