The Sun.
London, England, 1850-08-29 00:00:00

LYNCHING IN AMERICA.

Very remarkable records of crimes are sometimes
received from the " nether regions" of the Far West ;
but the subjoined narratives, extracted from the
American Flag of the 17th ult., published in the dis-
trict of Rio Grande, possess features of unusual
atrocity :
_

"On the _llth inst. our citizens were astounded
with the melancholy intelligence that Justice Beacon,
in consequence of the death of the coroner, bad been
called to hold an inquest over the body of Captain
John Brennan, who had beeti murdered in cold blood
by the notorious Bill Hardy, both recently from Gal-
veston. It appears that the above two, with a number
of others, were at the Landango-house, where they
remained till between one and two o'clock in the
morning, when Captain Brennan left for his place of
lodging. He had not proceeded far when he was
overtaken by Hardy, who drew his knife and thrust
it to the hilt in Brennan's left breast. Seeing
Hardy's movements, he threw up his hands and
exclaimed, Bill, don't cut me!' It was too late—
the fatal stab came too quick and too certain for him
to avoid it. He ran some thirty or forty yards,
fell, and soon expired. After committing the
outrage Hardy walked back into the house, with his
knife in his hand, reeking with blood, exelaiming,
I'm a tart, and that's the way I'll serve any man
who will follbw me.' Some of those who heard him,
supposing he had got into difficulty with a Mexi-
can, advised him to leave, which he did. As
soon as it was ascertained that he had killed
Captain Brennan, men were sent to the several
ferries to prevent his escape into Mexico, and others
started in pursuit. He was arrested next morn-
ing about daylight near one of the ferries, ironed,
and taken to gaol. The cause assigned for this
brutal outrage is the refusal of Brennan to let
Hardy have money while at Brazos, which is, in
all probability, the true cause, as Hardy was heard
to say, on the way up to that place, that he had
marked his man. The people resolved to mete out
justice to the murderer, and they according assembled
and demanded the culprit from the deputy-sheriff,
who was obliged to deliver up the man into their
hands. On reaching the spot for this tragic scene,
he remarked that he knew he had to die, and intended
to die like a man, but would rather be shot than
hung. The crowd assembled to witness the solemn
tragedy was quite large, but orderly and quiet, with
a few exceptions. No one volunteering to shoot the
guilty wretch, it was decided that he must hang.
During all this time, and even while the arrangements
were making f)r launcing him into eternity, where
he would meet a more dread tribunal than any on
earth, he evinced the most perfect indifference as to
his fate, not suffering a muscle of his face or limbs to
betray the least emotion, and even took the rope that
was to bang him and tied the hangman's knot, to show
how it was done, without the slightest perceptible tre-
mor of the nerves. Those managing the matter, fear-
ing the knotwas not well tied, untied it for the purpose
of retying, in which they failed, when he remarked
to a gentleman standing near him that he would tie it
again. This kind office the individual addressed
promised to perform for him. The doomed man then
got into a cart, mounted on a plank which rested on
the wheels, without any resistance or assistance, and,
while the rope, which was suspended from a beam
used for hoisting beeves, was being adjusted around
his neck, asked to have his hands tied behind him.
There he stood high above the crowd, his hands tied,
the noose closed about his neck, and death staring
him in the face, calm, cool, and collected. The cart
moved from under him, and in this condition he was
hurried into eternity. He died after a slight strug-
gle, and thus terminated the earthly career of Bill
Hardy. He met death with the same reckless indif-
ference that he had meted it out to others.

MIDDLESEX SESSIONS.
(Bef,rP Mr. WITHAM.)
John Henry, 20, William Walker, 'l6, and Frederick
11, iyht, 20, were indicted yesterday for having btolen
a watih of the value of 10!. from the person of Tho-
mas Loake.

