Staunton Spectator

.The Albemarle Mystery...

The following authentic, detailed and thrillingly interesting account of the mysterious affair at the residence of Mr. John S. Moon, near Scottsville, from the beginning, ten months since, to November 10th, is from an extra of the Scottsville Register:

SCOTTSVILLE, ALBEMARLE CO., VA., November 11th, 1867.

About ten months ago, a candle box, filled with rags, saturated with whiskey, was placed against a side of Mr. John S. Moon's house, five miles from this place, and ignited. About 1 o'clock at night, the fire was discovered and extinguished; and the unburnt rags discovered to be fragments of garments missing from Mr. Moon's house, in the then past several months. Whether this effort to burn the house had any connection with what has followed, is not known.

Mr. Moon was not again molested that he is aware of, until Spring opened, when a member of his family saw a man standing motionless a few feet in front of his house, late at night. On another occasion, two men were seen to walk back and forth across the yard. On another occasion, a negro woman reported she saw a black looking man crouched at Mr. Moon's front gate, late at night; and on another occasion, also late at night, a similar looking man was seen crouched near the gate, who afterwards got up and went towards the house.

During Mr. Moon's absence, attending Court about that time, his parlor door which had been carefully shut and locked, (the key being left in the lock at night,) was found open in the morning. In a night or so afterwards, a parlor window which had been fixed with a straw stuck in a crack of it, was found to have been hoisted; the store room door was found open, (unaccountably,) several mornings about that time.

After this, Mr. M. fixed his inside and outside doors and windows in such a way as to know if they were disturbed, and found they were repeatedly opened. He watched on the inside of his house for a good many nights nearly all night, but failed to detect any one attempting to enter. No one disturbed the house the nights he watched.

One night, about six weeks ago, Mr. M. fastened all the doors and windows, carefully. He was the first one to get up the next morning, and found his inside dining-room door had been opened—a store-room door opening into the dining-room had been unlocked and opened—a door opening into the kitchen from the dining-room had also been unlocked and opened, and the sliding kitchen door had been moved back. A light had been seen to flash about the house that night after the family had all retired.— From the store room about four or five pounds of sugar, gotten and weighed the evening before, had been taken, and the whiskey out of a demijohn, known to have been full the night before, was missing. By the sugar, was a basket of silver ware which was not disturbed.

The next night, Mr. Moon's son, about 14 years old, was sleeping in his father's office, which is about 10 yards from the house. On this night an effort was made to hoist the window, which awakened his son. He jumped up saw a man run off—got his gun and made ineffectual pursuit.

The next night, a noise was heard in the dining-room, and a man seen from an upper window to run off from the house through the back passage door, which was found open, though carefully closed a short time before. This door had not been locked, because of sickness in the family.

The next night some one was heard to stumble on an open shed over the back passage door—a loud crash immediately followed. Upon going out, Mr. Moon found on the ground, not far from the shed, several ladies' and children's garments, taken from the upper part of the house, and the remains of two plates taken from the dining-room, wrapped up in them also, a Bible taken from the dining room mantle-piece, a few feet off. A child's bonnet wrapped up in a roll of children's clothes was found on top of the shed.

The next night was dark, windy and rainy.— About midnight, a pane of glass in one of the dining-room windows was smashed in, and the sash raised. Some one was heard to jump in, and when the alarm was given, to jump out again—no one was seen.

The next night was windy and dark, and the rain fell in torrents. Every door and window was carefully closed by Mr. M. except the back passage door, and he placed all of his family in his chamber—in a room opening next to him. He sat in this open door with his gun in his hand about two hours, when suddenly his chamber around the corner from him was bursted in with a loud crash. He rushed to the spot, but could not have seen or heard a man moving in three feet of him, on account of the darkness, wind and rain, and the outcry of his family.— He then closed, and locked the door in which he sat, and in order to keep from being seen against the sky, crawled around to the front of the house, and placed himself 50 yards in front of his front door, where he remained until about day. While there he heard the rattle of a sash of a glass, but could see nothing for the darkness. In the morning he found that the putty around a side light to his front door, next to the lock, had been cut out, evidently with the intention of unlocking the door. An effort, which was nearly successful, had also been made to force in the side light sashes and the pannels below them.

