The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-04-10
Observation-Disclosures AND suprnsrIr,os R,,

SotDooisM-.- MURDER AND SUPERSTITION Ram.
rANT--PEEiTESTfARr FOR LIFE Az REsULr.-
from the Mobile Register1- lin December
last a colored man named William Harris,
living in Mobile, learned that Riley Williams,
negro living at Fowl river, was privately
accused of having murdered a negro man
named Henry Johnson, in August last, near
St. Elmo station. on the New Orleaus rail-
road: whereupon Harris swore out a warrant
before Justice Flanagan, ON the 18th of
December, borrowed q pair of handouts,
and struck out for The woods in search Of his
man. 1t was an adventurous undertaking,
but his shrcwdnesS and cunning enabled him
70 hunt down his quarry and make the
arrest. and got back within two days, with
| fuIl evidence to warrant commitment to
ia;I for trial, on hearing before Justice
Flanagan.
| The evidence given in court yesterday is
pccuIiarly Interesting, Is showing cunning
| on one size, and the brutal superstition with
| which many of our colored voters are still
! mbued; the "best Government" taking
more pains to cultivate their mortal votes
than to save their immortal souls.
Harris's statement is that he went to Fowl
| river and made the acquaintance Of the ac'
cused; represented himself as an escaped
murderer looking for Il safe place In which TO
secrete himself. BY this and other plausible
statements he completely won the confidence
OF Williams, who lolt him that was a p'eadid
place no one could find him there with the
| closest search and he further related, in con.
| fidence, that he, too, bad murdered a man and
| then put him on the railroad track so that
| the cars might run over the body; that his
| rtlse had succeeded, and people thought that
his victim had been killed by the. cars. He
| further impaired the curious confidence that
he went to the grave every morning, from
habit. AS this confession corYesponded
closely with the facts already known to him
Harris arrested bis man and brought him 10
town. a. T. "
Evidence has shown that Williams, the
murderer, was the first to report the dead
body on the track the morning after the
murder; and he also attended the inquest
held upon it. 1t was further shown in evil
dencc that he was disciple Of Voudoo; that
he had cut of the hand OF the murdered
| man. and preserved it in quicksilver and
choroform, and carried it in his pocket,
firmly believing that the talisman would pro.
| tect him from any danger Of detection. He
confidently asserted to Harris, in the biud.
ness of his hidcous faith, that with this hand
in bis pocket he could enter any room where
a man was sleeping and take everything
| thcrefrom without the victims waking 'tlso
that if he killed man, and c,Itsoif his
finger, and dipped it in the blood, no one
could ever find out who did it. That the
benisbted creature firmly believed this ": {
erinccd by his living and working in the
immediate vicinity of the scene for nearly
nine months, until arrested. -.
Wiley Brown (coloreO testified that he and
on the railroad that they were walking uI
| the track, and he stopped to tie his shoe
when he heard groan. Looking around
| he saw his partner lying senseless on The
ground, and the accused standing over him
searching his pockets. A gun was lying on
the ground, with which he supposed hi
partner had been knocked down. He walked
| up. when Williams stopped him, demanded
his money. which he gave up about three
dollars, and then ran away. Had not seen
| his partner since was afraid that the gang
! in that section would kill him il he exposed
the murderer, SO he kept quiet about it unit
| he reached Mobile, some four months after
He positively identified the prisoner, and de-
scribcd his partner accurately; which de-
scripton was currohorated by the evidence
| of every witness, both for State and defence
Al lcinr an accurate one of the dead body
found on the track the morning after the
alleged occurrence. 49,.
The State was ably represented by.Solicitor
NJ. Z. Mccartney and John H. Glennon
Esq; Ben Lane Posey, Esq. for defence,
The jury retired, and, after short constilta
ton, returned verdict of murder in the
first degree. which carries with it the sen.
tence of Imprisonment i'll the penitentiary
for life. The hidcouS darkness Of the BELIEF
under which the savage acted is truly re.
mMrkable in this day and generation.