The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1878-08-27 00:00:00

AN AMERICAN MURDERER.

The Istdr OC•11.1 reports that for the fint time in the
history of Georgia • white man has been hung for the
murder of • negro, Augustin Johnson having been
executed for the courier of Daniel Alford. In many
respects Johnson was the meet remarkable criminal that
ever expiated on the gallows Ile openly outlawed to
having killed eight persons, and his lawyers and relatives,
admitting the truth of the charges against him, made the
sole dein, Unoli the plea that he WM insane upon the
subject of killing, and waA not responsible for his acts.
The most of his victims were negroes. The murder for
which he was hung was • causeless crime as ever man
committed. Johnson hail just returned from the lower
part of the State, h trine escaped front the lunatic
asylum at Miledgerille. Ile bed been Pent there upon a
verdict of • jury, his relatives having insisted that he was
Menne. He spent his time .ft-'r hie escape in lriianj
about
the districts of ChAttooga County, his home,
loth. teeth, Wiring the tiscua, threat ming the lives of
his relatives, a general oliject of aversion and terror. On
the morning of the murder he was int one of his usual
raida, having his gun slung arrnes his beck, and the con-
tents of • whisky flisisk in his staunch. He committed
several minor acts id violence, and at met pulled opal the
river, which he was desirous id crossing. The ferryibeet
happened tote upou the opposite of the river. He found •
white man or two and &number of negro nbool I did ran wait.
ing to circus the river. Ile at once called to the ferryman
(Daniel Alford), who was talking to • friend, to hurry over
with the bat. Alford walked leisurely to the host,
when Johnson cried out, "I)—n you, hurry up." Alford
replied," If you want tbis boat braight over any faster
you must COMO and bring it over yourself." At this
Johnson lowered his gun and said he would shoot hint if
he gees him any more jaw, The negro replied "Don't
fool me with that gun." At this wird Johnson, who
had been deliberately aiming, fired. The gun
was loaded with buckshot, tern or threo of which
laminated Latham breast, Ile fell deal across the
ropes of the boat. Johnson lit nit leave the
country, but for some time defied &greet, saying that it
wait **certain death" for any Man LO tun& him. At length
be was arrested at • huge camp meeting, whither, in
reckless disregard of the law, he bad gone for • frolic. lie
i•at trod and convicted, and closed the trial by cursing
this WM and solicitor in • moat violent manner. He
committee. • murder some time Lebow this under the
most retrusecable circumstance.. A Mr. Wheeler, living
now where Johnson's mother lived, had a valuable bores
stolen. He °tiered a toward of 45 dots for the recovery of
the horse, adding he would give much that additional if
the thief could be captured. A day or two after the offer
was made Gus Jolenou cause riding up to his house lead-
ing the stolen hone. He demanded the reward of 50
dater,. Of course ler. Wheeler declinesl t pay it, as
Johnson had only rettrtied the horse, and not the thief.
Having made this known to Johns n, the latter replied
"I caught the thief, bat he was too heavy to bring.
Wheeler still refused to pay the additional reward. when
Johnson carelessly ran his hand in his pocket and pulled
out • human ear. "Her, is the fellow's ear," he said, "I
couldn't bring him after I Ind killed him so lust slit off
his ear and brought it with tue se proof" It was just a.
be had said. Ile had killed • man named Hunt, whom be
claimed to have caught with the stolen horse in his pares-
Moo. The body of the murdered moo, mutilated about the
bead sa denoted, Wail found shortly sfanssardt He had
cut it open and sunk it in the river. A witness swore that,
before he reached Wheeler, Johnson had told him the
whole story of the death of Hunt. There is a murder
accredited to Johnson almost too fiendish far belief,
although be himself c infested to have committed it, At
ming meeting in Chatteosga county, be says, some yd.,
ladies persuaded • little negro baby, two or three years
old, to call him "Deddy." This timed Johnson • good
deal, who, however, held his nee until about dark, lie
then "tailed " the baby into the •oods and, once getting
It in his grasp, cut hi. throat He bad some fisti lines set
out In the river near by, and, being out of belt, rut the
child into pieces and baited his hooks with It. Its told
bla story to several persons. but denied It to others. It
was very currently published about a year ego, shortly
after the sentence Johneoa, and has never met man
Public denial that we know of; certainly no denial has been
printed.
Johnson's life in gaol ern • hard and unrepentant one.
He never softened a moment during his whole career.
lie was flippant, canine, and full of bravado. Ho
effected a daring neap° at one time but was so full of
desire to kill the p.oler that he bang about the city until
he was neaptured. He made no sign of repentance or of
regret at what he had done. He was married, and had
one child. His wife was at one time forced to get a
divorce upon fear of bin taking her life, and Upon his
being put in gad the went lock to hint, and did all that
ehe could to help him. She belonged to an excellent
family, and married him in a runaway match. His
tether was ansaniintal, and his brother was killed in
Artthrow be a mob after a bloody resistance. Ile left
Corgis because of having killed a man named Collings at
Kingston. His father was once tried for murder, and has
teen entasled in several desperate affrays. Ile was • brave
soldier. Johnsen heist his nerve to the last. He span
hi, last evening fannleing soil joking with • crowd,
having driven his weeping wife from the cell When the
crowd left for supper he told them to come back and
tiring whisky, isn't have a heap of fun all night Ile slept
het not easily. The gaol we, heavily guarde,L A
Priest spent the morning praying with him. lie demanded
morphine before he would leave the cell, and smoked a
cigar on the way to the scaffold. His last request was for
whisky, and the priest gave hint holy water. He tasted
It. cursed the priest, and threw him off the scaffold. He
examined the coin critically, tied the noose with his own bands, and died with • enrol in his hand. A
street preacher tried to talk, but the priest protested, and
the evangelist left. &heron complained that the ilrop of
Ilve feet wouldn't break his neck, and leniande4 more rope.
He asked thedoctor if it woulddislocate,and then, satisfied,
made • speech_ He confeand to four murders, and closed
inking If some one would count the crowd for him He
!LIAM-that the black rap be left off. He asked the sheriff ,
"Will you hang user The Sheriff answered "Yes,"
" All right," said Johnsen, and the drop fell He died in
17 minutes, strangled. Thus ended the career of a human
mounter. In the course of his speech Johnsen said he
knew of friend, in the crowd who could rescue him, but he
asked them not to attempt it.

