Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1861-04-10

my attorney, my morse, OeinB well known |
as having been the property OF Hem
bricks, naturally attracted considerable
attention. All at once the horse sprang
to one side with such force, as almost to !
throw me from the saddle and trampled !
upon the feet of some of his friends, and |
snoring loudly, seemed suddenly to be |
filled with terror.
AS soon as could recover my seat, |
looked about the crowd for the cause of
this extraordinary conduct. At this mo
ment, | seen person approaching, evi=
IDENTIFY to ascertain the cause OF the gath-
ering. | had frequently seen this man
before, and knew he was the keeper of
dining saloon ir the place. Though lot n
man much thought Of he was looked
upon rs an honest and harmless sort of a
fellow. This man came up and as he
drew near, the horse exhibited the utmost
alarm and snortirg wildly, sprang, in
spite of the rem, through the crowd, and
trembling violently, endeavored to escape
in an opposite direction. The strange be.
havior Of the animal was remarked by all
and several voices exclaimed in the same
breath
dts ! iii Nevins the horses afraid of
Bill Nevins =
BY gracious cried another. who
knows but Bill, here, killed the lawyer?
| say, old fellow, 20 up to the critter, and
let him smell the blood on yer hands "
From his first appearance | kept my
eye upon this man and no sooner had
he caught sight of the horse, than | OBJ
served a peculiar expression upon his
face and when the last words we're ut~
terel,-a deadly palior spread over his
features, and he almost staggered as lie
replied:
who says killed lawyer Hendricks
It's lie p-and turning abrupt y, he at
tempted to walk, with all the apparent
nonchala nee he could asst me, in the di-
rcction of his saloon. As if an electric
shock had struck me, the conviction of
that mans guilt rushed upon my mind :;
and forcing the fri -htened animel across
the court house square, till | overlook
him, bent forward in nay saddle and shoun
ted in his ear:
'BW NeumS! | SAY you murdered Squire
| Hendricks =
Had a thunder bolt struck the guilty
wretch, he could not have fallen more
suddenly to the ground. Le was not
IlhlNtuC'A III CIlIllt dll'l WIS uOlupV NCCt-
sation Of murder overcame him.
\ warrant for his arrest was immediate
| ly obtained and he was conveyed to
await his tria! at the next Circuit Court
in June while was required to re-
main in the county as witness i'll the
case.
1t was matter of dou bt whether the
murder was dOue within the jurisdiction
of the courts of Mississippi, or those Of the
State Of Louisiana; and the prisoner 5
counsel it was limited, would plead this
question OF ccuuc in favor of their client.
The pody of the muld dered man was
found on the western side Of the road, and
some title distance from it, and conse.
Iquently, within the territory OF the State
oG Mississippi. This would be testified to
10y b tn my friend and myself; but at
the same time it could be proven by the
Iappearance Of the dust on the road, that
the body had evidently beer dragged
some distance to the place where 1t was
discovered, after the deed had been per.
petrated. The vicinity had been thor
oughly searched, as was supposed, and no
ev!dence of the precise locality of the
death scene had been detected, Ly which
the venue could be established. In con-
seqence of this it was feared that the
guilty man would escape the clutches OF
the law.
Since the discoveryof the murder, had
not had occasion to pass over thI road
where it had been perpetrated, having
transacted my business at Franklinton,
through the kindness of friend But a
| GO, l,, tp hnt gat For n mi al
of Nevins, found it necessary to visit
!, that town myself
started from my friends plantation in
company with several gentlemen Of the
| neighporhood 50 that we formed quite a
company of horsemen. As usual, of late,
was mounted on the beautiful bay,
which had been the property of the mur,
dered lawyer; and it was on this occasion
that the extraordinary intelligence of the
animal led to the complete elucidaticn Of
the mystery of the murder.
} When we reached the vicinity where the
!, bloody act had been consummated, the
animal began to exhibit the same symp-
toms of alarm he had shown on the for
mer occasion, and at the court house
, So uarc, Notwithstanding the horses Of my
, companions evipced no signs whatever o
! fear We had passed the spot where tht
body of Hendricks had been discovered
= when the horse in spite Of my guidance
} dashed into the tangled thicSets with me
5 and forcing his way through the grape
= vines and overhanglng limbs, reached the
, roots of large sweet gum, when he stop
. ped, and paving the ground violently
) exhibited signs Of excessive agitation.
The gentlemen, as well as myself, hav-
, ing all confidence in the remarkable in
teligenCe of the beautiful creature, we
| busted ourselves in examining the locality
, convinced that this was the very scenC
T. of the killing Of his master.
And ST ch it proved; for one of my
companions soon picked up a large. pc
culiarly SHAPED bowie knife, which wa:
Immediately recognized b. several as hav
, ing been in the possession of Bill Nevin.
: shortly previous to the murder; while on
: tie roots of the tree were found tangled
rnoCspS of bair nf color cnmnnring % ny-