The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-03-31

prepared, and they started. AS he went
out Of the door, he turned and said, Good.
by 1t will BE- made right, mother" She
simply answered. eyes, good.by; | know
it, my son"
The trio went on foot down the road to
the neat house, where the officers had left
their team. Jupiter, standing up with his
fore paw upon the top of the fence, gazcd
wistfully after them. When they passed
around the bend of the road out of sight,
Jupiter went into the house. The strong
woman was there about her work, as usual /;
but the heavy tears would now and then
fall upon the hard pine floor. She knew
that her own boy would spend the coming
night in the county Jail.
AT twelve O'Clock of that chill November
night the woman and the dog went out of
the house she fastened the door, and then
they they went together down the dark
mountain, while the autumn winds swept
dismally through the great wilderness, and
the midnight voice of the pines mourned
the dying year. The next day at noon n
very weary woman on foot, with small
bundle and a large dog. put UP at the little
village hotel near by the county Jail
Another day passed and then the pre-
limnary examination came on before n
| justice, to determine whether there was
sufficient evidence to hold John in custody
until grand jury of the county should be
assembled for the next court of Over and
! Terminer
Three days were spent in this examine
| ton before the justice; the captain of the
sloop who had overheard the quarrel in
the night told his story, and the boatmen
who had found the body told theirs. Two
men who had been the crew of Johns little
| al al al 81 D,,. - 1
tell little more than that they we absent
on shore upon the 18th OF July, and when
they returned to the vessel William had
gone, they knew not where nor why
The evidence against John seemed to the
! magistrate clear and conclusive. But the
counsel for the accused employed by
Johns mother) took the ground that as the
oficnsc was committed in Canada. n Justice
in the United States had no jurisdiction in
the matter.
The view prevailed, and after five days
the accused was set at liberty. But the
voice Of he people, which the ancient pro.
verb says is like the voice of God, had de-
cidcd that John was guilty. 1t was under
this crushing condemnation that John and
his mother left the county town on a cold
December day. turning their steps home
ward; and ut evening they climbed the de
clivity o familiar 10 them, and reached the
lonely leg house upon the mountain. Their
ncighbors were glad to see them back again.
hat we're plain 10 say that ssit auurnrci
like as if John was guilty" These dwell
crs i'm the sOliludcs were accustomed to
speak truly what they thought. John and
ms mother spoke openly of This matter, too.
i wa, only Of showing affection and love
That these people were ashamed and Shy
1...f1 D., = 81
the evidence vas very strong, but John
added quietly that he wa, not guilty. 20. il
that sctiiod the Who'll" mal,cr.
But the voice of the pcop,r aud 1t sense
OF justice would not let thi, crime rest It
cainc 10 be very generally known that
man guilty OF murder wa, living near the
shore of Lake Chanplain unmolcs,cd. Ar.
engagements were effected By which it came
to pass that the Canadian authorities made
formal Application to the United State,
Tor the delivery of one John Wilson, be-
Hcved 70 he guilty Of the murder at .his
cousin William Wilson.
And 80 also two officers, this time United
States officials, climbed up TO the little log
home upon the edge of the great valley.
Ihro' drifting, binding storm of snow
they were pIotcd by ncighbor to the lone
~ house They made known their crrand,
ana IN the course Of half an hour the Off
GERS and their prisoner were ont in the
storm en- route for the distant city of Mon
ircal
1t was many days before the mother saw
her son AGAIN. For four months John was
imprisoned, awaiting his trial before the
Canadian courts. Doubtless those four
months seemed long to the solitary woman.
She had not much opportunity to indulge in
melancholy fancics; she spent much of her
time IN pulling brush and wood ont the snow
and breaking it up with an ny 50 A. to adapt
II to the size of her stove.
The neiglbors tried to be Kind and often
took commissions from her to the store and
the grist mill by the valley; But after all, -
said Pete Scares, one of johns friends, in
speaking of the matter aftcrward, "what
would ncighbors amount to, when the near
est ofthem lived mile away, and all of
them were plain to say that they believed
that she was the mother Of u murderer"
But the ncighbors said the woman did
not seem to mind the solitude and the rough
work. Morning, noon and night she was
out i'll the snow or the storm Mt the little
hovel of barn back Of the house, taking
care of two cows and few sheep which
were hers and Johns. At other times
travellers upon the wilderness people would
see the gaunt, angular figure clambering
down rocky ridge, dragging poles to the
house TO be cut up for fuel.
She received two letters from John in the
course Of the winter. The first told her
that he was imprisoned and waiting his trial
in Montreal, and the next one said that his
trial in Montreal, and the next one said that
his trial had been set down for an carly day
in March.
This correspondence was all the inlo,ma-
ton the mother had of her son for the lake
was frozen during the winter, so that the
boats did not run, and no news conll come
from Canada by the boatmen.
When March came and po..ed away
without Intelligence from John, twas taken
by me wilderness road as u sur" indication
mat he had been convicted of the crime.
letter or newspaper announcing the fact
was confidently looked for by the ncighbors