Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1869-06-11

city. Ills oppohehV cou'eo'ou NV wv"
nd it was charged in the public prints that "
,icklcs imported voters from Brooklyn, and D
aidavits to that effect were printed. lie was g
distinguished for nothing during his first term,
ave the expression Of ultra pro Southern and s
ro.slayery sentiments, all of which he rcpu- .
when rno r~s arencd q better chance Z
!, another direction. lie was reelected to q
Congress in 1858, and it wa, during the lat
part of this term that hoSSsyenpo an actor
n the most torr<bic~ qa JAgusting tragedy
has staiucd>1Ae annals of tho national
observation-disclosures of this affair, as appear
81 upon the trial, were these: Mrs S'cklcs,
who was tho daughter of a woman with whom
it Mas alleged Sicklcs had once maintained q
criminal connection, resided with her hus-
band ia Washington. There through an in
PRODUCTION by her husband, she became &c
q~uainted with Phillip Barton Key gentle
man Of culture and address, who bccau.~ a
frequent visitor to Sicklcs' lousc, and the
paqpsilsancnsANEsth Mrs:AAlcs eventually
riiSTcnnctd into cftminality. Tits said that
Sicklcs knew or suspected Of this Intimacy
At any rate, it was tho common talk in the
city long before he took measures to avcngc
"n' bed" An anonymous note
addressed to him, with details OF mrs. ,...N
les crime, reused him to action. 1t appears
that eighteen hours after the receipt of this
note, and when, rs the prosecution altcrW ards
contcndcd, he had hud ample time to cool Of
from the first effects of the dreadful disclosure,
he sailed out with a friend, and finding Key
at the corner of Layfayctte place, near the
Club House, slaughtered him where he stood.
This was on a Sabbath afternoon, as Key was
on his way home from church. Sicklcs shot
him with a revolver in tho groin. The
wounded man took refuge behind a tree, cry
ing out, "Don't shoot me-" "Don't murder
me-" Sickles followed him up, and shot him
again. lie fell to the sidewalk, and for a
moment rested his head upon his arm. Sick
les then stood over him and shot him in the
breast. Just then Buttcrworth camo up, and
touching Sicklcs on the shoulder, advised
him to dcsist. Sicklcs took his friends arm,
and the twain walked away. The murderer
exhibited the utmost GOODNESS during the en-.
tire affair. key never spoke after the third
shot. lie was taken into the Club House
and expired in a few moments.
The murder took place February 20, 1869
and the trial came of in tho following April
Just ten years ago. 1t lasted from the 4th
to the 10Th, and created great excitement
both in Washington and throughout the coun-
try. A great array of counsel appeared for
the defendant. Among them were Edwin
A. Straton, James L. Brady, John Graham,
Rcvcrdy johnson, Thomas Francis Meagher,
and Colonel Phillips of Alabama. The Hon
Robert Guild, now Of Richmond, Virginia
conducted tho prosecution, assisted by Mr.
Carlisle. Towards the close Of the trial Mr.
Guild endeavored to introduce testimony as
to Slcklcs's previous bad character, but it
was oyerrulcd. The courtroom was crowded
with his New York friends, who made bois-
ferrous demonstrations in his favor, and the
rulings of the judge were nearly always in his
favor. Brady and Stanton made elaborate
arguments for the defence, and when the jury
rendered an acquittal, a socno followed rarely
witnessed in a court house. The people went
Wild with ohoors, one Of the counsel kissed
tho liberated man, and another sat down and
wept. Sickles was carried in trump to his
iomo, and a band Of music in tho evening
his counsel, and would have sore.
nadcd him but for tho good sense Of Mr..
who made them q speech, and begged
thom to 80 homo.
Letters of congratulation poured in upon
from all parts of the country. He
his friends that he would immcdi.
atcly procure a divorce from his vito, and af.
tor providing for her dcccntly, cast her from
his mind forever. But not long after, when
returned to Now York, to tho astonish
ment of tho world, he took his vito back to
live with him. This extraordinary conduct
swept nearly ovcry old friend from his side.
Men who had stood by him through the trial
brothers, turned away from him forever
N tho intensity of their disgust. His politi.
,al onomics visited him with their most with.
sarcasm, and the Tribune published an
'Iticlc upon him almost uncqualcd in its bru-
a. ~,