158 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



" A man named Mitchell originated the intended 

 robbery, and arranged the method of attack. He was 

 a slight, low-sized person, but his activity was amazing, 

 and no attempt was too hazardous for his desperate 

 courage to undertake. On the morning of his execu- 

 tion (he, with the three others, was hanged at the 

 subsequent assizes) he gave us a cool detail of his 

 plans. 



" The dogs were to be destroyed, and the premises 

 reconnoitred. In the disguise of a beggar he effected 

 both ; laid meat prepared with arsenic for the poor 

 animals ; then made his way into the kitchen, and 

 ascertained that the fastenings of the back-door were 

 defective. He purposed surprising the family at supper, 

 or forcing an entrance when they were asleep. The 

 first attempt he made at the drawing-room, but quickly 

 perceiving that he had been observed by Miss Morden, 

 he retired hastily. A council was held by the robbers, 

 and it was fortunately determined to postpone the 

 attack until the family had gone to rest. 



" Nothing could be bolder, or more likely to succeed, 

 than Mitchell's desperate resolution. It was to leap 

 feet foremost through the window, and, armed with a 

 dagger, to fight his way, if opposed, and open the back 

 door for his associates. He made the attempt, and 

 providential circumstances alone prevented its being 

 successful. That very morning a small iron bar had 

 been placed across the window ; it caught the robber 

 in his leap, threw him back with violence, and the noise 

 united to the outcries of the idiot, alarmed the family 

 instantly. 



" Circumstances, they say, will often make men coura- 

 geous. In this case it had the same effect on two beings 



