Newspapers / The Kinston Free Press … / Jan. 30, 1903, edition 1 / Page 3
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ft lH-rH-H-I'rrlf W IA Tragedy 1 TTHl 0 ft -A. TERRIBLE story of savage su I U perstition, murder and retribu tlon has just come to light among the Mojave Indians along the Colorado river. In Arhtona. Love and jealousy were the inciting forces of the tragedy. The, story had its beginning at Hes peria, Cal., and its sequel in the Gran ite Wash mountains, Arizona. Hespe ria is a small settlement on the line of the Santa I'e railroad in the San Ber nardino mountains. In the Hesperia camp was a big In- dlan named George Bruce. How he in ma K i tlia nnniA nn 1 1 1 1 fliuima til ! know. Bruce took to wife an Indian girl known as Anita. Anita hud a sis ter, Maria Victoria, who came to live with the newly wedded couple. In the course of time Anita became violently jealous of her husband's attentions to Maria Victoria. Slie set about for means to put her out of the way. She told Bruce that Maria Victoria was a witch and that if she were not put out of the way death and misfortune would come to the entire camp and to him self in particular. For a long time, it has since been learned, Bruce resisted the Insidious and murderous advice of his wife. Anita was persistent, however, and did not neglect to charge every ill that be fell an inhabitant of the little camp to the witchery of Maria Victoria. Bruce gave way finally before the persistence of his wife and agreed to put an end to Maria Victoria In the manner of deal ing with witches namely, by stran gling her. Anita played upon the superstitious fear not alone of her husband, but of the entire camp, and convinced them all that Maria Victoria, her sister, was a witch. One day in April last the In dians assembled at a chosen spot far up in the San Bernardino mountains, the condemned but unsuspecting girl among them. A circle was formed and a sort or preliminary ceremonial car ried out. Maria Victoria was then brought into the center of the' circle and promptly condemned by two In dians sitting as judges In the case. Bruce was selected as the executioner. He stepped forward with a rope and placed the noose around the girl's neck. Slowly he drew the coll about her throat and deliberately choked her to death. Her struggles are described as terrible, but not an Indian among all " the spectators raised hand or voice in protest against the murder. News of ' the savage execution reached the white men of Hesperia. : and the coroner at San Bernardino, thirty miles away, was notified. His investigation developed the particulars already related. Bruce, "who had made no effort to escape, was promptly ar rested. In charge of a constable he was taken to the railroad station at Hesperia. While awaiting the arrival J of the train Bruce slipped out of the station room and escaped into the ! darkness. , . . This was in the latter part of last May. The sequel t the story has just 1 reached Los Angeles. r When Bruce escaped across the Col orado river' Into Yuma county, he plunged into the mountains and Joined a camp of Mojave Indians in the Gran-1 He Wash range. .These Indians knew bbucb was dragged bt tbk JfEcs. r me ir lains f his crime, but shielded him from the retreated into the darkest part of t. Officers of the law. Here he lived until j mill, etill followed by Mr. Livingstone, his crime brought terrible retribution. I who was determined to learn what tin During the summer months the mystery really meant. Arriving at tin springs near which the Indian camp! darkest corner, the ghost turned au! had been pitched for years dried up. ! faced its pursuer. tlowly raising an d The Mojaves were at a loss to under-! monlshing finger. Then It vanished, stand the cause of the misfortune, but! T" ended night work In the mill, finally concluded -that there was an! 11 was afterward learned ttat the evil spirit among them. In seeking : -former owner of the mill had bee:. out the one that had brought bad luck swindled out of his property a shor. the suspicion of tbe me3:c!ne man of. t!me before his death, and it was pop;: tte can-.p fell vpon Ger-? Truce. It ,ar!y believed that he revisited il.i wns c .-!.: ' 1 V -t Tr-vv le- scene of t! e?rtL!y activity ot nictt v - ( i'- , f'. t c' " '. t in t -.