Mr. Dunbury Taylor, the secretary, said, in conse-
quence of a communication made to him, he asked the
prisoner where he had posted the letter. The prisoner
replied, at Charipg-cross. Witness, on learning that the
prisoner had only been gone five minutes, and being
certain that he could not have posted the letter so
quickly, asked him for his keys. The prisoner then
said he would confess he had not posted the letter, and
be pulled it out of his pocket. The prisoner said he
paid a part of the money he received for the postage to
discharge a trifling debt he owed. ,
The magistrate was informed that good reason existed
for believing that this was not the first offence of the
same kind, and it was on that account the present charge
had been pressed.
The prisoner made no defence, and was committed.
MA R YL EBONL'.
Mrs. Teller, the wife of Mr. Adam Teller, formerly a
smith, engineer, and iron-founder, in Paddington, who
was abandoned by her husband two years ago, and who
has since encountered great privations, again waited
upon Mr. Long, who desired Mr. Phillips, the clerk,
to hand over to her the donations, amounting to 81. 55.,
forwarded by various tenevolent persons who had read
au account of her very distreesing case.
Mrs. Teller, who is in an ill state of health, and who
was much agitated, expressed her thanks to the worthy
magistrate for his kindness and
,courtesy.
Mr. Lore said no thanks were due to him, but to the
very kind persons who had forwarded the money. He
was merely the almoner of their gifts.
Andrew Devanagh, an Irish labourer, was charged
before Mr. Long, with defrauding the London and
North- Western Railvray Company of the sum of ss. 3d.
by riding a greater distance than for which he had paid.
Mr. Thomas Barker, superintendent of the London
and North-Western Railway Company, stated that ho
was instructed to bring this case before the court, not
for the purpose alone of punishing the defendant,
bet to mention another circumstance that had
occurred, and nearly attended with fatal con-
sequences. The defendant and another man named
Canines, it appeared, walked from Birmingham to
Weedon, a distance of forty miles. At the latter place
they took two third-class tickets t) Gayton for which
they paid 7d. each. Instead of getting out of the train
at Gayton, they came on to London, and on arriving at
the Primrose-hill tunnel, Cattiness, in order to evade the
( xcess of fare, jumped out of the train, which ,was tra •
veiling at the rate of 35 miles an hour. On the train
arriving at the Camden station, Devanagh stated to the
guard that Outlines had jumped from the train. Mes-
sengers were immediately dispatched, and, to their great
surprise, they found him in the policeman's box at the
north end of the tunnel, with his kfc arm broken, and
suffering dreadfully from other injuries. Upon his arri-
ve' at the Euston station he (Mr. Barker) put h:m in a
cab and badwhereheathipm nresceontvrtelead to theinsina Universityverydahgeroilousssptiattalr.,
lie (slr. Barker) did not wish to press the charge, but
thought that the publicity givrn to the case would act as
a caution to others for the future.
The defendant was admonished by Mr. LONG, and
discharged.
Daniel DosscU was charged with committing a tres
lfanii:
pass upon the Great Western Railway. The charge
having been proved by Superintendent Collard, the pri-
soner was committed for 14 days.
SO U
of
SGoeuortgheamSpnatiolnh: youngawasug bro AIaRK .
te shopman in the em-
ployment of Mr. Emanuel, pawnbrokkr and silversmith
ht before Mr. Henry, charged
with' being concerned is burglariously entering his em-
ployer's premises, and stealing property, consisting of
gold and silver watches, gold neck chains, gold rings,
diamond studs, about fifty gold pins, together with a
quantity of gold and siiver...,cilins, to the amount of 5001.
It appear( d that Mr. Emanuel's haute was broken'
into at an early hour of the moreing of Thursday, the
11th ult., and plundered of the property above enutne-
rated. leformation of the robbery was immediately
communicated to the police .at Southampton, and from
their inquiries on the spot, it was suspected that it was
effected by five London thieves, that number of strangers
having been observed larking about the neighbourhood.
Information was also dispatched to Scotland-yard, and
Inspector Field and Inspector Whicher of the Detective
force were employed to discover the offenders, and if
possible to trace out how the property was disposed
of. They ascertained that George Smith, the pri-
soner, had quitted Mr.-Emanuel's service about a month
previously to the robbery, and had left Southamp-
ton for town. Acting upon this information,
the inspector and sergeant by dint of inquiry
discovered the prisoner's place of abode, and
found that ho was at an obscure lodging, and that be
exhibited nothing to indicate that he was concerned in
such an extensive robbery, none of the articles stolen
having been exhibited by him, or been seen by oho
people with whom he lodged. The officers, however,
found that the prisoner was in treaty with a brewer for
a public-house, called the Moulders' Arms, in Redcross-
street, Southwark, and that he had agreed to pay down
a deposit of 1001., to enter upon the business upon a
certain day. This discovery at once convinced them
that Smith must have come dishonestly into the posses-
sion of such a sam of money, as when he left his late
perm
custody, and on
chain3.' were found,
employer's service he was
.kneonwtnoftohhisavwe
waves.
a simall
sum arising from the They,
therefore, took the prisoner into c
exam-
ining his pockets a gold watch and
identified by him as
forming a portion of the property
shown to Mr. Emanuel, was at of which he
was f.:und that
which he claimed as his own,orbiouet which, upon being
was plundered. Subsequently
the prisoner had taken "apartment at the
Colonial Coffee-house,
Newington causeway,and
ht. o sovereignskers' there fifty
upon examination being instituted
articles, amounting to eOO/.
watches, rings, and other
It was also discovered that he bad sold upwards of: sixty
the
Waterloo .rings and pins to a man named Joseph, in t e
to jewellery, consistingl
duwieicraetesfoureoldatiinna his trunk, besides pawn-
brokers'
Waterloo•road, and that he had also disposed of several
s.
his
obwweaentne h.
seenes toby anotherm r. E Emanuel,
a n tradesmanueb ade wblyn ghtai ;nun;
abt
su t
Since then a considerable portion of the property has
ryl al's) f,
gold and silver coins, consisting of dou
suspected have been
ducats, dollars, fee., which it is stL
Amongst the property, stolen wbaisoaonsr
impoi
traced, melted d at-n as none of them have been
not-
withstanding the activity displayed by
and Sergeant Whicher is the detection of the offender,
Inspector Field
property. ndideantti:
and the recovery of the greater portion of the stolen

