The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-12-28 00:00:00

and told us he was dead. We ran home. Nothing
was said by GorlAn to Ebea. after they came oat of
the swamp. Gorham offered him no assistance
until they requested him. Gorham and Eben.
• were in the swarou together ten minutes. Ttiey
heard no conversation between them whilst there;
no expression; Gorham did not appear distressed.
Heard no voices talking before the screaming; did
not hear them cut down the tree; she could not
lee them id the swamp.
Betsey ROWe fully agreed in testimony with last
witness, and added—they never asked Gorham or
Eben. any questioas, they were so much f
.aiglitened
after he coliseum' ; Gorham looked wild, and tears •
ran out of hileyea.
Rev. M. lifesiet swab passing near Squam-hill,
and met childrilerriinnlng in apparent distress ; he
asked what tie wetter ? They told him E.
Davis was wounded, and probably dyiog ; he saw
Davis ascend the hiji with a, quick step, and. his-
teased after him. t &Tore he arrived Davis was
lying down on the grass. As soon as he came up
Mr. Davis proposed sending for a physician ; lie
felt of hint, and said that it was useless, for he was
dead. He asked, who did it ? Gorham Parsons
said, " I did it," or, " I cut him." I then asked
him how? He said he was cutting down a little
tree, end Eben. Davis was holding uff the limb,
sod that his axe glanced and struck him. See-
ing two wounds, one on the back of the bead from
the left to the right ear, three inches in length,
and one and a half inches in depth, the other in the
face, splitting the jaw bone, I thought it proper to
inquire into it. Mr. Davis, Mr. Knowlton, and
myself, desired Gorham to go to the spin!, before
any one else was there; we went with hint. When
we had got about 30 or 40 rods, Gorham solid. " I
am sorry I did this." They went tracing the blood
for half a mile; they ascended a little hill, where
the axe lay; Mr. Davis took it up, saw blood and
hair on the inner corner of the axe. I could nut
go into the swamp as 1 was unwell, but Mr. Knowl-
ton and Mr. Davis went in with Gorham. I pass.
ed along the edge of the swamp, and came to
the stump of the tree he had cut down ; the tree
was separated from the stump 33 feet. They then
asked him how he came to cut him; he said he
attempted to cut off a lamb. They asked him to
shew them the limb—he pointed to a place where
a little dry twig was lying about as big Kea pipe
stem. Mr. Jewett then said, you never struck
• blow to inflict such a wound to cut off such a
twig; he then did not pretend he did. They then
asked him to show them the limb he was attempt-
ing to cut ; he looked around, and appeared to
be at a loss—Mr. J. then asked hint if the tree was
on the child's back when lie struck ; lie said he
did not know—Mr. J. then asked whether the tree
was lying ou the ground; he replied again he did
not know. He then asked him if Davis was
standing when he struck ; he raid he did not
know. He asked him if the child was stooping
down; he answered again lie did not know.—
They
asked him to stand as lie stood when he
struck the child. He took his stand, and Mr..l.
bent himself down with his shoulder, and said,
" This is the only position in which these two
wounds could have been inflicted at one blow ;"
he said he believed it was so. He asked, " Did
the helve of the axe fly up when you struck ?"
He said it did not. They then examined the tree
to see if there were any marks of the axe on it—
they could find none, except where it was cut down
—they could find no blood on the tree; 13 feet
beyond the tree, where he said the child stool, and
where lie struck at the limb, was a great quantity of
blood on the ground. They observed to each other,
that it was mysterions, and they asked Gotham
whether Eben. had his hat on when lie struck him ;
he said he had. The hat Iny there, and we examin-
ed it amid could find no mark ou it. There leans' a
wound on the top of the right arm. an inch and a
half long and a quarter of an inch wide, cut through
his clothes; another on the right shoulder ; a bruise
on the left shoulder, another on the hack of the right
shoulder, beyond the wound ; a scratch on the left
side of the head, below the wound on the jaw. Mr.
J. put on Mr. Knowhon's boots end went into the
swamp. Mr. Davis asked Gorham to 'hew where
the axe struck the tree. He pointed to a place
where the bark had been peeled a week or fort.
night before, by a sharp instrument, not an axe.—
'flue blood thirteen feet from the tree covered
space as big as the heed of • barrel, slid the bushes
were stained a considerable way up. ‘V hen he first
saw Gorham, he was six or eight het distance,
leaning alpinist a fence, some tears in his eyes ;
after they set oat, little or no emotion, and but
little sensibility when in the wood. The next day
he again asked hint if the axe did nut fly up?—
He said No, but it might twist a little. When ?.Ir.
J. went, he expected the tree was only partly cut
down: saw nothing that made it necessary to cut
off a limb of the tree. Gorham discovered 110
seersion to go into the woods. When asked why
they carried the tree into the swamp, he said Eben.
had part of his burden there, and they were casry-
. ing it to it. They found his burden as described,
! and a part of his scythe, which Eben, used to cut
up his wood. The tree was white maple, three
inches at the butt. Gorham mentioned that the
tree was entangled, as the reason of his cutting the
limb. Parsons has uo father, mud his mother is in
low circumstances.

John Davis w■s a Mr. Hartley's, near Squirm-
woods ; heard E. Davis was cut in the woods; he
started to the hill, and, as he ascended, saw Gor-
ham four or five yards distance, with the child in
his arms; took the child from Ciorhatn ; finding
him dead, laid him down; Mr. Jewett came up
and said the child was dead ; Gorhatn said he did
it cutting off a limb ; did not hear the conversa-
tion between him and Gorham, u they went into
the woods; gives generally the same account as
Mr. Jewett, ■nd a similar description of the
wounds. Gorham said the axe caught or glanced;
he said the moment be struck at E. he darted ;
that he sprang sood caught him before he tell.
The tree was straight and
.15 feet lung, and the