- ? ti.e How Retribution Wa Meted Out To an Indian Murderer turn cast an evil spell upon the sprl"r and caused tbem to dry up. A couuri. as held, and it was quietly decided to get rid of the hoodoo. The men o: the camp assembled as the California Indians had done for the trial of Maria Victoria. A circle was formed, and the ceremony of trial and condemnation was carried out much after the manner of the one that preceded Maria Vic toria's execution. Bruce was brousrh; forward and, a rope placed around h. neck, as he had placed one around the neck of his victim. But here the simi larity of the execution ended. An Indian mounted upon a pony rode ! within the circle and tied the other end of the rope nrouud the pommel of bis saddle. Slowly he rode out of camp and into a wide patch of sand, cactuses and sagebrush. Bruce trotting aions behind him. Suddenly the rider wheeled about, put spurs to his pony and Jerked the doomed man off his feet. Lashing the nonv Into a furious pace. Bruce was drngKed back and forth through the cactus patch and finally hauled into camp over the rock strewn trail. Here the squaws set upon the now lifeless body and with long switches cut the 6haiteless remains of the victim to pieces. How a Maine Mill Came to Be Haunted Such distinction as possessing a haunted mill carries with it belongs to the villace of Hollis. Me. The mill In question had lain Idle for many years when a stranger named John Living stone leased it, according to-the chron THK MILLEH 8TBUCK AT THE FIGURE idea of the occult. . It stood In the J midst of a heavily wooded piece of tim I ber beside a smalt stream which fur nisbed the power for the wheel. Whll the work went along well enough dur ing the daytime. Mr. Livingstone wai- annoyed to find that none of Ae vil lagers who helped him would consent to remain after dark v 'M l::r i-; The new operator of the mill was Ig norant of the reputation of his proper ty, and no one seemed willing' to ac quaint mm wttii tue story, v He was constrained to run the mill alone after dark and got along well enough for a week or so. when be noticed miaccount able irregularities in the working ol the mill wheel. It would slow down without t reason, and the machinery would seem to clog, but Investigation revealed no cause for the eccentric be havior. - : 'r.'-tf ,. This went on for a week or two, when one night the carriage stopped abrupt ly. Mr. Livingstone thought be spied the dim figure of a man leaning over the carriage near the saw. Seizing a heavy cant dog, the miller made a dash for the figure, striking at It as he did so. but meeting with no resistance. The heavy weapon passed through the bead and shoulders of the figure as thougl striking at mist. Again and again the exasperated miller struck at the figure, roaring orders for It to leave the mill but met with no response. Neither did the figure pay the slightest attention t Mr. Livingstone's frantic blows. -,. Finally it straightened op. and at the same instant the saw. loosened from its fastenings, fell with a crash to tlif floor. Then the ghostly figure slowl;.- THE MAN WHO HAS MY NAME (Original.) ' I am a real estate agent In the city In which I live Is a man of the same came. My name is Edward Arthur Mills. The other fellow's name Is Ed ward Alien Mills. He Is a disreputable character, always getting Into trouble, and. as we are both known as E. A. Mills, I, being the better known, usu ally get the credit for his misdeeds. His father many years ago was proml nent and was presented with a silver service. The son pawned it, and it was soon reported that my father's testimonial was to be seen In the win dow of a pawnshop. This alone cost me hosts of friends. The only business Mr. Edward Allen Mills followed was that of detective, at which he was very exnert Being dishonest himself, he knew bow to track dishonesty. One afternoon a messenger came Into my office with a note for E. A. Mills. which I opened. It read: Call at once at the BIngley hotel. P. T. BROWN. I knew the man to be a large real es tate operator In a neighboring city and hoped for an Important order. Going to the hotel. I found Mr. Brown, who, upon learning that I was Mr. Mills, told me that during the preceding night bis room had been entered and he had been robbed of $5,000 in bills which he had with him to make a ten der for a piece of property he claimed to have purchased, the owner asserting that It had not been sold. Mr. Brown was a steady talker who would permit of no interruption and Insisted on giving me