The Shasta courier., 1859-04-02
OVERLAND NEWS,
st. Lguis Dates to the Sd Of March.
DREADFUL TRAGEDY IN WASHINGTON

TRAGEDY IN WASHINGTON.
The mail stage which left St. Louis on the Sd
March arrived at Los Angeles on the 23d.
On Sunday, the 27th February, Philip Barton
Key, U. s. District Attorney for the District of
Columbia, was killed in Washington, D. c., by
Hon. Daniel E. Sickles, Member of Congress
from the Sd District of New York. The Wash
ihgton correspondent of the New York Times fur
nishes the following account of the affair."
On Friday, Mr.. Sckles received an anony-
nous letter, stating with precision so minute as
to make suspicion imperative, that Mr. Key had
rented house on Fifteenth street, above K
street, from negro woman, and that he was in
the habit of meeting Mrs. Sickles there two or
three times week or oftener. The person and
dress of Mrs. Sickles was accurately described,
and the usual time of the interview Specified
Accompanied by friend Mr. Sckles went to
the house designated, and found every state
ment of the writer corroborated Mr.. Key had
taken the house, and he he'd con stantly met
there lady resembling very closely in descrip-
ton Mrs. Sickles. Mr. Sickles still clung to the
hope that the person who had stopped to the
business of making such charges under the veil
of secFesy, might have thoroughly deceived him,
and that Mrs. Sickles was not the lady in ques-
ton.
lie accordingly requested his friend, Mr.. Geo.
Woodbridge, of New York, to watch the place
from the window Of a house just opposite. On
Saturday no meeting took place, and the woman
in charge seems to have stated that none had
occurred since Wednesday,
On Saturday evening Mr.. Sickles resolved no
longer to play the spy upon his honor, and de-
termined to confront his wife directly with his
terrible suspicious. At first Mrs. Sickles strong
ly denied her guilt, but on her husband asking
her whether on the Wednesday previous she had
not entered the house on Fifteenth street in q
certain particular dress and concealed by O
hood, she cried out:
a. am betrayed and lost" and swooned away
On recovering her senses, she admitted hel
guilt and besought mercy and pardon.
Mr.. Sickles calmly said that he would not in.
iure her, since he believed her the victim of :
| scoundrel, but that he lad right to full con
| fession,
Two ladies in the house were sent for as wit
| nesses, and in their presence Mrs. Sickles mad,
full statement in writing, stating that her con
nection with Mr.. Key had commenced in Apri
last, under Mr.. Sickes' own roof, but that Mr.
Key had since hired the house in Fifteenth
street, in which they had constantly met.
| Mrs. Sickes' confession was made in the mids
of the bitterest contrition and misery. Her hus
band simply asked her to give him back he
wedding ring, and desired hfr to write 10 he
mother to cQme and take her from his hous
forever.
Mrs. Sckes made no objections admitting th
justice of her punishment in the most afiectin;
| language
The same paper gives the additional particu
lars:
|
On having quilted the presence of his wife
| Mr.. Sickies gave way to the most terrible emo
ton, and passed the night in state borderin,
on distraction-a feeling which was worked in
/ to madness this morning on seeing the cause o
his misery, Mr.. Key, with gay audacty pas
1 opposite the window of his wife's room an,
wave his handkerchef-th usual signal for as
signation.
Asking Mr.. ButterWorth, WHO was at hi
house, to follow Key and engage him in con
versation so that he would not get out Of sight
he rushed up stairs for his pistols, and quickl,
following, found Butterworta and Key together
at the corner of Sixteenth street, when the trag
edy took place.
On coming up sickles vailed directly to Key
and said, You have dishaGorel my bed anl
family, you scqundrei-preRare to dia" at th.
same time drawing his pistol. Almost stimuli
taneously Key placed his hand inside his vest
and drawing what appeared to be a pistol b4
what was really an opera-glass, said, You hat
better not shootP'
| SiGkles at once fred, Key al the sanse TINT
throwing bis glass al him. This shot only
grazed Key, slightly raising the skin of his side
and he Immediately leaped behind tree tt
avoid another shot. Sickles followed, and Key
! catching his arm, enGeayored to prevent hin
from firing, but Sickles disengaged himself, ant
| firing again, shot Key in the upper part Of tls
| right thigh, close to the main artery.
Falling on his hip and supporting himsel
| with his hand, he cried Murderi don't shootr
| Sickles still following, fred again, with his pis
| tol close to Key, the ball passing through hi:
body below the breast.
While standing over Key, on being touched
| on the shoulder by one of the bystanders, Sick
! les remarked, " Gentlemen, this man has dis
honored my bed" In our opinion that was am
pie justification.
Key died in few moments after receiving tn,
last shot. Key was AZ years of age, tall in stat
| ure, but not otherwise prepossessing in appear
ance. He leaves four children. He was sor
of Francis S. Key, the author of the 4" Sta
Spangled Banner." On bis marriage he mar
rowly escaped . duel with Col. May who con.
ceiyed that he unfairly ousted him from the af
fections Of the lady who became his wife.
| Mr. Sickles, the member from the Third Dis
trict of New York is native of New York, ant
was originally printer by occupation. He il
| a man nearly 40 years Of age of good presence
| and graceful manners.
In 1853, Mr.. Sicklas was married to his wife
now ruined and heart-broken, then young cir
| fresh from her school life, and remarkable ther
| as nov for something especially SOFT lovely and
youthful in the type Of her very peculiar beauty
She is of Italian origin, and possesses all the
| Italian lustre and depth of eye, united with q
| singular candor and delicacy of feature.
Shortly after their marriage, Mr.. Sickles was
appointed Secretary of the American Legation
at London, in the household of Mr.. Buchanan,
and his beautiful bride won universal admira-
ton abroad, not more by her charms of person
and manner than by the gaiety and innocentjoy-
business of her character.
Mrs. Sickles may be twenty-five years of age,
and has two children. She is the daughter of
Bagioli the celebrated music teacher, Of Four
teenth street.
On Sunday, the 9th February, the steamboat
Princess, from yicksburg, for New Orleans, ex-
ploded and burnt at Conrad's Point, pear Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. -Four hundred persons were
on board, of whom two hundred are lost and
missing, mostly residents of Louisiana and Miss
issippi. A large number Of ladies were on