The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1866-03-08

after the foul deed had been committed
| He then proceeded, at considerable length
to analyze the testimony of these two
witnesses, and pointed cut the conflicting
character of their depositions, in reference
to facts and circumstances, that could
easily have been ascertained with GER
tainty.
OF Warren Howell he said:
There was nothing in his life and ante
eedents to shield him from the suspicious
of completely in the, assassination of the
guard and to protect himself from ar
rest, imprisonment. and probably from
execution, he well understood the neces-
sity of lodging Information against others,
before he could be arrested, and of becom-
ing with Brown witness to establish
the charge. He has given to the Court
an impressive illustration of the value he
sets upon his own life, and of the base
means to which he can be driven to pre-
serve it, For myself I must say that l
think his love Of life, and. of such life,
most inordinate if. it spring from any
sense of its value to him or to others. |
hold that any life, the life of the noblest
and best of men, would be too dearly
bought by the blasphemy and the perjury
with which he avows himself ready to
save his own.
On the first day of the sitting of the
Court, during his examination-ia-chiet,
under the solemn sanctions of an oath in
the presence of the Court, and to the face
of the prosecuting officer, he affirmed, as
he had SO uniformly and repeatedly done,
that he did not recognize single indi-
yidual of the party that went to the ferry,
nor the person whom he saw across the
river, nor the voice of him who ordered
him into the house. The Judge Advocate
turned upon the witness with a manner
aud tone full of menace, and demanded
of him whether he had not both said and
sworn that he did recognize some OF
thea,, and objection having been made to
the question, the Court adjourned. 1t
appears that Howell was taken from the
Court room to cell and confined alone
during that night. He had been allowed
to walk in the city in the day time with
out a guard, and to be with other Wit
nesses for the prosecution at night. 1
cannet penetrate the secrets OF his soil
tary prison house. I cannot tell what
drues or what cnchantments we're used,
what persuasions or what pressure ap-
piled. If his conscience WAS not enlIght-
encd by the darkness of his dungeon, his
eyes were opene.i, and he came into the
Court the next dsy, if not a better man,
more willing witness. The Court met on
Saturday; the Judge Advocate had sub
sided into his usual blandness of manner.
the impeaching question was withdrawn
and the, witness unswore his testimony OF
the preceding day. Whereas on Friday
he did not know the man who called HIM
self Jones, on Saturday he knew him to
be Peter Keys. Whereas on Friday he
could not recognize any one of the assas,
sins, on Saturday he could recognize
Crawford Keyes, Peter Keycs, Robert
Keyes Elisha Byrum and Francis Gaines
Showers. Feeling that some apology for
his deliberate and detestable perjury
so :unblushingly confessed by the
witness, was necessary, the Judge Advo-
cate considerably and kindly gave him
the opportunity of saying that he swore
falsely on Friday because his life had been
threatened, as he was informed by Col
Brown, who was in command at Ander-
son, and by letter from his wife; but
he failed to tell how his fears had been
removed or quieted between the adjourn
mcnt on Friday and the meeting of the
Court on Saturday. 1 have no inclina
lion to moralize or to comment upon d
spectacle of such loathsome depravity and
vulgar -baseness. disdain to point Out
the minor falsehoods and petty misstate
mcnts in his testimony which pale in the
presence of his monstrous perjury. But
/ cannot restrain the expression OF my
alarm and horror that npon the testimony
OF person so infamous and degraded, a
person of such inyeterate and irrepresslble
mendacity, person so demolished by al
the means of discre1itinga witness, a per-
son SO dishonored by his own unblushine
and blaspbemous falsehoods, great crime