Mr. Payne defended Wright.
On the 1501 inst., Police-constable Reeve, A 424, was
en duty, in plain clothes, in St. James's Park, " ou the
look out" in the crowd that had assembled to see her
Majesty go to prorogue Parliament, and he paid great
attention to the movements of the prisoners, knowing
Henry to belong to the swell mob, and having seen
them try the pockets of several individuals. He fol-
lowed them up to Buckingham Palcee, where several at-
tempts upon pockets were made by them, but unsuccess-
fully, and after briefly consulting together they retraced
their steps towards the Horse Guards. They passed
through into Whitehall by the Canteen and took their
station in front of the Banquet-house, where the officer,
knowing the skill of Henry as a pickpocket, placed him-
self in a position to command a full view of their opera-
tions. Henry tried the pockets of several persons
standing in the crowd, and at length he fixed upon the
prosecutor, whose watch he carefully lifted out of his
waistcoat pocket. Finding that it was strongly fastened
to a chain, and that he could not at that moment dis-
connect it, he very dexterously replaced it in the
prosecutor's pocket to awsit.a more favourable oppor-
tunity when the crush was greater. Presently there
was some crowding at that spot, and be then
again slipped the watch from the pocket, but as the
crush lasted but for a moment, he had not time to unscrew
the swivel, and then for the second time he returned the
watch to the• prosecutor's waistcoat pocket. As the
Royal cortege emerged from the Horse Guards there was
a great rush; and availing himself of that opportunity,
Henry, for the third time, drew the watch from the
packet, and was in the act of breaking it from the
chain, when the officer reached over his shoulder, and
laid hold of his hand with the watch in it. The prose-
cutor then became aware of the liberty which was being
taken with his property, and he called " police" lustily.
The officer said it was all right, that he was an officer,
but the prosecutor, suspecting from his not being in uni-
form that be was one of the gang, declined to resign
the watch into his hands, Two officers in uniform
arrived the next moment, and that satisfied him, the
watch was given up, and the prisoners secured.
The prisoner Henry cross-examined the witnesses
with some tact, and in his defence ho said that the watch
was accidentally pulled from, the pocket by one of his
coat buttons getting caught by the chain, and singularly
enough it dropped into his hand. He was about to re-
turn it when the officer interposed.
Walker, in his defence, denied all knowledge of the
other prisoners.
Mr. PAYNE addressed the jury for Wright, who be
said was (as he certainly looked) " half foolish," the re-
sult of an attack of small-pox. The Learned Counsel
then called witnesses, whose evidence showed that
Wright was very respectably connected, and that he
was of a very excellent character. He dined with his
family very shortly before the robbery took place, and it
was suggested that he had accidentally fallen into con-
versation with the other prisoners.
The jury convicted Henry and Walker, and acquitted
Wright.

Lockyer, one of the officers of the Westminster Prison,
proved six former convictions against Henry, whom he
described as one of the cleverest pickpockets of the day.
The last sentence imposed upon him was one year's hard
labour, and that was by this court.
Mr. WITHAM said it was time the country was rid cf
such a character as Henry, whom he sentenced to be
transported for ten years; and Walker was sentenced to
six months' hard labour.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
MARLBOROUGH-STREET.
Alfred Brooks, steward's boy at the East India United
Service Club, No. 14, St. James's-square, was charged
with having embezzled Is. 101, under the following cir-
cum.tances :
Thomas Withers, hall-porter, said that on the 22d of
the present month he received from Captain St. Chir.
one of the members cf the club, a letter to post, and 2s,
to pay the postage with. Witness gave the letter to the
prisoner, and also the money. The prisoner returned
and gave him 2d., which he said was the change he re-
ceived after paying the postage. From the short time
the prisoner was about this errand witness had his sus-
picions, and he queltioned him as to the office where he
posted the letter. The prisoner said ho posted the letter
at Charing-cross. This was afterwards found to be false.
The letter was afterwards found in the prisoner's pos-
session.

