Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1853-12-07
Ntrus uf tbR Dau.


HoRRmLE HoRaIBLE.-0ur readers will
doubtless remember having seen in our col
umns about a year ago, the particulars of a
shocking murder in Hyde county, N. c., up
on the body of G. IL. Lassiter, alleged to have
been committed by George w. Caravan, q
" hardshell Baptist" preacher. His trial was
removed last Spring, from Hyde to Beaufort
county, where it took place last week. We
gather the following synopsis of the trial
from the Washington North State Wing
Lassiter was a quiet young man engaged
in the business of teaching. Some months
before the murder, Lassiter boarded in the
house of Caravan, and a quarrel arose be-
tween them, Caravan alleging that Lassiter
was too familiar with his (C's) wife. Cara
wan talked very freely among his neighbors
on the subject-said that l.. ought to be shot
that shooting was too good for him, and
that he and l.. could not both livein the sam
neighborhOod, &c. &c. and finally tried to get
out a peace warrant against L. alleging that
he had attempted to take his life. He went
on in this way for some time, when L.. sued
him for SANDER, laying the damages at $4,000.
A few hours after the writ was served on c.,
Lassiter was killed.
lie had finished a school on Rose Bay, and
on Monday the 18th of November, started on
foot with n carpet bag in his land to go to
the Lake where he had engaged another
school. About 3 o'clock p. m. he passed C's
house, on his way to the Lake. Shortly af-
ter he passed, G. left his house and went a.
cross the field towards the woods which lie
between the house and the spot on the road
where L.. was killed, his wife following with
q gun wrapped up in her apron. She retur-
ned to the house Immediately Caravan not
till sun down. That night he was gone, the
witness could not tell how long-he was not
at home when the witness went to bed. Tues
day he remained at home, but on Wednesday,
a rainy day, he took a hoe and went into the
woods, and was gone several hours.
The body of L. was found Saturday even
ing in tho swamp back of C's house, in an
open spot which was surrounded with briers,
underbrush &c. and which was covered with
moss. The moss over the grave had been
carefully removed, the grave dug just large
enough to hold the body, the body pressed
into it, the grave filed up even with the sur
rounding earth and pressed down, and the
moss carefully laid back upon it.
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 Isl must go with them
Sunday morning he landed from a canoe at
Durham's Greek Mills in Beaufort County,
about 80 miles from his home, telling the
man who rowed him over that he was after a
piece of land which another man was trying
to buy, and that was the reason ofhis hurry,
and charging him to keep his movements a
secret.
From this time till his arrest at night in
his house in January following, the State did
not show his whereabouts. But from letters
received by the Sheriff of Hyde from Tennes-
, see, it seems he had been in that State preach
ing under the assumed name of John Forbes.
After his Imprisonment in Hyde county
Jail he tried to get a friend to hire the wit
y ness, Sawyer, to go away. He had offered
this same witness, before the body Of L. was
found, q negro if he would swear he co. was
home all day Monday, the day the murder
o was committed. And whilst in Hyde jail
0 he wrote to a friend 1.-THE letters were pro-
duced in Court to get Sawyer out of the
, way. He had given, he said, in one of the
i letters, Mary This wife, $500 to get Sawyer
Off that wouldn't do, he (his friend) must
t get rid of Sawyer 'by hook or by crook"
and not suffer his (Cs) "neck to be broke"
These were the main facts brought out by
the mass of testimony on the trial.
e The general opinion among those who
O heard the trial-indeed we may say the IMAM
7 imous opinion so far as we have been able to
IHhlilOi IL blAbO OA@ho 10 ShAAOJ VI GAN
murder.
d Caravan maintained his selfcontrol thro'
n out the trial, even when the clothes worn by
Lassiter when he was killed were exhibited
in Court, pierced with bullet holes anC
- stained with blood.
The VERDICT uiHy!-Carraacan shoot
of Mr.. Warren and kills HIMSELF! AT half-pas
" eight this morning, the Jury came in with {
verdict of guilty. Mr.. Bryan moved that tn,
IL jury be polled. This was done, each juro
in as his name was called, answering guilty.
ly The Judge then discharged the jury, and OF
dered a recess of the Court for one hour.
just as the crowd commenced to leave
20 report of a pistol was heard, followed imme
he diately by another. Caravan had two self
cooking single barrel pistols. With one h
aimed at Mr.. Warren, one of the counsel VIII
" appeared against him. The ball struck jus
u above his heart and glanced, making but
IN slight wound. With the ether he shot a hol
to through his own head. As we are going t
., press, he lies a corpse in the prisoners box
80 a good part of his brain having run out upo
the floor.
" As may be we'll supposed, there is intens
excitement in the community.
= NORTH CAROLINA AHEAD.-We cut the pa
"' agraph below from a Northern exchange; frOl
a which it will be seen that North Carolina
an ahead in the quality Of her coal. The onl
dispute now, is about the quantity. tt
State g%eologist, a practical man, arguing
u vast supply, and Professor Mitchell, a spec
iet men Of the fossil remains of the last century
nd arguing from topographic diagrams, in h
err arm chair at the University, that there be +
r coal Of consequence. This we know TIL
~ with half the indications that denote the e
ry. %tensive existence of coal in North CAROLYN
l." in Virginia and Pennsylvania, they 90
,or work with pick axe and shovel and fill Il
carts or cars, and send the article off. Th
kind of argument will be the best sort of r
IN ply that can be made to Prof. Mitchell al
not when it is made and the central road ar
ION Raleigh mine branch completed, we expe
to get coal from there for our Portsmour
gas works.
lan The gas test proves the North Carolil
let coal to be 333 per cent better fuel han Il
US New England coal experimental with at t
ont same time.-P0rtSmOuh Globe.
Here is the paragraph alluded to.
NORTH CAROLINA Coal GAs.-The expe
OIL ment made on Tuesday e~veninglast, of ligl
our ing the village of %Greenport, near William
ad- burg, N. Y, with gas made solely from Nor
dds Carolina coal, proved highly successful.
- The retorts were charged eight times
twenty-four hours, while the best New C;
tie (EngIand) coal will only permit Of s.
,us- giving to the North Carolina coal the adva
~, tage of two charges per day to each retort.