Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1819-08-28
A COPY

A COPY
Of the d,,,osittons of smd,y 7oitnesses, taken be-
fire Thomas g. Darison, Esq. a justice Of
The teace far Madison county, state Of Illinois.
ct he h9tse Of .nr. &om Gillian, at the moHh
of Missouri, to establish and erblain trans
0ctto?i that took place about seven miles aboue
st. Generfeue, on the bank Of the mississippi,
in .pliich The dsath Of Banks Finch took place,
the 25M Of Jaiu, 1919, ui-:
OTFIA BATMAN, being of lawful age, and
being duly sworn, deposeth and saith, that he
was present when Banks Finch was killed, on
the Doth day of July, 1919; that the deponent
and also Banks Pinch, the deceased were en-
ployed by captain J. d. Wilcox, at Fort s,assac,
towork us hands on board ofthe keel boat the
same name; that in avery short time he dis
covered said Finch to be very ovef1beaIing,
troublesome man, and particularly so when in
toxicated that said Finch, the deceased, would
have whiskey when and where he could get it
that he would sometimes leave the boat to pul-
chase wliskey elsewhere; that on account of
the frequent practice of drinking to excess
and disorder and confusion on board the boat,
an order was given the passengers in the cabin
not to allow wh;skey to be drawn and used, as
it had been almost without limit that Finch,
after this order, went 10 the cabin to draw
whiskey as usial-captain Stubbs, being in the
cabin, forbade it, and informed said Finch that
it was contrary TO orders. From this period
the SAID Finch, the deceased, appeared to have
a settled and constant enmity towards the
passengers, and would frequently threaten to
whip them; that he would whip two or three
ftnem, and great deal of very insulting Ian
gaage; that lieutenant Campbell was one Of
the passengers--wh the boat arrived at st.
Genevieve, the deceased bought aug ofwhis-
KEY on shore that after going some distance
from that place, the said Finch was on shore,
in company with other hands, cordelling the
boat--upon arriving at the mouth of a run,
which was very muddy, he stopped; but the
boat being under Roadway, the bow Of it pass
ed on. Captain Wilcox and the passengers eX-
erted themselves to throw the stern Of the
boat to shore, that he, Finch, might get on
board to pass the muddy place, halooing at the
same time to Finch not to go in the mud and
water The boat had nearly reached shore,
when Finch, the deceased, rushed into the
mud and water to cross over, when in minute
or two he might have stepped on the boat
Every eXcrton was making by captain Wilcox,
lieutenant Campbell, and others, to get him on
board and prevent his wading through the mud
and water. As soon as he, Finch, had rushed
himself into the mouth of the run, he com
menced cursng and abusing all on board, the
captain, passengers, and hands. The captain
then directed him not to take such liberties
any longer Finch, the deceased, then applied
TO captain Wilcox to pay him off his wages, for
he would not step on the boat, rgo with such
a rascally set any more. The captain offered
him his money in paper bank notes.-the re-
fused it. The captain then gave him silver,
and made final settlement with him, and still
persuaded Finch to come on board, and offer
ed to let him go to the next town as passen-
per free of cost, which offer he refused to ac-
cept, swearing he would not be dragged or
hauled on boat by any men. The said Finch
then left the boat, and endeavored to get other
hands to go with him and leave the boat also.
and one hand did leave it, and went with him.
The boat being scarce of hands, the passengers
went on shore and assisted in cordelng the
boat, while he, Finch, and his comrade, came
on behind. In going some distance, the boat
arrived at spring, where she stopped for all
hands to refresh themselves; and in short
time Finch, the deceased, and his colnradc, ar
rived, and, in this deponent's presence, he,
said Finch, swore he intended to whip some
person before he left them, but did not state
who he intended to chastse. He, Finch, used
very insulting language, and most of all the
hands were afraid of him, from his large size
and bullying disposition. He then commenced
trying to get some of the hands to fighting one
another, and in very little time succeeded in
his attempt; and while the two men were
fighting, Finch, the deceased, nterfcred and
kicked one ofthem, During the whole OF this
period, captain Wilcox made use of every
raeans, mild and persuasive, TO pacify said
Finch, but to no effect. As the deceased kick
ed one of the fighting party, captain Wilcox
took hold of him to keep him off. The de-
ceased cursed the captain, and dam'd him
to take out his dirk or pistol, for he Disregard
cSl them, Tor words to this efiect,) and at this
instant pushed the captain back, and gave one
Of the fighting party another kick or two
During the whole of this affair, captain Wilcox
neither drew pistol, or dirk, nor any other
weapon, neither did he misuse Finch in any
shape.
About the time that Finch showed captain
Wilcox back, this deponent discovered leu
tenant Campbell and the deceased engaged
aganst each other: both appeared to be ex-
erting themselves to injure each other. In a
very short time, lieutenant Campbell left Finch
and went to the boat and Finch fell and ex-
pred. In few minutes after his death, upon
examination the said deponent found that the