, 1870-04-22
STARTLING DISCOVERY.
4 Long.K1idden Crime Brought to
Light.

I
| From the Oguouka fIA) Spectator, Apri1s1,
| We are this week called upon TO chronicle
Startling discovery that has Just Brought t,
light crime that Was pe1petrated in our mids
| number Of years ago-a foul murder sh.
WAS done, and the perpetrators Of which, i
would appear from circumetantial evidence
hare followed theiE victim into eternity.
A gentleman, well known to many of on,
citizens az man Of truth. writes to : frieni
in town . abatement from which We con
dense tho startling history that We give be
| low:
This gentleman recently had conversation
with m old river man who, upon learning thai
he wss acquainted in Oquawka. stated that twc
years ago he was running raft to st. Louis
and. in attempting to make q landing in q
storm, just above the mouth Of tho MISSOURI,
one Of the men employed on the raft. named
Nelson, waa caught in a Tine and go badly hurt
that he died in short time. But before his
death be made confession Of crime that he
had committed wears before, in this place.
He said that. about the beginning
Of the WIZ, he and another hand got
left in Oquawka OF raft, and that
night they met a man in saloon, who,
they tho1nght, bad money about him. They
managed 70 get him considerably under the IN
fnence Of liquor, and then started ont With
him. under the prctence OF showing him to q
hotel; Instead Of going to hotel, however,
the{ took him to an old empty building, back
q tue upper warehouse, near the 1eyee, where
they murdered and robbed him. They stripped
him. intending to throw him into the river, 80
that. II the body WAS found, it might appear
that he WAS drowned while in swimming but.
fearing that the marks On the body would
reveA the crime, they buried him in al
$1,000 in gold and about 81, ,a00 in Missouri
money. and started for tho railroad When
they got about = mile from town. they found
that ii vas growing daylight, and. fearing to
60 on. they went into a deserted house hv the
eide Of the road, aud staid there until night,
and while they were there they dug a hole in
the cellar wall and hid the gold awav in an
old kettle they found on the premises.
Our readers will recognize the deserted house
AZ being the one now occupied br McOI.can.
and long. known rs tho haunted house,
After dark, the two Villains went on to the
Junction; and then to BURLINGTON, where they
took boat and oyerhaulcd their raft at
Quincy. After their arrival in st. Louis, Mel
son's PARTNER was killed in fight With soue
deck hands. In 1862 Nelson came to Oquaw-
Ia, went ont to the deserted house alluded to,
dug ont the gold, and left on boat for up
river.
In conoboration Of one fact mentioned in
the letter: although there is q discrepancy as
to dates that may be accounted for upon the
supposition that tho person who heard the
confession might have forgotten the exact
yeaF, re have the statement Of an old gentle
1869AE. Stick. He came to. the house,
and made an examination OF tho
premises, cellar included, three OF four
DAYS previous to moving into it, and
found nothing wrong In the cellar. When he
moved there he found that The cellar wall had
been taken down in one place, and behind the
wall an impression Of pot or kettle remained
in the dirt, and On the cellar step there was
ring Of dirt. as though a pot had been p1aced
there and dirt fallen from its surface By the jar.
These facts were stated by Mr.. Stick at the
time, and were familiar to some Of our citizens
years ago.
But the most startling f.ct in connection
with this fonl crime is yet to be related The
house evidently pointed out in the letter was
the old Consland property, better known as
the "oid cattith, which WAS torn down aud
taken to Sagetown a few years ago, and the
ing This old ice house. which was simply An
excavation in the sand, walled up with rock and
covered with shingle roof, Inns been deserted
for years, tho roof having been taken OF
ard the excavation left opon. On Monday
morning come or our citizens determined to
make an examination here, and accordingly
commenced digging in the sand at the bottom.
a fow strokes Of the spade revealed the start
ling fact that tho skeleton Of the murdered
man was there. The appearance was that
some straw at the bottom had been raked
away, 4 shallow hole scooped ont, the body OF
the victim rolled in On its side. and covered
up with sand and straw. And there the victim
OF this dsstardly crime has SLEPT these eight or
nine yeaEs, until nothing remained Of him hut
tie bony skeleton. There we're no marks Of
violence upon the skull or any Of the bones,
except that two ribs we're broken, one Of then,
being fractured in three rlsces. The skeleton
uitlcates that the man was about five feet ten
inches in height. Who lie vas, where he came
from, will perhaps remain one Of tho nsolyed
enigmas. Some man has been missed and
never heard from, apd now, eight OF MING years
later, his murdered body is found, with moth
INF to reveal his personal identity.
An inquest was held On tho remains, at
which the facts given above wera elected, and
the bones were packed into box and stored
away. cut on tho Left side Of the skull. evi-
IDENTIFY made long time previous to tie mau's
and stranger things have happened than that
this mark may sone day reveal who tho per
son waB.