The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1856-01-08

| Wakeman said he was drawing terrible
power over her. Mr.. Wooding told Mat
thews that he ought TO be killed, and Mat
thews said he willing to die to quench
the evil spirit. Wooding and jackson said
| Matthews must be got out of the way
| They told him he must die. II was about
one o'clock when ] heard noise. Wood
ing, Sly and Miss Hersey were up stairs
praying with US, but lodged down stairs,
and soon heard them say, down below,
! ''He's killing the messengcr-he's killing
| the messenger" / heard a noise, and
several blows follow, ana started towards
the door; but they pulled me back, saying:
IF he's killing himself. he'll be raised" |
heard gurgling noise, and cries of ''Oh!
oh! OH" | then went up stairs to sing and
pray. When reached the door, found
il fastened and something braced against it
inside. / could not get into the room be-
! low. This occurred about two o'clock, and
| left the house twenty minutes past four
| O'Clock.
AS Woodng and Sly lodged out in such
manner, think they might have helped
/ to kill Matthews. l think Matthews was
willing to die. Sly said he ought to die.
! After I heErd the noise and cries below,
/ Sly came running up stairs and knccled
down and seemed TO be praying. I thought
he could not pray much, for l thought he
would not feel like it then. They believed
! that Il the willow Wakcman 1.-THE prophetcss)
! should die, the world would tie destroyed.
| should think that from appearances he did
kill himself. If they (WOoding and Sly)
killed Matthews it was to keep him from
enchanting widow Wakeman, who was DIS
turbcd by his evil spirit.
Josiah johnson, colored, who was also at
the house of Sly on Sunday night, testified:
told Matthews he was killing the old
woman, and that / would not let him into
my house sooner than | would mad dog.
! l asked him if he knew he had bad spirit
| in him, and said that he ought to rcnounce
| his evil spirit. He said in the name of G cd
! he would renOunce it. Amos Hunt gave the
! old lady (widow Wakeman) some poisonous
! cakes, with arsenic in them, and wanted to
make way with her. l think Matthews got
| the spirit from Amos Hunt. Widow Wake
man is woman who processes to have died
and risen again, and came on earth to teach
| the way to heaven. | believe that she is q
prophet, and she is what she processes. /
| told Sanford to take Matthews away from
! the house, or Mrs. Wakeman would GER
tainly die. | believe that if the widow
| Wakcman should die, the Millennium would
come and the world would be destroyed.
believe that Matthews was hurting Mrs.
| w. and his sister by enchanting them.
Subsequently, Samuel Sly was brought
before the jury, and made confession,
which is thus reported in the Courier:
CONFESSION OF SLY.
| Sly opened by admitting that he, and he
alone, committed the murder; although be-
fore he closed his statement he related cir
cumstances which tend to implicate jackson,
| the negro, and Miss Hersey as being Access
series.
| He says that his sister, Mrs. Wakeman,
was so distressed with the bad spirit or
power in Matthews, that he thought some
thing must be done to remove it, and he
consulted With Jackson in regard to using
Silk of hazelRood on Matthews, to see
what effect it would have on him. He had
procured stick of that wood few days
previous, in anticipation that it might be
necessary to use it for the purpose-as he
| thought the bark of hazel, in connection
with alder, concocted together into ten,
was powerful to remove entertainments.
! The stick, which was about an inch in
diameter, and % feet in length, he had
placed in drawer in the cellar, and when
he spoke to Jackson about using it, J. in
| quired where he kept it. Sly informed him,
and went and brought it into the lower room
where Jackson and the woman Hersey were,
and they knew when he went into Matthews
! room with it.
| When Mr.. and Mrs. Sanford went up
stairs preparatory to taking Matthews away,
| Sly went into the front room to Matthews,
and after locking the doors, struck the
| deceased, who was sitting in chair blinded,
over the right temple, with such force a. to
bring him to the floor, and then struck him
several times with the club. He then took
his pocket knife, which is some two inches
in length, and commenced cutting Matthew'S
throat.
Matthews groaned, but did no. utter
word after the first blow. Sly also took
table fork, with which and the knife, he mu-
tilated the body in the manner in which it
was discovered. He says he did not design
to use any other weapon than the bludgeon,
but after he had given the blow was urged
on by some influence to use the knife and
fork. After the murder he remained in the
room half an hour, when he came out into
Miss Hersey's room, where she was, with
bloody stick and light in his hand. His hands
and shirt sleeves were bloody, and she pro-
cured basin of water to wash himself, and
| they conversed about secreting the stick,