The Midnight Cry

by t.c. harbaugh

In the early days of a certain Western State, a crime was committed which has gained a place among the annals of dark deeds.  It was murder; but the circumstances surrounding it are so noteworthy that we shall here transcribe them. They present the most remarkable instance of a young man sealing his lips when his own life was in jeopardy, in order to conceal a petty vice—the most remarkable instance of the kind on record. 

One night in March, 1831, a farmer named Buskirk left a thriving town where, during the day, he had disposed of a lot of hogs. He rode a sorrel horse, and carried the proceeds of his sales in heavy leathern bags. The money was mostly in silver coin of the dollar denomination, and the amount, therefore, quite weighty. Buskirk, a fearless man, did not go armed, but rode unconcernedly from the town a little under the influence of liquor, but not drunk enough to call attention to the fact. 

As he lived but twenty miles from the market, he expected to reach home about midnight. But when morning dawned, Zimri Buskirk was still absent from his farm. His horse stood at the stable door, neighing for admittance. The well-known saddle-bags were missing, which fact immediately gave rise to suspicion of foul play, and search for the farmer was at once instituted. 

A distance of five miles from home the body of Buskirk was found lying by the roadside, and not far away lay the saddle-bags, rifled of their contents. The villain, in his haste to get at the money, had cut his way to it instead of unbuckling the heavy strap.  The farmer was found to be quite dead; one side of is skull had been crushed as if by a blow from a bludgeon, or some murderous weapon of that sort, and his pockets, like the saddle-bags, had been despoiled of their contents. … Read More