The Davenport gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Scott Co., Iowa) 1841-185?, 1849-12-27
THg ..PARKMAN MURDER"

The,inssoicieucy and unreliable nstoss
Of cisesnssss,ial svidssce nsser vas ~
90 i.lss,rs,ed ,hstis ths case Of Dr.. Park
lnan, which bee sscsssly crested % much
sxcitsment 10 Boston. Dr.. Paskman, :
men very punctual ia his' habits, was miss
ing under circumstances which led to the
conclusiou that b had bsen murdered
He was last seen 70 have entered the Med
icsl, College. Suspicious immediately cen.
tered upon that institution, and as i vac
known that be held note against Prot.
Webster for largo amount, the apartments
IL that individual Immediately underwent
an examination. The disclosures there
made Mortified tho spectators; in vault
underneath his laboratory were.foand por-
lions Of humsn being, while in The labora-
tory itself wers discovered secretsd other
portions Of The same body. Spots OF blood
we're seen upon the floor, and the Panta-
looms that the Professor was accustomed to
wear were covered with the same "dainn-
ing proofs Of his guilt" Calcined bones
and bits Of gold, presumed Of course 70 Dc
The fasteninss Of his false teeth, were found
ia furnace. All these proofs, taken in
connection with The fact that The Professor
lhad ordered . tin box sufficiently large 70
contain the remains Of . human body, and
that moro subsequently, note, payable DR..
Parkman Tor $24OO, dated in 1877, and
not due until 1851, bad been found among
the papers Of the latter parsonage, were
deemed conclusive evidence TO brand Prof.
Webster a. murderer, without The for
mslity Of 40 examination. So high did
popular excitement run against the unfor.
tunsse Professor that il was absolutely ne
csssary to order out the police 70 protect
the College building and the residence Of
bis innocent rom the vengeance Of
the incen.ed Had not the powerful
arm Of the law held 10 check the inturiated
populace, Prof Webster would hive been
another victim to the spirit Of Iaw'essness
which is fast taking deep root in the ma
tinn.
The proofs against bin, il must be 3D.
mitted, were strong, and to the Populace,
who never look below the surface, conclu-
sive; but to those accustomed TO weigh
facts and probe deep, they we're only cir
acknowledgements for lime and close
examination to unravel. It is strange
when man becomes suspected Of crime
how many little circumstances, never be-
fore deemed worthy Of notice, will cluster
around him, all tending to confirm his guilt
Many an innocent man has persisted upon
the scafold, or at the hands Of lawlessness,
with less proof Of murder arrayed agains,
him than we here see produced against
Prof Webster; and thus il is, that every
good man lifts bis voice against mob law,
and that the opposition to capital punish.
ment is strengthening with the enlighten-
ed progress Of the age.
Ia the case Of DR.. Webster. time and
dispassionate examination are fast unrav-
cling the mysterious web that circumstan-
ces have thrown around him. Ii he bad
paid the note, which he asserts 10 have
done, receipt would be found upon his
person, said bis accusers. The note itself,
cancelled, has since been found among his
papers. The drops Of blood upon the floor
upon minute examination, prove to be the
stains Of tobacco spit. Tho splotches Of
blood upon his clothes, are found to Dc the
effect Of acids used by the Professor in his
chemical experiments. Tho bits Of gold
in the furnace, have resolved themselves
into particles Of solder, while the tin box
has dwindled down TO size too small 10
excite suspicion. The note Of $1,000, is
ascertained to be fully liquidated by seve-
raj endorsements on the back lit being
secured by mortgage on real estate, il was
taken up by the Professor 10 advance Of
the date upon which it was payable, in or
der that he might dispose Of his property,
which every one knows he could not do
while covered with mortgage. Instead
Of being man regular in bis habits, Dr..
Parkman is ascertained to have been errat-
ic, even to mental alteration. And as If
topIace the finishing stroke TO the dcnoue-
meni, Mr.. Cobb, who keeps the house Of
Drs. Clark and Porter in Pleasant a., has
come forward to testify under oath that he
saw Dr.. Parkman after he had emerged
from the College! What an excitable peo-
pie we are and how strangely given to
reason from premises based upon the va
carries Of our own heated imaginations.