The Sun.
London, England, 1847-07-13 00:00:00

LIFE IN THE WEST.

The following catalogue of horrors is culled from the
American papers, received by the Caledonia and Hiber-
nia:—Mr. Alva Hotchkiss, clockmak, r, of Brooklyn,
was followed from his shop, and robbed and murdered en
his way home.—A negro, in Maryland, murdered an-
other negro. He despatched his victim with a grubbing
hue, and afterwards cut off his head. The quarrel origi-
nated about parched corn.—A man named Stewart, ar-
rested in Clinton county, Ohio, for the murder of his
wife, after his apprehension, cut his throat, but the doc-
tors sewed it up, and he was confined in a dungeon.
Here he put his design of self-destruction in execution,
by striking his head, while chained down, against the
floor and wall, until his skull was fractured, and his
brains ooaed out.—When found he was quite dead.—At
Port Gibson, Mississipi, a short time since, J. F. Site
was tried end convicted for the murder of Benjamin G.
Sims. The evidence of the principal witness, a young
daughter of the deceased, was of the most affecting
character. She said she had gone down the road to
meet her father on his return home; that as she approach-
ed she saw the accused rise from a corner of the fence,
and deliberately shoot him down. He approached his
victim after his fall, and despite her supplications and
tears, the pleadings of her parent, who as he lay bleed-
ing on the ground, begged the wretch to spare his lire
for the sake of his wife and children, the fiend stabbed
the dying man in many places, and stamped with his
heel upon the face of his victim. The statement of the
interesting little girl was clear and distinct, interrupted
only by her sobs and tears. There was not a dry eye
in the Court house—every heart was melted with sym-
pathy. The counsel for the accused threw up the came
wi.hout a word of defence, and the jury returned a ver
diet of guilty.—At Philadelphia, in a low rum-hole, a
father bet five dollars that his little son could drink
three bottles of porter. The lad drank two, and became
insensible, when the wretched father poured the contents
of the third bottle down the boy's throat. Medical aid
was called to save the child's life.—ln Western Canai;a,
an Indian entered the house of a respectable Scotch set-
tler. named Archibald Crawford, residing in the back of
Dunwich, and committei an infamous outrage on the
person of his wife. On the return of her husband, Mrs.
Crawford mentioned to him what had happened. Some
time afterwards, the same Indian, carrying a gun, re-
turned to the housein the evening, when Crawford was
at home, and requested leave to remain overnight. Mrs.
Crawford told her husband in Gaelic that this was the
man who had abused her, and Crawford consequently
refused to allow him to remain. The Indian shouldered
his gun and went out, followed to the door by Crawford.
When Crawford stood in the doorway, the Indian was
immediately in his front, but with his back to him. As
the gun, however, was lying over his shoulder, it pointed
directly at Crawford's breast; the Indian, without turn-
ing, pulled the trigger of the gun, the coatents lodged in
Crawford's body, and the unfortunate man fell dead on
the spot.—At Greenupsburgh, Kentucky, Wm. H. Step
ter, a young man seventeen years of age, was ex, cuted
for the murder of his mother. The father was arrested
on the charge, and would, unquestionably, have been
hanged, if his son, to whom no suspicion whatever was
attached, had not voluntarily come forward and reletsed
his father by declaring that he alone was the guilty per-
son.—An Indian doctor recently absconded from Green-
wich, Connecticut, with a girl between seventeen and
eighteen years of age, the daagnter of a widow. When
the poor mother heard of her child's disgrace, she ex-
claimed, " Then nay daughter is ruined," sank down
helpless, and remained senseless till death put a period
to her sufferings--Joseph H. Coleman, who was con-
victed at the April term of the Cumberland (Kentucky)
Circuit Court, of the murder of his wife by cutting her
throat, was hung near Burksville: he persisted to the
last that he was innocent.—Two white men and a negro,
who had escaped from gaol, and were passing down the
Sabine (Texas) river, a short time ago, were fired at by
a sheriff's posse, and the negro and one of the white men
killed. A short time ago, Colonel Edward Stiff, editor
of the Ceder Bluff hi) Sentinel, was in an excited
state on the street: of that town, armed with weapons of
slaughter when an inoffensive citizen went to him and
advised him to desist from any purpose to kill. The
Colonel demanded to know who he was, and after being
told a friend, he replied that he would shoot him first.
and immediately fired on him and killed him. P. Whis-
tler, of Missouri, whilst riding along the highway, was
shot by some assassin, who fired upon him from a cluster
of bushes. Three balls were lodged in his body—one
in his breast, one iu his thigh, and one above the
hip. lie died the next day. A company of Oregon
emigrants wt re lately attacked by a baud of Mormons,
who robbed and murdered all except two, who contrived
to escape. The Holly Springs (Tenn.) Gazette says—
" A worthy young man, by the name of Carpenter, was
murdered on Saturday last, in the most shocking
manner, by a slave whom he was attempting to chastise.
Carpenter was literally chopped to pieces by the demon,
receiving many heavy blows from the edge of an axe
on the shoulders, back, and other parts of his person.
any one of which would have produced death. The
murderer was immediately apprehended. The Neu,
Orleans Delta of the 25th of May says—" On Sunday
last an unfortunate rencontre took place between Dr.
Wilson and Mr. Augustus Whitney. Mr. Whitney re-
ceived two balls—one in the thigh, and the other in the
side above the hip, and at a late hour last evening was
pronounced to be in a very critical state." At Natchez,
Mississippi, John Clemmons, or Clements, a Tennessee
fiat-bone trader, while sitting quietly in his boat, was
attacked by some unknown person with a hatchet, and
left for dead. He survived the blow two days, and gave
the facts of the case stating that the murderer's object
was money, he having searched and ransacked the vessel
after dealing the fatal blow.