Thursday, December 17, 1897
Miss Annette Ligon and Miss Bessie Dysard, of Driftwood, made a horseback trip to Academy last Friday. They rode twenty-five miles Friday afternoon.
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The young folks of Marlinton who visited Highland have returned and report that Highland is a merrier place than Pocahontas. They were there a week and attended two balls, two receptions and four oyster suppers.
YELK
Wilson Courtney run agin Elk mountain and got a black eye.
John Gibson’s old yellow leg hen has been setting on a glass door knob for a month.
Pad Gay’s famous bar dog, “Jim” caught a skunk last Sunday.
John Doyle, of Clover Creek, was on Elk inquiring his way to the Clerk’s Office. He is in an unhappy state of mind, as he has forgotten the date of his wedding.
The Elk Iron Clads have built a barn on the football field for Bob Gibson to buck when he gets his dander up.
Larry May, the long-eared husky stone mason, and J. H. G. Wilson, the untamed Englishman, passed through Elk last week.
The Literary Society is flourishing. Dennis Williams excited the people last Friday night by executing a poem, 38 verses of eight lines each, Doubled and Twisted Metre, entitled, “Buckle on my Sword, Mother!” Let the good work go on.
James Jackson, rat catcher to the king has changed the name of Goose Waller Run to Rat Tail Creek. He has caught 30 rats in 31 days in one trap. We suppose one of the rats must have been twins. Who can knock the socks off the above? – HOOT OWL IKE
THE SAWED-OFF ELOPEMENT IN COURT
Justice Bird had the whole troupe of performers in the eloping case before him last Thursday.
Under the rules of this State when a body misbehaves, threatens sudden death, and breaks the peace generally, if a pistol figures in the fracas, the law works its retribution generally by dropping the greater or less charges and goes for the man for carrying a pistol. Charles Beverage, who is a sort of crazy knight-errant, was assisting in the runoff, and he had flourished a pistol when a brother of the woman came up and took her away from them in spite of the deadly weapon, rescue or no rescue.
Under the charge then of carrying a pistol preferred against the partner in crime, all the dramatis personae came into court.
The gay Lothair, Everett Lightner, was there, trying to hide any sober feeling under a laughing exterior, and succeeding very badly. He realizes it is a bad thing to fail when you are running away.
Beverage, his go-between, was taking it very calmly.
The woman was quiet and subdued. The abused husband, Charles Friel, was there in a highly nervous state.
He is a little man with a quivering chin. At one time the proceedings worked him up in a towering passion. He made spasmodic efforts to take his coat off, and declared that he was afraid of nobody. A rather unnecessary statement, it would seem, as no one had accused him of cowardice.
The brother of the woman, Moff Waugh, appeared as a prosecution witness, and he had done wonders in keeping his sister from taking the irrevocable step.
The friends on both sides were conspicuously present, and while on this occasion no one had brought a gun, yet a bulging pocket or two and certain sinister motions led one to believe that all the loose pistols in the country were doing duty there that morning…
To be continued…