Show I OLD MITCHELLS LAST VICTIM The Dangers > That Enviroai IIen Wlso Meddle Vith a Swamp Angel One of the worst men in the world so far as reputation goes is old Martin Mitchell who lives in the swamp just back of here writes a Blacklist Ark correspondent to the New York Sun He is a terror to the hard men for 300 miles around and yet personally he is one of the most affable old fellows that ever lived Not one person in a thousand who tells with prodigious adjectives and expletives ex-pletives of the swamp angels ferocity ever saw him His reputation has grown by degrees until the oK colored people have come to look upon him as in partnership part-nership with Satan and many a black mother and nurse scares her little ones by telling them that dat ole debbil what swums aroun in de marshes is arter ye Now the fact is that old man Mitchell according to his own story and the common com-mon judgment of his fellowmen in this vicinity is a harmless and lawabiding citizen lie has a hut of some kind in the i swamp where he makes his headquarters headquar-ters but when the weather is good ho is just as likely to camp twenty or thirty miles away wherever nightfall may find him as he is to be at home He is a hunter and fisher and it is probably true that if nobody had ever bothered him he would not have hurt anybody He has been in the swamp for thirty years or more killing a man now and then as occasion seemed to wan ant and making no fuss about it Heretofore when these difficulties have occurred the old man has not thought it worth while to come in and explain matters or even pay much attention to his victims If no one claimed them he has buried them in the bull rushes rush-es and gone on about his business The other day however he found that he had I to kill three men in a bunch and as this was something unusual he came to Blackfish to apologize and eventually went over to Memphis and communicated with the sheriff there on the point This was the first real glimpse of civilisation that the swamp angel has had in many years and he enjoyed it much Two men named Cummings and Bry son living at Memphis came over into the swamps a short time ago fishing and hunting and knowing old Mitchell only by reputation they fired several shots at him one of them inflicting a painful wound The old man lay low for a while and then arming himself he got into a canoe and made pursuit He found the trail a difficult one but bei91g thoroughly acquainted with every nook in the great river he knew that unless they took to land he would eyentually overtake them He followed them seventyfive miles down stream and then lost them lie waited three or four days without finding a trace of them but at length he was informed in-formed that they had gone north and he started after them During all this long chase he passed almost his entire time in i his dugout and only went ashore as he found it necessary in order to lay in provisions pro-visions At length he found them near his own swamp He had gone ashore in the brush in order to cook a little coffee and hear ing voices peered out on the river There was a boat with Cummings Bryson and an unknown man in it Seizing his rifles the old man made for a tree and opened fire the men in the boat standing up and returning it with great spirit At Mitch ells second shot Cummings dropped and fell into the river lie next brought down Bryson who also fell out of the boat The stranger was then left standing stand-ing alone with a revolver in each hand with which he was making the bark on the old mans tree fly Mitchell took careful aim and fired and the stranger dropped in the boat which was drifting slowly down stream Satisfying himself that the job had been well done the old man got into his canoe and came up to his hut where he rested a day or two and then with the idea of telling how it happened he came to town and reported In conversation Mitchell is very agreeable agree-able He said to the sheriff This here last little difficulty of mine was on a bigger scale than anything that I have ever been in before and thats what troubled me a little Yon see I know a white mans rights every time and I wouldnt bother you at all with this mat ter only I wanted the thing all straight If it aint all straight just put your clamps on me If it is I want to be getting back to business Ive had shootings before but only one at a time and everyone of them was of some cuss who wanted to murder me Im a harmless man and yet I never shoot without hitting some lung Its been my luck always to be on the defensive Every man that Ive been compelled to kill has come at me wrong and I wouldnt harm anybody if they l let me alone The reason that Ive never been in before is because you were busy and I knew there wasnt any case against me If this last thing is all right Ill 1 get ° back to the swamp As no complaint has been filed the swamp angel is evidently to be left un disturbed by the authorities With a little better understanding between him and the fellows that prowl around his headquarters and take him for a wild man there might be less bloodshed |