The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1874-12-10
A LAWYERS STORY.

IOm'S f0Tte lay IN Tile Clluilhai liHe'
He. had cheated the gallows SO often that
Bill Quipley used to say he wondered now ne
could look hemp-feld in the face.
"Did I ever tell you," said Tom, giving his
tumber ofjulep an exhaustive suck 3 dia 10 ever
tell you, boys, about Obed SCOTS caseT
No, he never had. 49,.
'I should like to have such another now," he
resumed "It was just desperate enough to put
one on his legal metal; and [ think, with my
present experience, could win three times out
of five, under similar circumstances. But lwas
boy then"
'How was it?" we asked, desirous to cut
short the preface.
"The case was in nutshell" said Tom COM
ing to the point. III.
9Enos Burdge was an old settler, without
wife or child who began to feel hampered as
the population averaged half man to the
square mile. He decided to sell out and 60
West .,
"He had choice tract of land, with COM
Portable home on it; and Obed Scott, the like
liest young man in the settlement, made an
offer to buy it. Obed, instead of squanderiIng
his gains foolishly, as too many youngsters DO,
had saved them up.
zone reason of his prudence, mayhaps, was
his engagement to Hettie Ward, the prettiest
girl ever saw"
The old lawyer stopped to honor her with a
reminiscent swig.
"Though Others" he continued, "offered more
in payments, Enos accepted Obeds bid tor the
latter was ready to pay cash down, and Enos
said he. wished to quit the country for good, and
didn't want to leave unsettled business behind
him.
"On the day fixed for completing the con-
tract, Enos went before Justice of the Peace,
and duly executed deed to Obed Scott, which
he carried away with him-saying Obed was to
meet him that evening, pay the money, receive
the deed and take possession after which 1t
was Enos' intention to pass the night with an
old friend, to whom he was to pay small debt,
and whose house lay in the direction OF the
Journey.
''But Enos never reached his friends house,
and the only account given OF him after Leaving
the Justices, was by Obed Scott, who said that
he had met Enos at his cabin, as agreed on,
paid him his money, and gotten the deed and
then Enos had gone away, leaving him in pos
session of his purchase.
"There was no honester man than Enos
Burdge. That he should have left the country
clandestinely to avoid paying the one trit1ing
debt he owed, and without stopping to bid his
friends goodbye, seemed thing almost incred-
ible.
"Rumors of foul play began to be circulated
and those were not wanting who limited at the
possibility of Obed Scott's having thought it an
economical stroke to put Enos out of the way
and so possess himself of the deed without pay
ing the stipulated price. - -.
$50 rife did these rumors grow, that sundry
good citizens called on Obed and told him that
q thorough investigation was necessary to vim
dicate his name
"Instead of inviting inquiry, as good policy,
to put it on no higher ground, would have die
tated, Obed was indignant, or feigned to be, at
the imputation cast upon him. His tone en-
hanced rather than allayed the prevailing
doubts, and search of the premises was begun,
without waiting for his permission:
"Not far from the cabin, beneath some scat
tered straw, signs were discovered indicating
that the earth had recently been disturbed; and
on digging down little way, the mangled
CORPSE of Enos Burdge was exhumed.
"Obed admitted that he had taken possession
of the cabin on the evening of its late owners
departure, and that he had slept there that
night. Enos Burdge had never been seen alive
since. Who was likely to have slain and bu-
ried him where his body was found, but the
man who had both the motive and the oppor-
tunity?
"That was the question asked myself when
retained to conduct Obed's defence, and con-
fess was unable to return a satisfactory an
swer. Still, felt bound to do my best and l
did it.
"On the trial, the facts were proved much as
have related them. In summing up, made
the most of Obed's good character, dwelt on the
fallaciousness of circumstantial evidence, read
cases from the books to show how many judi
cial murders it had been accessory to, and wound
up with strong appeal to the jury to give the
defendant the benefit of every reasonable
doubt.
"But old Paxwax, the presiding Judge, strip
ped the gliding off my speech by repeating in
his charge the usual platitudes about the i'm
possibility of circumstances lying. True, he
told the Jury, that the prisoner was entitled to
all reasonable doubts; but, then, he empha-
sized the word reasonable in such a way as TO
indicate, plainly enough, that in his opinion,
in the present case, any doubts would be wholly
unreasonable
"When the jury brought him in guilty, Obed
turned pale for moment, though, on the whole,
think he bore it better than | did.
."What have you to say, asked the Judge,
"why the sentence of the law should not be pro-
nounced upon your
"Nothin'," Obed answered, "only you're
agoin' to send me afore court as has got more
sense, hope, than thisn, and whar I'll git
fair trial even if 'Sqnire Budger arn't thar to
plead my case."
"The Judge reproved him for his levity; and,
after an exhortation to repentance, which would
have become the mouth of better man, old
Paxwax sentenced the prisoner to be hanged
after six weeks.
"I applied in vain for writ error and stay of
proceedings. Equally in vain appealed to the
Executive clemency. Governors of States are
generally so much more just than the Great
Governor, that when it becomes a question of
mercy, the responsibility is commonly shufled
off on the latter.
"Obed sent me message to come and see
him on his last night He was the only inmate
of a little log Jail, with the walls three timbers
thick.
"The iailer let me in and closed the door up
on me- 1t wasn't usual then, as now, to keep
close watch on condemned criminals to see that
tho,, J;1,,t ,nt;o;nota their doom IF thev