The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-02 00:00:00

A LYNCHING IN KENTUCKY.

Some 18 months since a wealthy farmer of Ken-
tucky, living near Campbellsville, was murdered
and robbed of between 5,000 and 6,000 dols. by
persons who entered his house at midnight, and
accomplished the double deed while he was
soundly sleeping in his bed. Mr. Simpson was
wealthy and highly respectable, and, of course,
the cowardly murder caused a great excite-
ment in his community. Soon after the guilty
culprits were discovered and arrested, and an
attempt was made by the populace to hang them,
which was frustrated. Afterwards they were
taken from the gaol at Russellville to that at
Greensburg. Now, the second awful tragedy opens
on the 10th (Wednesday last), as reported to the
Louisville Journal of the 12th. This morning
according to a previous understanding, men from
this and the adjoining counties commenced gather-
ing at this place, and at an early hour took up their
march to Greensburg, meeting with accessions at
different points along the road until the crowd
numbered 200 or 300 men, including a considerable
number of spectators. The mob proceeded to the
gaol, which is built of stone, and very strong, and
found the doors locked and the gaolergone. A num-
ber of men immediately seized a large piece of timber,
and, with several tremendous blows, bursted the
door from its hinges. An inner door was speedily
broken with crowbars and sledge hammers; a portion
of the mob stood in the debtors' room, fronting the
cells in which the miserable men were confined.
The locks of the cell doors were soon broken and
the doors forced open, when a most horrid and
sickening and revolting sight met the gaze of those
present. One of the men, Elias Scaggs, a man
weighing 2001b5., was found weltering in a large
pool of blood in the last agonies of death, the blood
spirtin gin large jets from a ghastly and self-inflicted
wound in the neck, having with a razor cut his
throat from earto ear. His body, convulsed in death,
was dragged into the debtors' room, and from
thence down a flight of steps on to the street paving.
The remaining three men,—viz., Bill Saul Thomp-
son, Sloan Despano, and George Hunter, were then
brought from the gaol, bound and mounted behind
men on horseback, when the crowd, in double file,
amid throngs of spectators, took up their return
march to this place, a distance of twelve miles, dur-
ing which two of the miserable men displayed con-
siderable firmness, asserting their innocence in the
most positive terms. Thompson wept and prayed
audibly a good part of the way, calling on all to
witness his innocence. The crowd having arrived
at the place, determined to lynch Beko also, a
negro, belonging to the murdered man, who
had been implicated by Scaggs as the real
murderer. At this juncture, amid the yellings
and howlings of the crowd, the expostulations of
the sheriff and our excellent gaoler, and " amid
confusion worse confounded," Mr. Robert Colvin
a prominent and influential eitizeri, having sue-
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it was as effectual as it was sensible, for after an un-
successful effort of one or two inexperienced orators,
the mob left the negro in gaol and conducted the
three men a shortdistance to an elm tree, and began
making preparations to hang them. At Thomp-
son's request a prayer was offered in their behalf,
a
he praying and weeping aloud during the time.
He was then mounted on a horse, and after again
asserting his innocence for the last time, a rope was
put round his neck, the end thrown over a limb,
the horse driven from under, and Thompson was
launched into eternity. He seemed to die easy—
one or two spasmodic jerkings of the limbs, a shud-
der and all was over. Despano soon''shared a
similar fate, dying much harder. At this stage
Hunter gave evidence of making a' clean breast,
which, after a good deal of delay and reluctance,
he did, confessing to the guilt of Scaggs, Thomp-
son, and Hunter, and implicating five others as
being concerned in the murder. Their names
are as follows :—Henry Scaggs, Jerry Scaggs, Lloyd
M'Daniel, John Underwood, and a son-in-law of
Simpson. The latter is under arrest, but is, I
believe, generally considered innocent. The sheriff,
with a posse, is out to-night to arrest the others.
Beko was also implicated by Hunter, and brought
forth, and the two confronted. Nothing of import-
ance was elicited, and they were both taken to
gaol—both of them making a narrow escape.—
Yew York Tribune.

DEATH OF THE HON. HENRY ASHLEY.—WC
have to record the demise of the Hon. Henry Ashley, who
expired on Tuesday night at Windsor. The deceased gen-
tleman was third son of the late Earl of Shaftesbury by
Lady Anne Spencer, fourth daughter of the fourth Duke of
Marlborough. Ho was born May 5, 1807, and married
Oct. 2, 1835,_ Jane Frances, only daughter of Mr. Robert
Mattison. The hon. gentleman was for some years in the
9th Dragoons. .In 1831 he was returned to the House of
Commons for Dorchester, which borough he continued to
represent till 1847. He was a D.C.L., and a deputy-lieu-
tenancy of the county of Dorset. The families of the Earl
and Countess of Shaftesbury, Lady Caroline Neeid, the
Right Hon. Henry and Lady Harriet Corry, awl num( roue
families of rank, are placed in mourning.