The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-03-31
From the Atlantic Monthly.
Johns Trial.

ny +. DEFINING.
Just where the Wilderness road of the
Adirondack Highlands strikes the edge Of
great Champlnin Valley, in little clearing.
il a lonely log house. On the lO.h dav Of
July, 1852, II muscular, gaunt woman stood
at the door of the house, overlooking the
vast extent of the valley. From her stand
point, ten miles of green forest swept down
TO the lakes winding shore She saw the
indcntation made in their shore line bv t.thc
bay" and beyond, the wide waters glcam-
ing in the fcrv brightness of summer.
Specks were here and there disccrnblc in
the light, flashing back from the blue. mir
rOr-like surface. and by long watching IL
could be seen TINT these spccl- were nov
ing to and fro.
The woman knew that these dt,nnt NOV
ing atoms were boats frcighting lumber
through Lake Champaign She knew that
there was but one boat that would De likely
10 turn aside and come into the little bay.
and that this boat would be her ION John.
>loop
That was why She watched so anxiously
speck that nearcd the bay and at length
entered it. 70 make doubly sure. She
brought to bear an old spy glass whose
principal lens was cracked entirely through.
1t gave her Il smoky view of the flmuu,
'loop, The Dolly Ann, Johns property.
and then she was entirely certain that her
son. who had been three weeks absent ON
voyage, was coming home.
Jupiter, the housc-dog, who had been
watching her, seemed TO know it too per.
tcctly we'll; for as she turned from her sur
vey through the glass, the canine nature de-
velopcd Il degree of wrigging frskiness of
" bipb fhn plj dan LII
ashamed. lie whincd ard walked about
the door-yard for few moments, then gave
his mistress a long, steady look, and seem
ing satisfied with what he read in her face.
jumped over the fence and started down the
road into the valley at a full run.
The woman knew that three or four hours
must yet elapsc before John and Jupiter
would come along the path together, tried
by their long tramp up the mountain-sidc
She thought and waited as lonely mothers
think and wait for absent sons.
At about four o'clock, a young, dark-cycd
nan and the dog came up the road and to
the house. "lIeigho, mother, all wcll?"
was the mans only greeting. The woman's
greeting was only, "Iow do you do, ,Iohn?"
There was no show of sentiment, not even
a handshake but bright look in the mans
face, and trcmor in the voice of the wo-
man, conveyed the impression that these
plain people felt great deal more than
they expressed.
Two hours passed away, and after supper
the neighbors who had seen John and the
dog come up the road dropped in to have
talk with ''the captain" rs John was call
ed by his friends.
Soon the inquiry was made, "Whcrc did
you leave your cousin William"
II ohm bat falnn h;c
lived upon the lake. shore, with him upon
this last trip, and hence the question.
But John did not answer the question di-
rectly. He seemed troubled and unhappy
about it. He finally acknowledged that
he and William had not agreed, and that
high words and blows had passed between
them, and added that his cousin had finally
left the boat and had gone away in huff,
he knew not where, but somewhere into
the pinerics of Canada. lie declared, get
ting warm in his recollection of the quar-
rel that he didn't care darn" where VIII
went. any way.
month passed away; it was August.
Cousin Will did not return. Bat certain
strange stories came up the lake from Can
ada, and reached the dwellcrs along the
Adirondack wilderness road No cousin
William had been seen in the pinerics; hut
Just across the Canada line, at the mouth
IF Fish river, where the sloops were moor
cd to receive their landing of lumber. a
bruised, swollen fostering corpse had risen
and tioated in the glare OF hot August
day, Tho bOatmen rescued il upon the
shore. They described it as the body of
hale, vigorous young man, agreeing in the
height, size and appearance with cousin
William.
tlaarn Nua linn s,.ll 4
captain of sloop which had been noored
at the mouth of Fish river, near by johns
sloop on the fatal voyage from which con-
Nin William had not returned
The captain said that on the iih Of July
he had heard quarrcling upon Johns sloop
\ the afternoon, and had noticed that only
two men were there. At nght-fall there
Was a little hull; but soon after dark, the
noise brOSc out again lie could not see
through the gloom. but he heard high and
angry words, AMI n length blows, and then
It dull. crushing thud, followed hy Il plunge
into the water. aud then there was entire
silence. He listened for an hour, in the
stiffness Of the summer night, but heard
no further sound from the boat. In the
early gray of the next morning, the can
tain, looking across the intervening space
of Johns sloop, which he described as
haruiy stones throw from his own, saw
hat lying upon the deck, and using his
glass, was confident that he saw "spatters
Of blood" He thought it none Of his bust
ness, and taking advantage of light
breeze, sailed away and said nothing But
when the floating corpse was found, he felt
sure there had been murder, and as he
expressed it, felt bound to tell his story like
an honest man, and so told it,
Putting these things together, it soon grew
to be the current opinion upon the lake that
Captain John had murdered his cousin
William. The dwellcrs upon the Wilder
ness road also came by slow degrees, and
unwillingy, to the same conclusion. 1t
was felt and said that John ought to be ar
rested.
Accordingly, on a droary day in Novam-
Der, two officers, from the country town
twenty miles away down the lake shore,
came and climbed the steep road to tho
lonely log house, and arrested John. 1t
was undoubtedly heavy blow to those two
lonely people living isolated in the wilder
ness. Perhaps there ought to have been
some crying and scene, but there was
no such thing. The officers testified that
neither John nor his mother made any fuss
about it. There was slight twitching of
tho muscles Of her face, as she talked with
the officers, but no other outward gi0n