all the facts be fore I could get in a word. By that time I concluded to let him remain for awhile in ignorance of my true voca tion, trusting that his mistake might turn out to be of some advantage to me. It was near 6 o'clock when I called, and he invited me to go down to dinner with him, when be would have plenty of time to give me the facts. It was plain to me that I was supposed to be Mills tbe detective instead of Mills the real estate dealer. I. resolved to take advantage of tbe mistake to get some satisfaction for the damage done me by Mr. Mills' unenviable reputation by eating a good dinner meant for him. Mr. Brown was an epicure and set before me a feast with plenty of wine. The consequence was that before we bad finished I bad drunk my share of two bottles of champagne. Wine makes me stupid and sleepy, and I asked my host's permission to go up to bis room and lie down. He told me to do so and said he would be up present ly himself. He gave me bis key, which I Inserted in the door, but found that It had not been locked. I went in, felt my way In the dark to one of two beds In the room and, being' somewhat "ab sentmlnded," took off my clothes and went to bed. . Suddenly I was awakened by some one in the room, I expected to see Mr. Brown light the gas, but instead it i was lighted by a woman. Her back being turned to me, I had time to slip oat of and under the bed. From my biding place I saw tbe woman take out a large bundle of bills, count them and place them under her pillow. Then she went to a door leading to an ad joining room, turned the knob stealth ily and listened. Finally she turned out the gas and got into the other bed, which, fortunately for me, was farthest from the door. . It was plain to me that I bad got Into the wrong room, which, I suspected, was the one next to Mr. Brown's. If so. this woman was the thief and had ob tained access to bis room through tbe intervening door, waiting till I beard her. snore, I stealthily gathered up my clothes and, crawling to tbe door, un locked It and went out Just as I did so the night watchman came along and, seeing me stealing out of a room un dressed, took me in charge. However, I succeeded In getting him to let me prove the story I told him, and after dressing I went downstairs with him. The room I had slept In was found to be next to Mr. Brown's, and, calling for the police, we made the raid. , The woman told a very straight story. which of coarse convinced no one, and she was ordered to dress and . come along, bat before we left the hotel tbe proprietor was called op and Identified her as one of the most respectable pa trons of the boose. Then the bills were examined and found to be no more than necessary for her traveling expenses. Tbe result was that she was permitted to go back to bed after receiving a bum ble apology, and I was taken to the sta tion and locked up. - ' " . Words cannot describe the horror of that night In a cell. A drunken prison er was brought In fighting, a woman screaming. While these people were' making night hideous without my cell the rats were scurrying about within. Fortunately I bad not been Imprisoned till 2 o'clock in the morning, so the night was short, and when brought op for examination In tbe morning I found no difficulty In proving my identity as prominent real estate man and was discharged with a warning from the justice to stick to my own trade and let detective work alone. , The next day a newspaper gave the case of Mr, Edward A. Mills, arrested for putting up a job to rob a prominent lady of a neighboring city, and berated the Justice for accepting his "gaury story." Of course the Item was seen by many of my acquaintances, with great detriment to my reputation, and my business, while my Intimate . friends have since hounded me with their Jeers : as to my episode in the detective busi ness. ' I eail mm Orltfnal.1 If the heroine of a story could be transformed into a real person, bet life would nave In It an important element of happiness. Such cases, vice versa, have occurred that Is, a woman who has shown herself heroic has lived to an old age In the enjoyment of her honors. During the American Revolution a small palisade fort erected on the site of the present city of Wheeling was tbe center of a small settlement The dwelling of Colonel Ebenezer Lane stood I about 200 feet from the palisade, and In it were kept many or tne supplies or