Southern shield., 1858-10-02
From the Detroit Free Press. A LOmg-cOnceaied Murder brought to Light.

VulS ClIy, III tue bONuSulp Ol IdylOI. lHe remains consisted of bones which had been exposed to the weather for such length of time that they were entirely devoid of flesh. These, together with fragments of clothing, were collected and preserved. The search being continued, a valise was also found, which, upon investigation, revealed num- Der of articles-among others, quite a stock of letters, which were published in the Free Press, with view of ascertaining, if possi- bic, the identity of the man.
 So far from supposing that the case in- volved any mystery, it was merely thought that the person, whoever he was, had wan dered off in fit of insanity and died in the woods. Facts developed themselves differ ently, however. But a short time elapsed before we received letters from friends and relatives of the unfortunate man, giving a statement which set the matter in a new light, and demanded attention at once. By these accounts 1t was ascertained that the remains were, beyond doubt, those of a Mir. John Hickey, railroad freight conduc- tor, recently, at the time of his death, from Union Point, Ga. The circumstances, as giv- en us by his relatives residing at Milford, Conn.,, were as follow:
 Hickey left Connecticut in July, 1857, in company with an Irishman named John Ken nedy, intending to go to Chicago. He took with him about $500 in gold, the result of his savings at the South. Kennedy had no money, and Hickey paid his fare for him. Nothing more was heard from then until the following October, when Hickey's relatives received letter from Kennedy, stating that he had returned to New York, and that Hick- ey had gone to Ireland. He inclosed the key to Hickey's trunk, and stated that when they got to Detroit, Hickey changed his mind, and concluded to go to England, leaving his trunk and other personal pro- perty in his hands, to be returned to his re- latives.
 The absurdity of these statements at once aroused suspicion, but as Hickey's relatives and friends were Of the poorer class of peo- pie, no steps were taken to arrest Kennedy. The discovery of the remains and the publi- cation of the letters in the Free Press, which were signed by the persons from whom we received communications, disclosed the facts, revealing to us the existence of an enormous crime, and of the friends of the murdered man the locality and the perpetra- tor of the murder. The latter was known to be in Charleston, S. C., at the time of these developments, doing nothing, and sporting plenty of money. He had written from that place a second letter, reiterating l his former statements, and rendering sus- piclon stronger by the anxiety he manifest ed to cover up crime.
 ,, As the matter was one of the greatest i'm pOrtance, the letters were at once placed in the hands of Messrs. Futile and Champ, private detectives of this city, and it was fleft for them to prosecute. Communication was established with the Police of Charles ton, South Carolina, with directions to ar , rest Kennedy. Several weeks had elapsed, however, and in the mean time the Free , Press had found its way there, and Kenne- dy had decamped a few days previous to the receipt by him of directions for bis arrest. , He was lost sight of here. A few days af- forwards word came from Milford that Kennedy had arrived Tn New York City, and was staying there with relatives Officer Champ at once started for New York, and ' with the aid of EX-Chief Matsell's Indepen- dent Police Agency, after several days search, found that the murderer was again out of reach, having gone West after stay of a day or two in New York.
 Mir. Matsell at once established system of espionage which was calculated to entrap him If he ventured to return or communi- cate with his friends in that city, and officer Champ returned. The private police agen- cies in all the principal cities in the Union, from Boston to New Orleans, were notified of the case, and placed on their guard.- These extended efforts soon produced a further development, through the agency of Messrs. c. B. Bradley & Co.'S detective po- lice agency in Chicago. These energetic detectives succeeded in trac cing the murder CT to Joliet, H., and sent an officer down to apprehend him. Again the agent of justice was too late, and the mortifying intelligence was returned that Kennedy had received a letter three days before from friends at Charleston, S. o., warning him of his dan- ger. He at once took to flight, and has not since been heard from. This occurred in June last.
 We have here case which does pot often occur. A man is murdered, robbed and left in the woods, in the midst of a swamp The murder remains a secret for nearly a year, and is finally revealed by dog which brings the skull of the murdered man to his master, having gnawed 1t for his supper.- The letters found reveal the name of the murdered man and the murderer, after the | OL HOutHo IcStCu upOu UuC rible deed. The murderer is tracked from one extremity of the Union to the other, three times escapes, as if by the interposi- tion of supernatural aid, and still remains at liberty. The proofs that can be brought against him are overwhelming, and would result in his conviction if he could befound.
 The facts until now have been confined to those first cognizant of them, but, so long a time having elapsed, the propriety of mak- ing them public is no longer doubtful. The murderer is thought to be somewhere in the North, probably in Illinois or some other Western State. Publicity, through the me- dium of the press, may reveal hls wherea- bouts, which seems unlikely to be found in any other manner. Those of our breathren in the profession who will inquire for the whereabout of John Kennedy, murderer, will serve the cause of Justice, and aid in bringing william to punishment. The fol- lowing is description of him: Twenty five years old, stout built, rather bow-leggedi, about five feet eight inches in height, dark hair and light beard. Twovery large upper teeth in the front row will mark him con- spicuously.
 NwA Louisiana editor speaks lightly of kissing. His object evidently is to promote the interests of his own State. Sugar IS her staple, and he knows that kissing great l lv reduces the demand for 1t.