The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1867-10-28
FROM PENDLETON co.
PENDLEToN COUNTY, w. VA. ]
October II, 1867,

EulbOl VI tue iSSSiStSi'
As it has been long time since saw
a communication from this county in
the columns of your valuable paper, /
thou ght / would scribble little for
the benefit of our neighbors abroad.
Our Circuit Court convened on the lst
and adjourned on the 5th inst, His
Honor, Judge Bunker, presiding. The
first case that came up was that Of
John Middleton, who had been indicted
some time since for the murder of
George Hendrick, in the winter of "a,
son of Ruben Hendrick, of this county,
a boy of fourteen years old, who never
did him any harm in the world. The
facts of the case are these: Middleton
and some of his party came to the honse
of Mr.. Hendrick after night and ordered
a light, which was got, and after plum
dering around the house, and finding
nobody there but Mr.. Hendrick, his
wife, and this boy, he raised his revol-
yer and shot him through the head,
killing him in few moments, without
giving any notice or cause for the act.
He then left. On leaving, Mr.. II. walk
ed into the yard in great distress, as a
father necessarily would be, saying
"you have killed my boy" and he re-
piled, with an oath, Ego back into the
house and stay until morning, or I'll do
you the same way" In the trial of the
case, the State was represented by Mr.
5. Ii. Corn, State Attorney. The pIis-
oner was defended by George w. Blake
more, of Aranklin. The defense put in
u plea of drunkenness. The evidence
was not very conclusive, but having
two of his colleagues in murder and
plumber on the jury, Martin Bennett, of
Captain Suyder's so-called "Swamp"
company, and Henry Dever, both abb
scntees from the late Southern army,
who were for clearing him at first, but
finally found him guilty of murder in
the second degree, and fixed his time
of Imprisonment in the State Peniten-
tiary at eighteen years. The Sheriff
left next morning with the prisoner for
Wheeling. TWAS the opinion of every
body that he would be hing, and when
the Jury came from their room, n change
in the countenance of His Honor was
very visible to the eyes of all. When
the prisoner heard the verdict he re-
marked, 81 have one more friend yet"
That was the Governor, who would
pardon him.
Owing to the long drouth, corn crops
in this and adjoining counties will not
not be more than halfa crop, especially
IN the South Branch bottoms, where corn
was forward. People are generally done
seeding, and grain, where sown i'll time,
looks we'll. Most persons were very
late getti%g in their grain this fall.
There are a great many cattle passing
through this county on the MoOrefield
and Franklin pike, from the adjoining
counties southwest of this, mostly be-
longing TO Glenche & Buckman, and
Glenche 4 Lexington. | understand,
from one of their agents, that they had
eight thousand head to take to market
this fall.
am very sorry to say to the public
that politics are at a very low ebb in
this county, so far as the Conservative
party is concerned. They say nothing,
and do nothing, but let the Radicals
have their own way. Those that can
register say there is no use. They have
a majority anyway. One vote can
make no change. 1t is true the best
men in the county were more or less
implicated in the war, and are unable
to do anything under the circumstances.
The very lowest and most degraded are
now holding Office; for instance, Lucus
Nelson, who served a time in the peni-
tentiary, is a constable. We some tim s
think the majority and better people of
this county were born under an unlucky
star, and some times feel that the
eternal laws of God and nature are in
favor of the skum and minority of this
county.
We almost imagined that tho lessons
of moral wisdom had been false and
the wishes OF so many exercised no in
fluence over the fates and fortunes of
their fellow men.
But while reading the election re.
turns in your last paper, it tells that we
were mistaken and that by touching a
Radicals pocket you touch his hearts
blood. They show signs of getting
tired of their taxes.
/ have already talked much longer
than intended and will close for the
present. PETTER.