The Democratic sentinel. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1852-1853, 1853-12-21
Exciting trial for Murder.

SlteI, III Il1uS county, NObNh SoASt -
November of last year. Caravan was hrs
arraigned before the Superior Court o
Hyde Co. at teh spring term OF this year
and on his affidavit that be could not have
justice done him in Hyde the case was re
covered the Beaufort.
The trial commenced on Wednesday, the
23d., in the Superior Court, before Judge
Baily, and was brought to close on We'd
nesday, the 30th, having lasted just one
} week. The council for the State were,
Geo. S. Stevenson, (Solcitor, E. S, War
ren and D. NJ. Carter, Esqs.-and for the
the defence James w. Bryan, F. b. Satter'
thwaite, W. B. Rodman, and 4. 5. Donnell
Esqs. a.....
After the examination of witnesses and
the arguments of counsel, the case at half
past six o'clock on Tuesday evening, was
given to the Jury, who had been charged
strongly in favor of the prisoner by the
Judge, who required them to rejected en-
tirely the testimony of the principal witness
or the State. The Jury, however, had only
been in cosultation about thirty minutes
when the Court re- e-assembled and the Jury
summoned before it. The Judge then told
the Jury that be had called them back to
correct an error into which he had fallen In
his charge in regard TO the law applicable
to the attempt impeachment OF the main
witness of the State; which law the Judg
than fully explained, and said that it did
not require them, as be lad first charged,
to reject the testimony of that witness but
allowed them TO weigh it and give it the
consideration which they might think it en-
titled to. The Jury again retired.
The testimony given on the trial is very
voluminous and is to be printed in pamph-
let form. The Washington Wing gives the
following synopsis of it, which was written
(but not pub!ished) before the verdict was
rendered:
Caravan is fifty years old, and for ma
ny years has been popular preacher IN
the Baptist Church--a man Of strong will,
exercising u powerful influence over his
frenus, and feared as much as hated by his
foes. LaSsitcr was a quiet young man en-
gagged in the business OF teaching. Some
months before the murder, Lqsster board
ed in the house of Caravan, and quarrel
arose between them, Caravan alleging that
Lassiler was too familiar with his (C's) wife.
Caravan talked very freely among his
neighbors on the subject; said that L. ought
to DC shot; that shooting was too good for
him, and that he and L. could not both live
in the same neighborhool, &c., and finally
tried to get out peace warrant against b.,
alleging that lie had attempted to take his
lite He went on his way for some. time,
when L. sued him for slander, laying the
damages at 900. A few hours after the
writ was served on c., Lassiler was killed.
"He had finished school on Rose Bay,
and on Monday, the 18th of November
{ 1882 started on, foot, with carpet bag in
his hand, 20 60 to the Lake, where he had
ene aged another school. About 8 o'clock,
P. NJ he passed Cs house, on his way to
the Lake. Shortly after he passed, Q. lef
his house and went across the fields towards
the woods which lie between the house and
the spot on the road where i. was killed, his
wife following, with a gun wrapped up in
her apron. She returned to the house i'm
mediately Caravan not until sundown.-
The night he was gone, the witness coul
not tell how long; he was not at home when
the witness went TO bed. Tuesday he re-
NAMED al home but on Wednesday rainy
day, he took a hoe and went into the woods,
and was gone several hours. Thursday.
before L. was missing. (the people on the
Lake thinking he was at the Bay, and the
people on the Bay thinking he was at the
Lake, G. went to one of the neighbors and
inquired if he had seen anything of L.,
stating that his (C's) family had seen him
pass his house on Monday, with package
of clothes, and he WAS thinking he had run
away. Friday evening, when told that the
people were searching for l., he expressed
great surprise that he should be missing;
never had heard anything Of it. Saturday
morning the search for L., still going on,
he wrote to friend to come and, see him;
that L., was missing, supposed to be killed;
and added that le &C. was at home all day
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and
that he could prove it by Caravan Sawyer,
1.-THE main witness on the trial for the State,
his nephew, boy who was living with
him. r..- .l..l..t..-
The body of L, was found Saturday eve
ming in the dismal back Of C.'s house, in an
open spot wich was surrounded with briars,
underbush. &C., and which was covered with
moss. The moss over the grave had care
fully removed, the grave dug Just large
enough to hold'he body, the pressed into
it, the grave filled up even with the sur
rounding earth and pressed, down, and
the moss carefully laid back upon it. The
moss leaving no trace of a foot print, there
was no sign lhat any body had ever been
there except that the moss over the grave
had faded a little, and about a handful of
! fresh dirt was near it, and dead limb Of a
tree had apparently been recently distured,
the bark, which had evidently just fallen off
| it, lying on one spot and the limb in another.
The men who were searching for the body
had stopped in this lonely spot to rest, hav-
ing given up the search for the day, when
these appearance, attracted their attetiuon,
and the body was found
81, was killed by gunshot wounds. Sew
eral shot were taken from the body, three
from the heart. There were three sizes
of SHOT found in the body, and in one of the
barrels of C,'s gun found in his house Just
such shot,. and of three sizes, were found
That night G. left Hyde county, telling his
nephew (Sawyer) that if he staid there he
should be hung, that he should send for his
family, and he Is. iAust go with them
Sunday morning he landed from canoe at
nurham's Creek Mills, in Beaufort county,
=