" On last Tuesday morning our city was made the
scene of another bloody tragedy, when our citizen.
again took the law into their own hands, and meted
out justice to a brutal wretch who had set at defiance
the law of God and man. From what we can learn
of the occurrence, the particulars are, as follows :
A Mexican went into the house of M'Kee, where a
monty•bank is kept, and asked another young
Mexican for a bit. The individual who was dealing
mont6 at the time remarked that he would give it to
him, which he did. In the meantime he had drawn his
pistol, which, on receiving the money, ho fired at
the Mexican first addressed. The pistol was loaded
with buckshot, two of which struck the young
man fired at in the breast, near the throat, and
a third wounded another Mexican in the
arm. As soon as he had committed the
foul deed he ran to the river, and attempted to effect
his escape into Mexico by swimming. Several shots
were fired while he was in the water, but none hit
him. Ile was pursued by several persons in a • skiff,
caught, and brought back. He was then taken to see
the man whom he had shot, who was suffering greatly,
thence to the place where Hardy was executed, and
there hung. It did not exceed 20 minutes from the
time he discharged his pistol till he was dangling at
the rope's end. No cause llas been assigned for the
cold-blooded act. The young man who was shot in
the breast died shortly after his murderer was hung.
" The house of Mr. G. L. Stillwell, nine miles the
other side of the Rio Colorado, containing his family
and four Mexicans, was attacked on the 10th inst., by
11 Indians, who surrounded the premises and kept
up a constant fire for about half an hour, without
doing any other injury than killing two horses that
were tied at the door. One of the party then came
forward at what he no doubt considered a safe dis-
tance, as if to challenge, when Mr. Stillwell shot him
dead. The party then left, taking away three horses,
and made towards Brownsville. It is supposed that
this party were among those who attacked Mr. Hol-
brook and a Mexican, a part of Mr. Stillwell's
party."

EXTRAORDINARY CASE OF
SOMNAMBULISM.
A little girl, about ten years of age, living with her
parents at the extreme end of one of the streets
leading into Colyton, who has been for some time
past attending a school to learn the way to make the
far-famed Honiton or pillow Jace—the school being
at least a quarter of a mile from her parents' house—
was seen by Mr. Stocker, the tiuman, walking very
leisurely down the town between the hours of four
anal five in the morning of Friday last, in a com-
plete state of nudity, with the exception of her che-
mise. Wondering at such an unusual incident he
watched her very attentively until she passed his door;
her eyes were wide open, and apparently in a fixed
position. She had not gone 50 yards farther when
she was seen by a young man named Thomas Brice,
who, at once surprised and somewhat alarmed, asked
her where she was going, and if anything were the
matter. Of these questions she took not the slightest
notice, but turned and went up a court, at the end of
which her school is situated; he then, in a loud
voice, called after her, and asked her if she
was not Mr. —'s daughter, and with pre-
cisely the same result as before. Her father,
who is a journeyman tailor, was at work at the time
in his master's . workshop over the passage leading
into the court, and hearing his name thus singu-
larly called upon he looked out of the window, and
sr carni bdeodv;
down
estathiresna,
nind a
intos t a t e
theof geroeuartt r iegahl
calling
sure enough there was his daughter as before de-
te immediately
monedhiaer
no purpose, when, on overtaking her,
ished to find she was sound asleep, and itwas not
until he had shaken her two or three'
times that
she
awoke. She said the was quite unconscious how she
came there, and was not at all aware of having left
her home. Her father then got something to wrap
her up in, and carried her home in his arms. There
are one or two circumstances connected with this
singular case deserving of being mentioned. Many
yards of the road over which she walked have
recently
undergone a thorough repair, and though the cracked
flint stones are to a certain extent worn down, still
in several pieces it is yet in an exceedingly rough
state ; she is, however, totally ignorant of everything
that took place up to the time of her being awoke
(rein her sleep, thus proving (in this instance at least)
that the sense of toueh during somnambulism is alto-
gether suspended, if not destroyed. Again, near the
entrance of the court were a team of horses and a
waggon, all of which she carefully avoided, as much
so as if it had been midday, and she were in perfect
possession of all her senses. The affair has caused
quite a seniation among the good folks of Colyton.— j
Sherborne Journal.

THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 29, 1850.

Mr. HENRY said that as the robbery vras efT,Tted at
S..‘uthampton, the circumstaeces attending it would have
to undergo investigation there, and for that purpose he
should direct the prisoner to be at once taken there.
The prisoner was accordingly conveyed by the train to
Southampton.