POSVDEB AND PAINT. I
An A coorkam actress who has been interviewed thus
Mates her "sportsman .
" I have mod amain, and do *cyst, but am trying to
give it op mis doctor cam ;that I can do me gradually,
and advime me to a vary memonso living In the country
to make up the ler to ag%.7sem tits; my lace
sad Rims utut.:tu uIIMISIMd Um -,Ma. I 1
kamir that is I fer gone tkroag it before.
If hie recitedeem t Wm I Aral amvato
ha rowise..ggatios, for yes knew iie't anon to'__ ;
good looka for a few
:II .1 KJ, —, whoWarthe an
bow 11Ey....V.3i. b. "
= it yet, wait seetter so murk
Immo "me mmonte No ad la the wadi al Imp tt se.

I Add hare Is Now Teek Retire Interpretation there
I Is soma excuse, for to na perermal attractions are •
' neemaity, • question of business. Even if • woman blan.t
got much brains, managers are reedy enou.di to enage
her If she is pretty. But, neesuary so beauty is to so,
j think that there are very few actremes who have enough
of the dupereve vanity of the women of society to plunge
deliberately into the um of anemic as a beautifier, m VASS
numbers of women off the Kam /Ira We get to it by
degrees, in this way: first, you 11111/4 underetand, we have
to use painton the .tage Not one woman in tire hundred,
after the first flush of girlhood at least. has a complexion
that will stand thegLare of the footlights without • toning
up of white and red Now, nearly all thingo sold for that
purpose are eventually ruinous to the skin. There ia one
eepecially villainone stuff that I fancy !must have been
Invented IT the Evil One hiruseU, that has ruined more
square miles of feminine face than all other nodruma
together. " Bloom of youth," indeal ! Why it in-,
but there, I'm diverging acme. Alter an artier has
dabbed her fees with theme things for a few years, say
while she has been working her way up from
utility to leading juvenile, Put at the time when
the preservation rrf her beauty is most important to
her. her skin turn. thick and rough, pimples come out and
discoloured blotches appear. To IDer horror she finds that
instead of a skin she has a hide. She rushes to her doctor
and learns that ehe bu • horrid skin &seam with • name
aa frightful as the thing toil I, and for her relief ha pre-
scribes, in all human probability, Weenie. Doenven'a
solution, nr Yowler's solution, she is pretty torn ti gvl
for the stuff is really effleacieue in removing skin &Images
arising from other causes. 0,-dually her skin becomes
smooth again and acquires a clew whiteness and plump-
ness it has not had before since her girlhood. If sh, bas
been rather thin, she rounds out so that all her (Heads ,
say, 'How well you are looking.' An! you don't know
what music thou dye word, are to • woman's ear. After
• while bar aye-lid.• begin to puff up. She gou avail. to
her doctor and my.. Why is tha • T.o mach entente.'
he responds, blandly. She stop' using it. Then her
plumpness falls away. She looks likes withered apple, a
yellow withered apple. • Hoer ill you are look int, my dear,'
other women say to her. They always say my dear,'
when they have • hateful, malicious thing to hurl at you.
Slis goes to her doctor again. 'Too little erectile,' he tells
her. Then, from that time on, her life is likely to le one
lone endeavour tomalntaln Net the ri.;ht balanced' arsenic
ti keep her looking well without hurrying up too much
the evil and inevitUtle day in which the poison will bring
Its own train of dire consequences upon her
could tell you of oae bright littlo lady who, only • few
years ago, was • most charming soubrette On our New
York stage. She had • pretty face, • beautiful soprano
voice, and • vivacity that fairly electrified her audience.
But she was very thin. She was so thin that, to conceal
her meagreness in the dap. of 'titling' hoops, she used to
wear her pads all the time, even in summer. She took te
Wing arsenic. Now she is too big to dance; her voice is
no longer clear, muffled, as though by fat in her throat.
She has brought abut • physical condition that haa
crowded lier out of her line of business and threatens soon
to retire her altogether from the stage, and yet she does
not dare leave off the nee of the drug that has wrought
the change in her. And she will keep on getting stouter
and stouter, or, rather, more and more dropsical, until it
kills her, probably, If she cannot renounce the habit.