Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1857-06-10
Prom IL. s... CITY.


FL. Madison, June /.
MEssRs. EEIross II i4a eoroner's jury WERE
engaged during the principal portion OF se-ier-
day IN examination Of she circumstances attend.
ing the murder OF samuel Henderson, by II. B.
Straw, captain OF the Saracen. A post norton
examination OF the body was made in the pres
ence Of the jury by Drs. Wainsry GaIand,
Rhinehari, OBricn and Bacon. A No. s sho,
vas found in the right lobe OF the brain II
vas traced from the surface through be right
temporal bone. Alargs quantity Of coagniated
blood was found lodged hetween The substance
of,ha brain and its surrounding membrane.
some difficulty occurred between the mate
and coiored psntryI,an connected with the
boat The iaiter jumped ashore and fed 20
stable in the rear OF Frant street, oseis pur.
sued by the mate, who held pistol in each
hand, and threatened to elbow him through if
he did not stop. When +. Miller, former shef Il
of the county, reached Inc stable the negro was
down and several OF the boats crew were stand
ing over him, some beating him and others wiih
drawn knives. He was foreibis hurried aboard
the boat, where the mate brandished knife
about his throat compelled him to strip. and
then tied him up to post for the purpose of
hoggng. Here several OF the citizens ask d the
captain to hand the negro over to the proper
authorities, il he was guilty of crime, that he
might be punished according to law. He re;ort-
ed by calling them damned niger thieves" and
ordering them to leave the boat. When they
reached the levee and turped about, the captain
stood with revolver presented at the crowd;
and several guns appeared on the lower deck
Dr.. ". H. Davis, who IS justice of the peace,
commanded the citizens, as peace officer, 10
prevent the boat leaving until the negro was
released. Several men seized the bow line which
the crew were drawing aboard and made it fast
to post Some on the boat took an axe 10 cut
the line, while another stood by his side with a
gun leveled at the crowd on shore. Thomas
Slack, then pointed gun which had just been
given him by some citizen, at the boatman who
was attempting to cut the rope, and threatened
to fire if he did not dcsst. A gun was then fired
from the boat into the crowd. The captain run
up to1he hurricane deck and commenced firing
his revolver ranging directly toward Hender-
son A witness named Davis testifes that hs
was standing within three feet Of Henderson
when he was shot, lie says in his testimony
that Henderson had been on the levee but
very few minutes, had spoken to no one, and
had taken no part in the attempt to stop the
boat. On the second or third discharge of the
revolver he put his hand ON the right side OF his
face, and the witness asked him 'f he was shot,"
and he said he was. Blood began to ran over
his hands, and he turned about and walked up
the levee to Front street. The next man shot
was James Henderson, brother OF the deceased.
The firing continued from both sides until The
boat pushed off, and was kept up from the boat
until it was in the middle OF the river.
Leighton testified that he heard the captain
boast while the Saracen was lying at Pontoosuc,
that he had laid one man 10 the land, that he
had shot at another three times but did not kill
him, and that he would kill the Sheriff on sight,
would send him out Of the world before his ma
ker was ready for him, &c. This evidence slows
that Straw believed he had killed Henderson,
ard also that he was resisting, not an organized
mob Of the citizens, but an officer Of the peace.
Davis is 4 Justice Of the Peace, and not Sher-
if Straw evidently supposed. lie saw an at
tempt to abduct a man from Iowa force, N
violation of Iowa laws, and very properly in
terposed his authority as an officer of the peace
to prevent it. Had Straw believed that the peo-
pic were improperly interfering to dcain his
boat, there would be some pretext for a resort
to violence, but his own statement shows that
he thought he resisting an officer. No cir
cumstaaces can justify the continued fire kept
up on the citizens on Front 81 rect. About If
teen persons were wounded while standing on
the sidewalk or in the doors along the street,
several of whom had not been near the boat
The wonder expressed by all who pass along
the steeet and witness the shot and ball marks
on The doors and windows, is, that more were
not killed. -..- .-.
The verdict Of the jury is, substantially, that
the deceased came to his death by pistol shot
in the hands Of the captain of the steamboa,
Saracen, X. B. Straw. 1t also duplicates the
first mate, who is the captains brother and
other persons connected with the boat whose
names were to the jury unknown. -,.. :
The County Judge has made an appropriation
to pay the expenses of the officers whoare now
in pursuit of the criminals, and the Mayor and
Board OF Aldermen have offered reward of
$500 for The apprehension OF the captain and
first nate or $500 for either The excitement
is still intense, and bn, feeling pervadcs the
entire place. have heard OF attempts bv but
three men to apologize for the criminals, and they
do it on the ground that the people OF TT. Mad
ison have no right to Interfere when commanded
so to DC by an officer OF the place, to prevent
steamboat officer from numbering one CT his
hands. The people OF this ci,y. Democrats and
Republicans, are unanimous i'll the resolution
that no man, whether he be white black,
shall be beaten almost to death in our streets
and then stripped and tied up to whipping
post at our ie,ee, without exeostula,ion or in
terfcnce on their part. ..-s.-, .g W.
From the Leavenwor;h Herald, May 80.
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