Washington telegraph., 1856-06-18
Shocking Occurrence.

OuOChIuS OVOuAkSAASV'
We are called upon to record one of
the most shocking instances of youth
full depravity ty-resulting in the death of
an interesting child of some five years of
age-that it has ever fallen to the lot of
journalist to refer to. The facts in
the case are briefly as follows: On Tues
day of last week, a child of james d.
Caldwell, Esq, an estimable citizen of
cur county, residing short distance be-
yond our neighboring village of Colum-
bus, was enticed by negro boy some
eleven years old, belonging to Mr.. Cald
well, into the plantation and towards a
well used for plantation purposes, some
half mile from the house. The white
child was afterwards found dead in the
we'll, the surface of the water covered with
chunks of wood and brush in such a man
ner as to hide the body entirely from
sight. 1t seems, as near as we are able
to learn the truth from the confession of
the negro boy, and the attendant circum-
stances, that the child had, as We remark
ed, been decoyed to the well and thrown in.
After accomplishing this much of his he'll
lish purpose, this young fend, to screen his
guilt, proceeded to cover up the body of the
unfortunate child in the manner stated
above. To add additional strangeness to
the Internal deliberateness of his guilt, the
boy-murderer procured heavy brush and
dragged it behind him and over the foot
steps of himself and the unconscious vic
tim of his malice; and returning to the
house, went about perfectly unconcerned,
until the parents of the murdered child,
becoming alarmed for his absence, institu-
ted a search, in which they were joined
by the young negro, who, at the time,
betrayed no evidence of his guilt The
search proving fruitless for long time,
some one suggested an examination of the
well. The young wretch who knew the
horrible story which was locked up in its
depths, demurred to this, and exclaimed,
s'He amt in the well' The we'll was
examined and the chunks and brush re-
ferred to, unexpectedly found covering
the surface of the water, usually free from
any distractions. The father of the dead
child ordered the murderer to go to the
house for a pair of dragging hooks, and
then, for the first time, did sense of
guilt betray itself in the incarnate little
devil. He took flight towards the woods
but was pursued and overtaken. The
drags were brought and the body of the
child recovered. Life, as a matter of
course, was entirely extinct Mr.. Cald-
well, brother of the unhappy parent,
came to town the next day to learn of
Mr.. CAN'T, the Prosecuting Attorney, what
steps could be taken to bring the child
murderer to punishment. MIR. Can't gave
it as his opinion that the negro boy was
not amenable to the criminal laws on ac-
count of his extreme youth, and VIC un-
derstand that the diabolical young MUIR
derer has escaped punishment thus far
1t Is difficult in this case to decide what
punishment should be inflicted. Death
ought to follow the commission of the
crime; but whether, taking the youth of
the criminal into account, the infiction
OF this penalty would not fail in pro-
ducing any moral effect, inasmuch as it
would make but little impression upon the
mind of the adult slave, and because of
the rarity of such natures as belongs to
the murderer, being found in children,
are questions that give US pause Certain
it is, that some disposition should be made
of nature so horribly depraved, which
would render a repetition of the dreadful
crime a matter of impossibility.