the fort One morning It was Sept L 1777 a man rode up to the place, threw himself from his horse and excitedly nnnounceaxnaione o.monuiriy.wuUjteln( cnusiu(? stngation and a general large number of savages, was advanc- unhealthy condition of the blood ; and . "1 1 a. 1 a Ing to Its capture, This man GIrty was this, and not the weight of years, is drag descended from the lowest order of j ing you down to an untimely old age and people, his father having been an out- making life a protracted torture, law and bis mother a disgrace to her! For purifying the blood and toning up sex. Simon had Inherited the worst proclivities of both. Captured by the Indians when a boy, he had become one of them, and their savage prac tices were as natural to him as If he bad been born an Indian. Such was the man who was advancing at the head of several hundred red men to murder tbe men, women and children within the palisade. Tne place was made ready for defense, and Colonel Lane's house, occupying a favorable position for resistance, was made part of the lnclosure to be defended, There were but a dozen men to protect the women and children who were hud dled together In tbe palisade, expecting the worst possible fate. The party came up, and GIrty de manded the surrender of the fort which was of course refused. Then commenced a fire from besieged and besiegers which was kept up till night when it ceased. At midnight the negro cook Sam. seeing a flicker of light through a crevice In the palisade. looked for tbe cause and saw an Indian outside attempting to tire the palisade. Sam Bhot the man dead and averted the danger. The next morning tbe attack was re newed with a hollow log bound with chains for a cannon, but the log burst at the first discharge and killed several of the besiegers. Enraged at tbe fail ure, GIrty attempted to carry the fort by storm, but the rifles within were true, and be lost many men without accomplishing bis object It was now discovered that the sup ply of powder in the fort was about exhausted. There was a keg in the Lane bouse, but to procure It some one must go nearly 200 feet and return with It exposed to the fire of tbe In dlans. Tbe commander called for volnnteea to make tbe attempt an at tempt that would almost surely result In death. Every man In the fort volun teered. Among the women was a delicate girl, Elizabeth Lane she was nick named Patty who had recently re turned from school in Philadelphia. From tbe refining Influences of a school In what was then the first city In the land she bad been transported to a wilderness and now was confronted with savage warfare. There Is but one position In which we can Imagine such a girl under such circumstances, and that is pale and trembling, eagerly Scrutinizing the expressions of those defending her to learn If there is any hope. Patty Lane was the very coun terpart of this. She, stepped forward as a volunteer, a volunteer to run a gantlet of bullets that would bring al most certain death. Not only did she voluuteer. but pleaded to be allowed to go. " nrguins that the men were all needed for the defense of the lives of the women , and children; that not a nan's life should be risked In this way, but the life of a'woman. who was not fit for hardier service. If she were killed, she would not be missed. . It was not only tbe offer that was surprising, but the Spartan arguments by which it was supported. The men all knew that they were true. Reluc tantly the commander gave his con sent;, Patty, kneeling for a momsnt In prayer, arose and, sallying forth, with the fleetness of a fawn cleared the space between the fort and the bouse before tbe savages noticed her or had recovered from their, surprise. Not a shot was fired at ber. Placing the pow der In a tablecloth and tying it about ber; waist she started on ber return trip.