Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-11-07
THE Love IsL.s.vD TR.1G BDI..

The New York Tribune gives the follow
ing succinct history of the so-caled excl
sey" mystery or tragedy about which so
much has, with good cause been said of
late. Tho local authorities having been
criminally negligent in doing anything
toward bringing the guilty parties to JUS
tice the State officials have at last taken the
matter in hand. Several of the prominent
and respectable" citizens, who had hand
in the horrible affair, have "gone West"
proiessedly to "hunt up Kelsey" and IN
der the changed aspect of the case II is hint
ed that still others will suddenly have bust
ness elsewhere:-
Charles G. Kelsey was a rather weak
minded young man of Huntington, Long
Island, who, becoming infatuated with
young girl named Julia Smith and falling
to gain her favor, pursued her with annoy
ing attentions and communications. She
complained of this 10 several of her friends,
among whom was Royal Sammis, 10 whom
she was engaged TO be married. A number
of them lay In wait for Kelsey, and captur-
ed him on the night of November 4, last, as
he was going home from q political meet
Ing. They took him to the house where
Miss Smith lived, and there tarred and
feathered him, the feathers being kindly
furnished from the house, and Miss Smith
was then invited out TO see her luckless
admirer in this grotesque garb. 1t seems
scarcely creditable, but the young lady her.
self testifes that she went out into the yard
to enjoy this brutal exhibition, and to ad-
dress some words of feminine malice to
her rejected snitor. This Is the last time
that Kelsey has ever been seen alive. The
next day some of his clothes we're found
on the shore, giving rise to the inferent o
that he had been murdered and thrown in
to the bay. But this supposition was at
once hOoled down by The leading people in
the community, who all appeared TO sym
patbize with the lynchers. Tue most re-
markabe fact about the whole affair is that
the people implicated in it are OF reputable
character and good Standing, most of them
church members As stated in the evil
dence, it was regarded as lease OF sin
against responsibility" the social senti-
ment OF the village being arrayed in be-
half Of the tar party, and only the "baser
sort" demanding some account of the I'M
fortunate Kelsey. He did not afford much
material for sympathy, being poor spirit
ed lover, bad poet, and, it seems, not a
member of the church. In this fashion,
Investigation was sneerad out of sight.
Miss Sumtb married Mr.. Simmis, and the
,ar.party made the opinion prevail that
Kelsey, stricken with shame and disgust
-ad wandered Off to other regions. But on
She Goth of August last, two fishermen
dredging in Oyster Bay brought to the
surface the lower half of man, mutilated
and decnmposed, but bearinga frightfully
,.aLeluspe testimony in the coating of TAI
and feathers which still adhered to II.
From that day TO this, for two months, the
coroners Inquest has been In prog ress, anC
has developed a mass Of perjuries and con
tradictions almost without parallel. Th'
so-called "tar-party' were not silenced BY
the discovery. They still insisted tina
Kelsey was in hiding somewhere and hat
thrown this CHASTITY piece of evidence int
tho bay for vengeance upon those who hal
maltreated him. But the coroner and tn
1urymen agreed that The circumstance
were overwhelming, and have brought II
sweeping and comprehensive verdict
which accuses eleven men of hitherto re
spectacle standing OF an Infamous and bru
tal crime. 1t has taken year to arrive q
this point. 1t would be sanguine to hop
that another year will see the end of th
unwholesome drama.