The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1847-07-10
WooDsFIELD, OHIO, SATURDAY, JULY, 10, 1sf7,

" V"tCitoWH, Slcut apparent ueJcC.
ton at the loss Of such an amount of
money, their "plain unvarnished tale,n
agreeing perfectly when told by either,
their well-affected sorrow, and above
all, the character previously sustained
by him, for honesty and integrity, left
to the minds ofmost, no room for doubts
for the truth Of their statement.
His bondsmen, though ruined in pro-
perty, deemed it policy to affect 20 be-
lieve the whole, at least till some dis
covery might be made to justify suspi-
cIon. About this time an invalid officer
Of the army at Sackett's Harbor, not
being able to perform his duty, came TO
Watertown for medical aid, and took
lodgings in the family Of Mr.. W. In a
few days after his arrival he died. His
remains were inferred in a decent man.
ner, and as the place of his nativity was
not known, and no friend was there to
honor his memory with a tear, he was
soon forgotten.
The exceedingly swollen and unna-
tural state of his body excited remark:
but it was attributed to disease. A
few days after his disease, Mrs. w.
went to a merchant in an adjacent vii
lage, and requested him to receive as
a loan, $500. She said it was a pre-
sent to her children from a friend, and
she did not wish Mr.. w. to know any
thing Of the matter. This circum-
stance is mentioned here in conse-
quence OF the indirect bearing it has on
the sequel of our tale. But to return
Judge X. was a near ~neighbor of Mr..
W., and a very familiar mar in his hab-
its; he often visited his house at the
most unexpected hours; and though he
discovered nothing that would have ex-
cited the suspicion Of a less perceptive
mind, he saw many things that forced
upon him the conviction that the lost
money must be in their possession.
Though both would v with
perfect ease on the subject of their mis-
fortune, and lament with apparent sim
cerity their loss, still a guilty conscience
would betray itself, in some slight way
not p%ercep;ible to the multitude. &C.
cordingly he left his chamber, unknown
to his wife, (who by reason Of i'll health
occupied another bed in the same room)
and for fourteen nights in succession
lay upon the piazza OF MI. WIS house;
directly under the window Of their
sleeping apartment.
He could perceive them talking in a
low tone at all times of the night, but
so indistinctly that he could make out
nothing Of any consequence. Howev-
err, by some means or other, he came
to the conclusion that they were about
to leave the country; and he immedi-
ately determined upon a desperate ef-
fort to ascertain the correctness Of his
Accordingly he impaired
to Mr.. F., his associate b%ondsman, a
full account of all he had been witness
to, and his strong belief that they had,
or knew something ofthe money.
They Immediately concerted a plan
to test the truth of their suspicious; as
a precautionary measure a physician of
eminence was consulted as to how long
a person might be kept under water
and resuscitated. AS it might be that
they were about to remove, no delay
in executing the scheme was consider
ed safe. The same morning, there
fore, Judge X. sent to Mr.. w. wishing
him to come to his house some time in
the day and make a final settlement.
AT II o'clock Mr.. w. arrived at the
house Of the Judge, and under the pre-
tsnce of talking the matter yer free
from interruption, he proposed a walk.
They, in company with Mr.. F., left the
house. and proceeded across the lots to-
wards apiece Of woods. They walked
on till they were nearly a half mile
from the house, and had como to the
side Of a muddy brook, entirely hidden
from view by surrounding hills and
woods. Wholly unsuspicious Of what
awaitedhim, what must have been Mr..
xy J-K 49,