BLANSIT'S BARN BURNED
Blansit had been in on the hanging of Shad
Howard, so one night one of the Howard boys and another fellow rode up
and set fire to Blansit’s barn, figuring that when he came out
they would ambush him. We lived just a little way from Blansit’s house
and the light woke father up. He saw Blansit start to the door and
hollered at him not to come out. I was just a kid of a boy and I ran out
to the fire. There was a stake and rider fence that was on fire, too,
and Blansit had a big hog in the pen that could not get out and the
fire was so hot that it was singeing the hog, I let the hog out and it
makes me laugh yet … … … …
Old man Pierson had just died but Johnnie brought the
blood hounds up the next morning and tried to put them on the trail but it
had come up a norther and a slight rain and the dogs never did pick up the
trail. I am confident that we had the dogs there that night we could have
caught whoever it was. We knew in reason, however, that it was one
of the Howard boys and another fellow retaliating for the hanging of
Shaderick Howard.