The Feud: Burning
More Trouble
It's said trouble comes in threes. This time, doubly so. Jules Donovan was found dead from drowning. That sparked hostile, bad feelings between the Herrington and Sheridan families in the area. And, finally, the two lawless brothers of Sebastian Donovan unexpectedly came to town.
Russel and Clarence were rotten apples, in and out of the state penitentiary since their teenage years. This time, they had busted free and were being hunted by the authorities. During their escape, a guard was murdered . So when (not if!) caught, additional charges would be filed which carried the death penalty. For the brothers, it was flee or die.
Donovan Boys
By age, Russel was the oldest. Then Sebastian followed by Clarence. In today's standards, Clarence would have been referred to a mental health specialist. Back then, he was simply a troubled individual people quickly learned to shy away from. He would brag about strangling random animals with his hands and threatened the same to children.
Paired up with Russel, an outspoken loudmouth and bully, the pair wrecked plenty of damage. From killing neighbor dogs to lighting fires, theft or wanton destruction of property. They had done it all.
And these two brothers absolutely hated Agnes, the wife of Sebastian. This is the one good point in her favor. She managed to separate him from the drunken pair, keeping him more sober than not.
Perhaps anger is the wrong term. They feared her. Her and the small black books she produced when she spoke pig-latin curses at them.
The feud takes to the streets
Sometime on or about Decemeber 18th, 1900, Russel and Clarence came to Herrington, seeking their brother. They needed food and supplies before disappearing again. Of course, this was during the height of the fog that made it impossible to see your hand in front of your face. He agreed to help them, keeping their whereabouts secret from Agnes. It was decided to make a raid on the 20th and then head into the wilderness.
Tensions about the town were extreme to say the least. Despite the near constant darkness, nobody was sleeping. The foghorns were blasting multiple times per hour, and suspicions as to who was responsible for Jules' vanishing triggered fistfights.
December 20th the fog started to lift at dawn. The three brothers snuck into town, making their way to the mercantile exchange building. They were far from subtle. With the doors locked they smashed windows. The sound of the broken glass carried forever in that lingering thick fog. Alarms went up immediately. People rushed out with their shotguns, or crowbars, or armed with anything to cause swift and painful damage on another. And, naturally, people formed into two groups according to their clan. As the chaos spread, more and more people were swept into it.
Nobody remained calm. Except maybe one or two households. Pointer's ancestors went for help.
Buring Shoreline 104
In the fighting, Russel, Sebastian and Clarence were chased north and east. It was a struggle to keep Clarence focused, as he had already busted a few noses and had the urge to go all in. Russel and Sebastian had to drag him out of town with a hot pursuit behind them. By this time, Agnes was aware the three were together again. And there is nothing like the wrath of a woman when her husband falls prey to brotherly idiocy.
By hook and crook, the three made it to Shoreline 104. They stormed in, killing the lighthouse keeper (Lt. Saberhagen (son of the late Brent Saberhagen). At this point, they were trapped and breaking free without more killing unlikely. Cornered, they barred the entrances and made for the top, in the hopes of scoping out a path to freedom. Unfortunately, the lighthouse was surrounded and more people arrived to box it in.
It's said the fire began at the lower decks. Perhaps from the heath. However, it happened, the townfolk called to the three brothers way up to jump or scale down the walls. It is unclear if the brothers understood the danger. They ignored the warnings. Soon the fire was out of control.
In the middle of the watching crowd, Agnes stood firm. Was it a trick of the light or was there a smile on her face? Her eyes unblinking, her arms crossed, and if you got near, you may have heard the name of a god whose pantheon is a relic of history.
The details are too grim from here. The fire took the lighthouse Shoreline 104 and the three brothers with it. It burned everything down to the footings. Not even bones were found in the wreckage. It left nothing behind except a shaken community and a widow who mourned for neither her husband nor her daughter.
So ended the storied careers of Russel and Clarence Donovan. And in the process, their brother went down with them. Without a doubt, had it not been for them, we'd have the three Shoreline lighthouses preserved to this day.
The last, and perhaps most graphic part of all this is the ending. Over the course of the next few days, enough clues washed ashore to answer what happened to Jake Fern, the forgotten hired hand who only wanted a happy life away from here with Jules.
His sad epilogue captured the imagination of more than one resident. Read it here.
