The Fremont weekly journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County, Ohio) 1867-1877, 1870-04-15
A STORY OF CIRCUMSTANTIAL
EVIDENCE.

I-DuTlng the last century, IN Eng
land, a man was hanged for murder
ing his ward, niece. The evidence
was conclusive that he had chastis
ed her frequently, and only the day
before her disappearance, he was
heard correcting her in an out-buil
ding, and her voice was also heard
piteously exclaiming, don't XIII me,
Uncle, don't kill me- The motive
for the murder was proven in the
fact that according to her fathers
will, OH her death, her property was
to 90 the guardian, her uncle. Three
or four years after the assumed mur-
der, the niece returned to claim her
property. 1t appeared that she had
run away and married, and came
back to demand her property on
reaching her majority. Parliament
then interfered with a statute re-
quiring the production Of the body
to authorize the sentence of death.
This is now the general rule in our
criminal proceedings, but has not
always been adhered to. And it
was not in the case we are about to
narrate.
In 1910, when the State House at
Springfield, ILL.,, was being built, one
of the stone-cutters engaged was a
man named Martin, from New Yors
city. Martin was not a man of
sound mind; at least he was a
monomaniac on one subject, which
was that there was no good money
except that of the old Metropolitan
Rank, New York. Every Saturday
night, when the men were paid off,
he was won't to 90 around among
them and buy up this money, often
giving as high as 10 per cent, for it.
He was known to have a considera-
bic sum of this money hid away or
about him.
During May, of the year above,
he and one Smith hired a horse and
wagon to go to the Sangamon River
four miles distant. A. night Smith
returned, but not with Martin.
When asked where Martin was he
said he did not know. Martin was
soon missed-the ground where
they went was searched-and the
plainest evidence was presented
they had quarrelled. The ground
was trampled on the river bank, and
some of Martins clothes were found.
It was also discovered that some
drops of blood were dried on the
sand, and that the buggy had been
drawn into the water. The SUPPOSE
ton was that Martin had been mur-
dered and his body carried into the
river. Search was made but no
body could be found. Meantime
Smith, the assumed murderer, was
arrested and put into the old log
Jail.
In few weeks the prisoner was
regularly arraigned in the Circuit
Court on the charge Of murder.
Abraham Lincoln, then rising into
fame as a lawyer, was engaged for
the defense. The production of the
body was not insisted upon: the ev-
idence seemed as clear and conclu-
sive as though a dozen persons had
seen the act Of murder. The wit
nesses were few, vet the evidence
that there was both the motive and
the means, was overwhelming. The
marks of the struggle on the river
shore-the drops Of dried blood up
on the sand-the driving of the wag-
on into the river, as if to throw the
body into the swift current-were
circumstances that could only be ac-
counted for in connection with the
"deep damnation" Of the taking off
of poor Martin. The defense could
hardly make a show of evidence,
and verdict of guilty seemed q
foregone conclusion.
Meantime the sheriff Of Tazewell
county had read in the Sangamon
Journal a description of Martins
person, and heard that an insane
man had appeared in a distant part
of the county without coat or hat,
and who could give no intelligent
account of himself. An inspiration
prompted the sheriff to go and see
him, and he became satisfied that he
was the missing man. Having in
his possession still a considerable
of Metropolitan Bank mon
ey made the sheriff morally sure on
the point, so he took the man in
charge and started with him for
Springfield. Arriving there on the
last day of the trial he lodged the
man in the jail and went into the
court room and saw Mr.. Lincoln.
Mr.. Lincoln asked a suspension of
proceedings, as he had an important
witness to introduce. With the
sheriff he went to the old jail, saw
the prisoner, and was satisfied that
the dead was alive. Returning to
court, Mr.. Lincoln said that he could
not look for anything but q verdict
against his client, as the case
stood, but he asked permission to
put new and very material witness
on the stand.
The murdered man was placed
upon the stand, and the case fell to
the ground in moment.
A Fact In Repard to Vgorses