- This return was a very different mat ter from the going. Tbe savages bad been warned and were on the alert Besides, the bundle she carried was sure evidence that she was transport ing some article contraband, of war. Patty ran as rapidly as she could Im peded by ' her burden. Scarcely bad she started when a bullet sang' by ber, then, another and - another. :. It was like shooting a bird on the wing. The few seconds during which she was ex posed to fire were terribly long to those who were watching ber from the fort There was every chance that she would not make the goat Half, three-quarters, seven-eighths of the distance was j covered, yet she ran. Was she struck and ready to fall the moment she ar rived, or was she still unscathed? There was no time to answer, for with the fleetness of a bird she covered the last dozen yards, and landed her pre cious burden behind the palisades. : Then It was discovered that not a bullet had touched her. ' . Armed with tbe ammunition she brought, the whites fought on tU suc cor arrived, and the lives of all were saved. . Fatty Lane passed a lifetime as a her oine. She lived to be a very old wom an In ber borne on the banks of tbe Ohio river near the place where she 1.-. 1 shown tbe mettle there was In her r -1 a irci by all who knew her. c- .c:: rxLrnTON cooke. Showing Some people begin to show age before tbe meridian of life Wm" is reached, or thev have lived out half their days. They are prematurely jthv, haggard anil sickly, and seldom fi ce'from an ache or pain of some description. ' Cold feet, chilly sensations, stiffness in muscles ami joints, wek stomach and poor digestion, hick of energy, and drows iness, nervousness, etc., thow that old age has been readied ahead ot time. Bad blood and weak circulation more often produce these miserable feelings and sipns of de cay than anything else. An inherited taint or poison of some descrip tion is at work in the - me circulation uuining is equal 10 o. o. o. It removes front the system all the waste matter that has been accumulating for years, and makes the blood rich and pure, stimulates the appetite and digestion, and invigorates the entire body. S. S. S. is a purely vegetable remedy, nnr the best nurifier and tonic for old neo- ' P,e. "nl thos vho r beginning to show age oecause or ine run aown conuuion oi the blood. With rich, pure blood there is no reason why old people should not re tain the happy disposition and buoyant spirits ot youtu. It you have a can cerous sore.Rhew matism, or any of the ailments com mon to old ag, write 11s about it, and our Physicians wil advise you without charge. 3ook on Ulood a-. 1 Sliin Diseases free. The Swift Specitio Co., Atlanta, Ga. You May Count Printing an Expense, But Good Printing In an Investment. The printing we do more than pays for itself in the favorable impression it gives others of the office or business house - from which it emanates The Free Press Co. I he IN w Year. ' Th old jvar's gone And t' e time is on For new year's h use arranging, You'll always find Us up to the tim i In th styles that areever changing. In tabourettes . Andchina sets, We have them rare aud many. O' table spread, All kinds of beds, With Drices. wll. most an v. " Bargains too, , , WTe have for t ou, In chairs oak and willow. More than these , . You'll find when pleased 1 To call on I QUINN &HILLER E 111 THE 3 FREE PAYS JOB UOOK A INOTiCe. Notice i liervliy given to all persons concerned thai nii BMilieation will be nude by the ' card oi ominiMHionera of Lenoir count i , N. .. at th expiration of . thirty days from the publication ot this notice in i lie rviiiHTon r ree rrena. w ine General AsMeintily of North Carolina, at its prenent sesHi n, to enact a ep-cia) act permitting and empowering the said Board of oinniifsiouera to levy a special tax on all property and polls taxable under the law wiihin the county of Lenoir, N.f ., for the purpose of repai' Ing the court house and jail, to reixvir public bridges i f tlie county, to build a public bridge acrous Neiise river Iwlow Kmston and to purchase lunds for the purpose of locating a poor hous and building a poor house January 6th, lito:). DR. BKNRYTULL, W. D SUGGS. Chairman. Clerk to Board. BILTMORE WheatHearts The leai t of Wheat seien t if it-ally prepar ed, retaining only the nutrative elements, appetizing, easily di gested and nutritions A Bountiful Breakfast, A Satisfying Supper QUICKLY PREPARED. Mark Mewborn, The Phone No. 115. Grocer Everything that the appetite calls for in the way of seasonable Tlle Delicacies at our place. A stock of Fancv O roc rles that is complete in every detail. Call or 'phone for an) thing you want to eat and it will be quickly delivered, for "PROMPT NESS" is our motto. TRENCH & SUGG- P UU IN Pre SPECIALTY. r rniLir to'.vx:: Ayr-::::" on. ! ITllXlt I'll ' O .
The Kinston Free Press (Kinston, N.C.)
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Jan. 30, 1903, edition 1
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