Meigs County telegraph. [volume] (Pomeroy [Ohio]) 1848-1859, 1858-06-08

lows, Of all his evil deeds. This inflamed
my curiosity, and 80 went with the
crowd TO the place appointed for the aw-
ful cxpiation. vse.es.pl.q ss~as..s sss
"An Immense concourse of both sexes,
las Was customary in that day. was pres
lent. The place selected for the execution
was at the base ofssome high hills, which
formed by their decliy:ties n natural am
Iphitheater for tho accommodation OF the
Slspectaters. The day was bright aud still,
i Nature, in her silent beauty, seemed little
n 10 harmony With the awful spectacle Which
i We were about % Witness. slf ~ - q
i .Habited in bis grave elothess and es.
corted by the militsry and the minister's Of
4 the law, the erimirl8L .st lengtharriyed.
He ascended the plattorm under the gal
!. lows with firm step, and looked round
with an air Of careless indifference upon
the vast sssemblage. The sheriff whis-
pered something intended for his ear alone,
lie rose and advanced to the side of the
platform that faced the bulk of the crowd
The niurmur Of expectation was sue.
ceeded by universal silence. Every one
seemed eager TO hear what he was about
to say.
"Standing near the platform, had 4
4 full view of the criminal. He was an old
\ man, apparently more than seventy years
of age. His hair WAS white and thin.
His person was stout and thick-set. His
eyes, which were fierce and peculiarly ma
! lignant in expression, glared with hate and
scorn, rs he surveyed the eXpectant crowd.
! The bronzed face, upon whose adamant
features no line of sensibility or kindly
, feeling WAS visible, attested q life of har-
dened yillainy and crime. AS he stood
, there, in the full blaze of the midday sun,
deficient in look, as in attitude, and ap-
parently utterly Indifferent to his impend
ing fate, he looked to me like an iucarnate
demon, about to utter some fierce male
diction upon the human race.
''lIe began his confession and spoke for
/ more than an hour, in harsh aud most
repulsive tone OF voice. heard with the
almost distinctness every word that he Ut
: tered. believe that some one wrote down
! and afterward published, the leading
, points of the confession. will not weary
you with recital of its horrible details.
3 lie was, as il seemed, born with the in
, stincts and the aptitudes which make a
t man the william almost from the cradle,
! He grew up with favorable opportunities
+ for ihdulging his appetite for crime, and
+. became murderer and robbcr. by profes-
!. sion. Many and dire were the deeds Of
Q fpiilags and blood, whrch he -comniitted-h in
: the SAFE of his nativity, and the sword d
Y the avenging law slept peacefully in ts
I I ,bar far NJ ha
cerned.
!. "Allured Ly the hope Of pillage and
). impunity, he came with the rushing tide
S of emigration to Kentucky, in the days o.
: its early settlement. He built his cabir
n in the lonclest solitude Of the wilderness
or in some mountain gorge near the high
9 way, that he might murder and rob the
/ unwary travellers who became his guests
After few feats of his murdcrous skill
in one section, he took the precaution to
d remove 10 another, thus multiplying ths
chances against detection, and enlargins
: the field of his operations. Many an al
| venturous traveller, who had come tC
: Kentucky in search of new homo, haC
Q gone down beneath his hand to a water,
v grave, and left no sign Of his taking oil
e He reyeled in blood, and became, for ,
robber, almost rich with murderous spoil
q $50 skillfully were his plans laid and cx
). ecuted, that they never failed of success
g The selection and fate of the victim fol
n lowed each other by sort Of inevitable
o sequence This unvarying success was
= attributable to his mode of assassination
= He assailed no one in the daytime, Or il
|. the company of others. 1t was only il
.r the dead hours Of the night, in his owl
cabin, and upon. the solitary traveller dis
,r armed by sleep, that he ventured an at
,e tack. The suppression of all evidences o
i. his crimes was comparatively easy AM
:. safe, in the lonely and unfrequented' spot
70 where he dwelt. Hence he had ESCAPED
e. dissection, and even well-grounded suspi
IS cion, througha long career of crime.
n. ''As the population of the State in
o. creased, and the police of the law becam
To more vigilant, he retired to the mountain
NJ Gus and comparatively uninhabited dis
Z. tricts, practising his grim trade upon
n. reduced scale of profit and of crime.
" ''During the nearly-half-century of hi
II robber life that he had spepkin Kentucky
8 only one man had ever stepped at hi
ID cabin in the wilderness at night, and leI
is it alive. In the early settlement of tn
!" country, young man came out from Viz
es ginia, who was practical surveyor. Be
H. ipg expert in his profession, and at til
same time, active and attentive, he 500
sc acquired largc run of business. He al
,d ways went well mounted and we'll armed
it and seemed alike viyilant and fearless i
Is his movements.
st al took il into my head said the con
cd vict, that this young surveyor must al
n ways have about him, in his travels, con
n, siderable sums Of money, arising fror
on fees paid Linn by the settlers for surveys
IS, or from deposits made him to be paid iht
IS. the land office for government warrant.
! He was, consequently, in my eyes, a ric
es booty, and, as lie occasionally passed b
it my cabin, hoped in time to havchim fC
my guest. The wished-for event came
he last. Once, on his return home from
)n surveying excursion, he was belated an
m called at my cabin To spend the night