Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1875-06-23

W AAC ocANfs
"Mr. Steele, you are an old and
experienced blacksmith, are you
not 2"
"Yes, sir" Steel answered, with
a preceptable tremor of voice.
did you ever work at your
trade in Holderness ?"
"Yes, sir, when l was a young
man."
"Anything peculiar in the man
ufacture of horseshoe nails in that
district, Mr.. Steele 7"
81 think there is, SIR"
spray tell us what that peculiar
ity is, Mr.. Steele"
"The head is divided like, in the
middle"
Anything like the head of that
nail used as a wedge in the handle
of that hammer, Mr.. Steele 7" the
counsel asked, handing to the wit
ness the weapon found near the
body of the murdered peddler.
The witness hand shook like a
leaf as he reached out for the ham,
mer, his cheeks grew deadly pale,
his lips became parched, and
though he held the hammer in his
hand, his startling eyes were fixed
on his questioner.
Anything like that nail y Mr..
O'Brien repeated, calmly looking
at the witness.
"Yes, SIR Steele replied at
length, with difficulty.
"Should You say that nail had
been made in Holderness, Mr..
Steele 2"
at looks like it, sir" was Steele's
reply.
"Mr. Steele" the counsel said,
moving almost close up to him, and
standing so that judge and jury
could see both witness and inter-
rogater distinctly, "did you ever
see that hammer before you saw
it in this court Z"
The witness gave a gasp, and
then recovering himself, said:
"Yes, sir; l saw it in the hands
of the coroner"
At this juncture there was dis
turbance in the court, and the
officers were seen striving to pre-
vent a young man from quitting
the room.
The young man was Richard
Steele, the blaclzsmith's son.
"Let me go! !" he said, "that's the
damned old rascal that did it. He
knows that hammers his well
enough. He knows that he planned
the whole thing and led me into it.
II turn Kings evidence; III blab
the whole story. Let me 60, and
I'll hang the old villain, though he
IS my father"
The scene that followed cannot
be described. Suffice it to say that
a noHe prosequi was entered, and
Scott was transferred into an i'm
portant witness, Steele and his son
being duly indicted and tried for
the murder of the peddler. Scott
swore to the blacksmith's having
taken the nail from the old horse
shoe, remarked that it had been
made in Holderness, and driven it
into the hammer head as a wedge.
The hammer was furthermore iden-
tilted as having belonged to Steele,
and testimony was given which
showed that the blacksmith and
his son were absent from home the
night of the murder, a marketman
swearing that he passed them near
Doncastcr, going in the direction
of Vickhill, at 3 o'clock on the
morning of the 2lst of June. But
the evidence that settled their fate
was furnished by SCOTS valise,
which they had taken instead of
that of the peddler. 1t was dis
covered in the ash heap at the back
of the smithy. Steele and his son
were convicted and sentenced to
be hanged, and both made full
confession to the following effect:
Steel, ST., resolved on the rob-
berry and the murder, if needs were
of the peddler, Immediately after
he discovered that the man was
possessed of a large sum Of money.
After the peddler and his compan-
ion had Quilted the smithy, Steele
closed it, and communicated to his
son his design respecting the ped
der. The son who was a profit
gate man. assented to the scheme.