The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1874-04-02

Adirondack Highlands strikes the edge
of the great Champlain Valley, in a littlc
clearing, is a lonely log house. On the
10th day of july, 1872. a muscular. @aun;
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 indentation made in
the shore line by '.thr bay. and beyond
the wide waters cleaning in the lervid
brightness of summer. NpechS were here
and there disccrnable in the light flashed
back from the blue, mirror-lke surface
and by long watching it could be seen that
these Specks were moving To aHd fro
The women knew that these distant
moving atoms We're boats treightin% lum-
ber through Lake Champlain She knew
that there was but one boat that would be
likely To turn aside and come into the lit
tie bay, and that this boat would he hen
son Johns sloop.
That was why She watched 50 anNionsll
a SpcrL that nearcd the bay and nj length
entered it. TO make doubly sure, she
brought to bear and old spy glass whose
principal lens was cracked entirely
through. Ii gave her a smoky view OF
the famous sloop,7the Dolly Ann. Johns
property. and then She was entirely GER
tain that her son. who had been three
weeks absent ON his voyage. was coming
home
Jupiter, the house-iog who had been
watching her seemed to know 1t too. per
tectly we'll; for a> she turned from hen
survey through the glass. his canine nature
developed Il degree of wrgglmg triski-
ness of which the grave old dog seemed
half ashamed He whinned and walked
about the door yard for Il few moments,
then gave his mistress a long, steady look
and seeming satisfied with what he read
in her face jumped over the fence and
started down the road into the valley. 1T n
tull run
The woman knew that three or toul
hours must yet elapse before John and
Jupiter would come along the path to-
gether, tired by their long tramp up the
mountain side She thought and waited
as lonely mothers think and wait for alb
sent sons
At about tour o'clock. a Young dark
eyed man and the dog came up the road
and to TIE house. ''Heigho, mother, all
well - was the mans only greeting The
woman's greeting was only, ''Ilow do YOU
do John ." There was no show of senti-
ment. not even hand-shake; but bright
look in the mans face, and Il trcmor in the
voice of the woman, conveyed the inn
preston that these plain people felt a
great deal more than they expressed
Two hours passed away, and after sup
per The neighhors who mad seen john and
the dog come up the road, dropped in to
have Il talk with 1.-The captain" as John
was called by his friends.
Soon the inquiry was made, "Whrrp
did you leave your cousin William p
John had taken his cousin William who
lived upon the lake-shorc, with him upou
this last trip, and hence the question:
But John did not answer the question
directly. He seemed troubled and I'M
happy about it He finally acknoN ledge,
that he and William had not agreed, and
that high words and blows had passed be-
tween 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 pineries of Canada. He declared,
getting warm in his recollection of the
quarrel, that he didn't care a darn. "
where viii went, any way.
A month passed away; ii was August
Cousin Win did not return But certain
strange stories came up the lake from
Canada. and reached the dwellers along
the Adirondack wilderness road. No cousin
William had been seen in the pineries
but lust across the Canada line Mt the
mouth of Fish River. where the sloops
We're moored to receive their lading OF
lumber. Il bruised. swollen, fostering
corpse had risen and tloated in the glare
of Il hot August day. The boatman res
cned it as the body of hale, vigorous
Young man, agreeing in the height, size
and appearance with cousin William.
And there was another story told 10y the
captain of sloop which had been moored
al the mouth of Fish River, near by John
sloop, on the fatal voyage from which
cousin William had not returned.
The captain said on the 4th Of .Juv he
had heard quarrelihg upon Johns sloop
all the afternoon, and had noticed that
only two men We're there. At night fail
there was little lull but soon after dark
the noise broke out again. He could not
see through the gloom. but he heard high
and angry words, and ut length blows,
and then q dull crushing thud, followed bv
a plunge into the water, and there was en-
tire 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 cap
tain, looking across the intervening space
of Johns sloop, which he described rs
hardly 4 stones throw from his own saw
a hat lying upon the deck, and using his
glass, was confident that he saw ''spatters
Of blood" He thought it none of his
business, and taking advantage of light
breeze, sailed away and said nothing. But
when the floating corpse was found, he
felt sure that 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 dwellers upon the
Wilderness road also came by slow de-
grees, and unwillingly, to the same CON
clusion. 1t was felt and said that John
ought to be arrested
Accordingly, on Il dreary day in Novem-
ber two officers, from the country town
twenty miles away down the lake shore,
came and climbed the steep road to the
lonely log house, and arrested John. II
was undoubtedly a dreadful blow to those
two lonely people living isolated in the
wilderness. 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 a slight
twitching of the strong muscles of her
face, as she talked with the officers, but
no other outward Sio,
John gave more evidence of the wound
he felt. He was white and quivering, yet
he silently, and without objection, made
ready to 60 with the officers He was soon
prepared and they started AS he went
out of the door, he turned and said, 'Good-
bye; it will be made right, mother She
simply answered, eyes, Goodbye; know
it, my SON"
The trio went on foot down the road to
the next house, where the officers had left
their team. Jupiter, standing up with
his fore paw upon the top of the fence,