The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-04-03
Finding A Criminal.

hence kept my bed longer than usual, Dy
the time my wife had reached my room,
was up and half dressed. She told me iha,
Inspector Startling, one of my brother detect
ives, wished 90 See me, hurried down, and
found him pacing to and fro across the room
iR state Of considerable excitement.
"Ah, GoG, we've got some work on our
hands" he eried, tie moment he saw me.
"Theres been'a murder--a strange one-by
Newgatc Market. But come along, and III
tell you ~ Co."
A. soon as We gained the street, Startling
resumed
Last eyeaing one Of tho butchers packed
box Of meat To 40 "G to-day, but this morn
ing he changed h!s mind, and concluded to
unpaek Il, as there was no doubt about the
stuG's keeping, When he removed the GOV,
or, he found the body Of man cut up, and
slowed snugly away in place Of his meat, and
this latter article was afterwards found in
neighboring cellar"
/ asked II the butcher was not suspected.
"No,' replied my companion. 1--WE know
that Il could not have been he, for his time
Is all accounted for and besides ha charae-
ter is above suspicion. No-some one who
knew that the box was packed to 20 of this
morning, must have taken advantage Of the
circumstance, and thus hoped to gain time
Cor escape, or perhaps TO have thrown the
blame upon another. II was an old man
who was murdered, and il was evidently
done for revenge"
"Why do you think sol" asked.
"BecAuse fragments Of clothing were upon
the limbs, and watch aud some money
we're found in the pockets, Strange, isn't
it9"
/ acknowledged that it was.
We overlook party Of men at this juno
ture, and ere we had an opportunity TO con-
Verse much more We had reached Ncwga,c.
The box was in small office, and commits
sioner had arrived. The parts Of the body
had been taken out and placed together, thus
forming a whole frame with the exception OF [
the head this latter part being absent The
victim had not been far from three-score
tall well formed man, and as far MS vc could
judge from the fragments Of clothing and
the appearance Of the hands, member Of the
better class OF society.
Our first object was TO find il the remains
could be identified, but in this We failed en-
tircly. Two days passed without the least
new light upon the subject. hut on the even.
ing OF the second day, We received notice
that human head had been found in n small
pond, or pool, in Epping, and was in posses
sion of the officers Of that place.
Here might he clue, and was finally set
upon the track. chose toEo alone, for on an
errnnd too many cooks most emphatically
-;fr the h-ntAs-f ff-iits4ire- tAai II Aa4alI-
once get my eye upon the murderer, should
know him. There is something IN the very
look and bearing of man who had done
murder, as palpable to me as the color Of the
Ethiop. can sec il written on his face,
though how cannot tell. 1t may be from
ntuitive perception, or it may be from long
habit in hunting rogues
II was late in the evening when started,
taking the saddle for my scat, anJ>rCachihS->
Epping at midnight found the coroner, and
with him found the human head. Ii waa
the very one. knew it by the gray hair,
and by the manner in which II had been cut
of, the neck having been divided close by
the shoulders l requested my host TO keep
my visit secret, as il might be necessary
that my coming should not be known. lie
assured me that no one save himself and
messenger knew that word had been sent to
London of the finding of tae head. In the
morning we won't out to the place where the
terrible proof of crime had been found, and 1
examined the sandy shore of the pond thor--
oughly. There we're too many tracks how
ever, for me to make anything of them. OF
one thing was sure that the head had been
thrown in at night, for ii had rested in shonl
water, with two bricks tied to il, whereas, had
it been thrown in by daylight, the -viiiain
would have selected n deeper spot The cor
oncr suggested that the murderer had kept
on by the great stage road through Essex,
but ! felt differently. believed he had
struck across towards Walthnm Abbey, and
upon this suppositon determined to act
My first movement after TINS was TO obtain
n suit of hboring-menS clothes, which my
host procured Of fellow who was NJ work
in drain in his garden. They were we'll
worn, and when got them on looked aS
rough as l could wish. l then made snug
bundle of my own garments, which | tied up
in an old cotton handkerchief and having
swung it upon a stout oaken staff placed
it over my shoulders, and started OF upon the
Wnltham Abbey road
If the murderer had done his horrible
work in the metropolis by dark, and then
come round by Epping, he could not have
reached the next town before daylight. I
made some guarded inquiries at the house
passed but gained no information till Ircach.
ed Waliham Abbey and even hc,e could