The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-07-17
CONFESSION OF PROFESSOR WEBSTER
OF THE MURDER OF DIR. PARKMAN.
BosToN. Tuesday. Julv 9.

:
case of Professor Webster was referred to
Committee.
Before the Committee, at 12 o'clock, appear
ed, Rev DIR. Putnam the spiritual adviser of the
condemned, with petition for commutatlon of
punishment, together with confession that he
killed Dr.. Parkman.
The Rev. gentleman prefaced the statement
by few remarks relative to the manner in which
| the confession made to him. He stated that
he had no personal acquaintanceship with Pro
fcssor Webster before being called to act in the
capacity Of his spiritual adviser. In the first few
weeks of his visit he sought no acknowledgement
! of the prisoner. At length on the 23d May he
| visited him in his cell and demanded of him, for
his own well being that he should tell the truth
in regard to the matter, and he acceded to the
request by making statement which was now
submitted for the consideration of the Council
1t was follows:
| sent the note to DR.. Parkman, which it ap-
pears was carried by the boy Maxwell. han
ded it to Littefeld unsealed. 1t was to ask Dr..
Parkman to call at my on Friday the 23d,
after my lecture. He had become of late very
importunate for his pay. He had threatened me
with suit, to put an officer into my house, and
to drive me from my professorship, if did not
pay him. The purport of my note simply
to ask the conference did not tell him in it
what could do or what had to say about the
payment. | wishe to gain for those few days
| release from his solicitations, to which | was
liable every day, on occasions and III manner
verv disa cable. and also TO avert for so long
time at least the ful6lment Of recent threats of
severe measures. | did not expect to be able to
pay him when Friday should arrive. My pur-
pose was, if he should accede to the proposed in
| terview, to state to him my embarrassments, and
utter inability to pay him at present, to apologize
f,,r +b,c, +bo,rc IN corA,,ct (Which had OttpO-
ded him, to throw myself upon his mercy, and
to beg for further time and Indulgence for the
sake of my family, if not for my own, and to
make as good promises to him as | could have
any hope of keeping did not hear from him on
that day., nor the next, wednesday, but |
! Fund on Thursday he had been abroad in pur-
suit of me without finding me. l imagined he
had forgotten the appointment, or else did not
mean to wait for it, feared he would come IN
| upon me at my lccture-room or whle was pre-
pairing my experiments for it-therefore called
at his house on that morning, (Friday,) between
| 8 and clock, to remind him of my wish to
see him at the College at u o'clock-my lee
ture closing at | o'clock. l did not stop to talk
| with him, for | expected the conversation would
be long one, and | had my lecture to prepare
for it necessary for me to have my time, and
also to keep my mind free from other exciting
matters.
| DR.. Parknan agreed to call me l pro-
| posed. He came accordingly between / J and
: o'clock, entering at the lecture room door. |
was engaged in removing some glasses from my
lecture room table into the room in the rear cal
| led the upper laboratory; he came rapidly down
the step and followed me into the laboratory; he
| came rapidly down the step and followed me
into the laboratory; he immediately addressed
me with great energy. care you ready for me,
sir-have you got the money! | replied, "No,
DR.. Parkman,' and was then beg inning to state
my condition and my appeal to him, but he
| Wou Id not listen to Inc and interrupted me with
vchcmence; he called me scoundrel and liar and
went on heaping on me the most bitter taunts
and dpprobrious epithets ;.while he was speaali~g
he drew handful ofpapers from his packets and
took from among them my two notes and also
and old letter from DR.. Hossack, written many
years ago and congratulating him on his success
in getting me appointed Professor of Chemistry,
'You see, said he, 81 got you into office, anq
now will get you out of it, He put back in
to his pocket all the papers except the letter and
the notes; | cannot tell how long the torrents of
threats and invectives continued, and cannot
recall to memory but small portion of what he
said.
AT first kept interposlng, trying to pacfy
him, SO that might obtain the object for which
l sought the interview, but could not stop him.
and soon my own temper was up; forgot every
thing and felt nothing but the sting Of his words
| was excited to the ghcst degree Of passion.
and while he was speaking and gesticulating in
the most violent and menacing manner, thrust
ing the letter and his fist into my face, in my
fury | seized whatever thing was handiest, Git
was stick Of wood,) and dealt him an instanta-
neous blow with all the force that passion
could give it. did not know, or think, or care
| where should hit him, nor how hard, nor hat
the effect would be; it was the side of the
head, and there was nothing to break the force
of the blow; he fell instantly upon the pavement;
| there was no second blow; he did not move; |
stopped down over him, and he seemed to be
llfeless; blood flowed from his mouth, and got
some ammonia and applied it to his nose, but
without effect; perhaps spent 10 minutes in at
tempts to resuscltate him, but found he was alb
solutely dead; in my horror and CONSERVATION |
| ran instnctivey to the doors and bolted them
i the doors Of the lecture room and of the labo-
ratory below; and then what was to do? 1t
never occurred to me to 90 out and declare what
had been done, and obtain assistance; saw
nothing but the alternative OF successful move
ment and concealment of the body on the one
hand and Off intamy a.d destruction on the other.
The first thing did, as soon as could do any
thing was to draw the body into the private room
adjoining, where | took off the clothes and be-
gan putting them into the fire, which was burn
ing in the upper laboratory; they were all con-
sumed there that afternoon, with papers, pocket
book and whatever they contained. did not
examine the pocket nor remove anything except
the watch | saw that or the chain of it, hang
ing out. took it and threw it over the bridge
as went to Cambridge. My next move was
to get the body into the sink which stands in the
small private room, by setting the body partially
erect against the corner, and by getting up into
the sink myself, succeeded in drawing it up
there; it was entirely disnembered; it was quick
ly done, as work of terrible and desperate ne
cessity. The only instrument was the knife
found by the officers in the tea chest, which
kept for cutting corks. l make no use Of the
| Turkish knife as it was called at the trial; that
had long been kept on my parlor mantel piece
in Cambridge, as curious ornament. My
daughters frequently cleaned it, hence the marks
OF oil and polishing found on it. had lately
brought 1t into Boston to get the silver sheath re-
. paired. '4.f '@s 81 4 s@ @
4 While dismembering the body stream q
Cochtuate was running through the sink carry
ing off the blood in pipe that passed dowr
4 through the lower laboratory There must have
been a leak in the pipe, for the ceiling below wa,
stained immediately around it,
II There was a fire burning in the furnace of III.