The next day was clear, and Mr. Moon made arrangements for eight of his neighbors to surround the house about half an hour after the moon went down, which it did that night about 11 o'clock. If any one entered the house, it was understood that Mrs. Moon, at one of the end windows up stairs, and one of her sisters at the other, were to raise signal lights. Mr. Moon retired to his chamber in his usual way, so as to deceive the burglar, and after locking the door, extinguishing the light, and rustling the bed clothes, sat with his gun in his hand. A short time after the moon went down, soft footsteps were heard in his parlor, but the wind was blowing, and the sound might have been deceptive. His son crept down, and peeping into the dining room, saw that a window had been hoisted. Upon going back and reporting, the ladies doubted the report. He went down a second time, satisfied himself fully, and coming back, it was determined he should shoot the rogue as he went out of the open window. In a few minutes he saw a man about twenty steps from the house and fired on him. The signal lights went up—the man fell flat and crept off. At the same instant that young Moon fired, a man ran between two of the guards, about two hundred yards off, on the other side of the yard, and was fired at by one of them with a pistol. The other guard could not fire for fear of shooting one of his companions. The next morning tracks made by a coarse boot, or shoe, were found coursing down the hill from that point.

That night the store room door was found locked, but upon going in they found a bag, with two apartments to it, left on the flour barrel, and about a double handful of coffee spilt in with the flour. A shawl, missing from the dining room, was dropped at the spot Mr. Moon's son shot at the man. It seemed to have been perforated with three shots. The entrance and exit of the thief had evidently been made through the back passage door by means of a false key, although the door was found locked. The window had been hoisted to escape through in case Mr. Moon came out of his chamber. The thief was disturbed by the whispering up stairs.

The next night it was determined to let the rogue come in, if he would, and try to shoot him in the house. Mr. Moon's brother stood, gun in hand, in the back part of the passage—two other gentlemen were in the house to relieve or assist him, if necessary. Late at night, by moonlight, a man was observed from an up-stairs window, crawling cautiously by a flower border, from the front gate. It seemed to take him nearly half an hour to reach the house. He had in his hand a long rod, which was supposed to be a ramrod.— Approaching near to the house he seemed to prefer exposing the front part of his person, and crawled with his back to the ground. Upon reaching the foundation of the house he reached around with his rod and smashed a side light in the face of Mr. Moon's brother, who immediately fired through the door, under the mistaken impression that he was about to enter the house. He was observed to move off rapidly, but with his body kept very near to the ground. The side light selected to break, was one through which the door could be unlocked, with the key left in the lock every night. The same night he was seen on the outskirts of the yard again.

The next night there were fourteen men around the house—two of them, however, made a gap by leaving their posts early in the night. Mr. Moon's brother was on duty about 60 yards directly in front. At a late hour he heard some one step boldly on the platform before the front door and unlock the door and go in. He supposed it was some member of the family. One of the ladies up-stairs heard a noise below and awoke Mr. Moon's son. She afterwards saw a man go out of the front door and crouch by the side of the platform. Mr. Moon's son went to the window and fired down at the spot she indicated. The guard rushed to the house and found, as they supposed that night, a large blood-stain on the steps, over which they exulted very much.— Fruitless pursuit was made. The men came in, and had hardly gotten quiet, when signal whistles, frequently repeated, were heard in various directions from the house. (We have failed to mention that what seemed to be signal whistles have been heard about Mr. Moon's house, at night, for several months back—so boldly and frequently blown, that we suppose at least thirty persons have had opportunities of hearing them.) In the morning, Mr. Moon found reason to question whether the stain on the step was blood, or not; but had no means of determining its character. (We have omitted to mention that a bag was found this night, in the passage, which would hold about a peck. In one corner of it, a part of Mr. Moon's powder and caps, which had been left on a passage table, had been carefully tied up so as not to mix with anything else that might be put in the bag.)

The next night there were three men on guard about the yard. One of them stationed at the yard fence, reports that he saw a man rise up from among a clump of bushes and walk off a short distance and take a position as if to watch the house. He fired at him with a shot gun.— The man, he says, fell immediately. He fired again at the spot where he fell. There was no result from this shooting. Mr. Moon's impression is, that the object shot at, fell just before the first shot, or it may have been a man with defensive armor on.

The next night there were ten or twelve men around the house. Two of them report that they saw a man creeping on all fours along the garden fence—one of them shot at him with a pistol without result. At a later hour they saw the same object, and made chase, but he escaped among the grape vines and high weeds near by.

For some few days the moon shone nearly all night, and the family were not disturbed. Mr. Moon ventured to leave home to attend the Albemarle Circuit Court, his neighbors having volunteered to protect his family.

