The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1858-07-07
MISCELLANEOUS.
A Singular II urder Case.

"A Sln RulHF W urQ0r case.
Forty-three years ago there lived in the
vicinity Of Manchester. Vt, two mon by
the name of Bovine, and another brother
in-law to the Bownes, by the name of
Colvin. These three men lived with their
families in log cabins upon new terrific
ry, little out Of the neighbors, where
they often worked together in clearing up
the land, or planting and tending their
crops. AS it was then the universal fash
ion in that now total abstinence state to
drink whisky to excess, it followed as a
matter Of course that there was an occa-
sional quarrel, and sometimes a drunken
row, such as would pass muster even at
this day in New York, Our informant
stated, also, that the women were not ex-
empt entirely from spiritual influences.
Each of the the parties, we believe, had
children ; at any rate Colvin Tad several,
and some of these, in his drunken mo-
ments, he denied the right of calling him
father, and that produced quarrcls beween
him and his wife. In these as the Bow
nes alleged, he shamsfully belied and
abused their sister, and for which they had
often been heard to threaten him with
vengonce-the witness said with death
In this state of family difficulties they
were living, when one day, while at work
together, either planting or hoeing crop
the brothers and brother in-law got into
violent quarrel-so afterwards said the
woman, who alone witnessed it-during
which Colvin disappeared,
OF course, every body believed that the
Bownes had murdered and secreted the
missing Colvin To all inquiries the
same tale was told, that he had gone off,
no one knew why or where, and nowhere
could he be heard of by personal inouir-
les or through the press. Newspapers
were not the institution then that they a re
now. The Bownes acknowledged that in
the quarrel one of them struck Colyin a
pretty severe blow on the head with his
hoe, but that it did not disable him, be-
cause be Immediately walked off and
went directly into the woods, hatless and
coatless and barefoot and as he was not
again seen or heard Of, they come to be.
lieye, in the course of seven years that
interyened between that time and their
trial and condemnation for his murder
that he had crept away into some hole in
tho woods, and there died Of the wound
in the head, of which they had no means
of knowing whether it was severe or not.
They only kney that blood flowed freely
from it, but that he walked away as strong
as ever. OF course no indictment could
be found against Colvins supposed mur-
derers, because the strongest proof of his
death, his corpse, was undiscovered and
thus tn" case rested Tor seven years his
wife included, locking upon his children
as fatherless, and upon her brothers as
guilty at least of manslaughter.
About that tine the field where they
were at work at the tiae of Colvin's dis.
appearance came into the possession of a
man who had always believed the Bow
mes guilty of murder, and, as they said
determined to prove them guilty and he
commenced thorough search of the
premises, and fsundsn sort of sink.
hole, partly filed with logs, and over
grown with bushes and briers, some but.