Upon returning from the Albemarle Court on the next Saturday night, a neighbor came in to spend the night. Before retiring, Mr. Moon put him in charge of the lower part of the main body of the house. He fastened every door and window carefully. Mr. M., in going out of the back passage door to his chamber, locked the door on the inside and left the key in the door to prevent a false key from being put in the lock. This night young Moon slept at the office, the first time for eight or ten nights. He says he had not time to go to sleep before the dog began to bark on the other side of the yard, and he heard some one walking around the office. He heard also a clank of metal which he described to be such as soldiers make when having sabres attached to them. The man kept close to the foundation of the house, but made a good deal of noise, as if he wished to attract the attention of the dog. About an hour before day, young Moon succeeded in catching a glimpse of him through the window, and fired at him, but lodged nearly his whole load in a chair which had been fixed against the window, so as to tumble if any one hoisted it.— Upon being aroused at the house, the back passage door was found open. Mr. Moon's friend had been dozing in the parlor—he had heard some noise once or twice, but nothing to arouse him. The disposition of the inside of the house they had made showed that this door could only have been opened by some one who came in at the front door and locked it behind him. The report of young Moon's gun probably frightened whoever it was, and he ran out at the back door, leaving it open.

The next week Mr. Moon was compelled to attend Court again. After an interval of several nights, while two of Mr. Moon's neighbors were inside the house, watching the front door, some one came to it, and struck forcibly on the door or sill, from appearances, seen through the side and top lights, most probably with the butt end of a musket. The first stroke aroused the whole family. One of the men fired through the door at him. Mr. Moon's sister-in-law saw him, from an upper window, run around the corner of the house and pause to peep back to see if he was pursued. She fired at him twice from the window which was open, with a little pocket pistol. He fell to the ground the first fire, and moved off after some hesitation. The men rushed out in a wrong direction to hunt for him. He was seen in the yard again next night. A little closet window overlooks the shed at the back of the house; the closet opens into an upper chamber—the back passage window up stairs looks across the shed. Those two windows are about six feet apart, and each fronts across the line of vision from the other.

The next night Mr. M's sister-in-law saw from the closet window a tall man coming from the direction of the ice-house door which is about twenty-five yards from the house. Half his form was soon lifted above the shed. He had probably stepped on an old goods box which was by the side of the shed, and from that on a high shelf below the eave of the shed. She immediately reported to the three men then on guard in the house. One of them stationed himself at the back passage window. Before the ladies left this guard, footsteps were heard on the shed—the scraping of matches was also heard, and a light seen on the shed. The lady went back to the closet window—the man on the shed had been alarmed and had disappeared. In a few minutes, however, he appeared again, and Mr. M's sister-in-law again reported his presence to the guard at the back passage window. She went back immediately to the closet window. The guard stood ready to shoot him if he came in sight. Just as she opened her closet window to look out, she saw a man crouched close to the wall between the two windows—a scraping of matches was heard—a light flashed in at both windows, and the man on the shed, rushing by the closet window on the roof of Mr. M's chamber, fired a pistol at her, barely missing her head, and singeing her eyebrows and hair. The powder blackened the side of the house next to the window, and the ball struck and glanced off. The man ran over Mr. M's chamber roof, and jumping down on the other side, escaped.

Since this last described night, several weeks have elapsed, but no night has passed in which the burglars did not demonstrate their presence, unmistakably, in some way or other. Lights have been thrown in at Mr. Moon's windows every night, and frequently over the heads of from ten to forty armed men. Sometimes a small light, no larger than a quarter of a dollar is played upon the walls of his house—sometimes a much larger spot—then a broad or narrow streak; sometimes a flash, and sometimes a broad glare. A bright, radiating light has been seen on the shed, at the chamber window, and at the office window.

The men who watched in Mr. Moon's parlor last night, say that light was thrown in there, they suppose, at least fifty times, and apparently an effort was made to throw the shadow of men on the walls. Nearly every night knocking or scraping sounds have been heard on the sides of the house. Stones have been thrown on top, or against the house. Footsteps have been heard on the shed and chamber roofs—windows have been opened, or attempts made to open them, or something of the sort has occurred.

One morning, a roll of cloth about six inches long, and an inch in diameter, saturated with kerosene oil, and burnt at one end, evidently a wick for a large light, was found on top of Mr. Moon's shed. On another morning, a bottle was found in the flower border, covered with two folds of flannel, and having a leather string for a loop to hold it by. The fragments of a broken glass vessel, probably about the size of an orange, have been found on the top of the shed.

We should add that in the last several weeks, the burglars have been seen five or six times and shot at twice. The demonstrations last night were violent and daring.