The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-11-30

tsbu 9pUlnuhutffsifpAGUfc buISt ySHfB, aUG
never g breath sof suspicion catered our
bfain;; nor bad shis y Ire and cisifareh any
noWledge of ibis po Rer OF speech Or the
sense Of shearing. Imagine our surprise for
BIN TO come into cur sanctufn nnd conYerse
easily. he assured us. he had never spoken
but twice In seven years. mot even when
alone-and those two. times By nccident.
which caae near exposing him. We trust
be may live yet TO be q credit aud an honor
to bis home and county. He has aIwsys
been liked and respected By those who,
knew him. e. IS, - IS =; Z IS 4ss5 # e
Confession OF Al. Morgan alins James
Al. Headrtck. i.::
BE HAs BEEN PROPOSING TO BE a MITE FOR
SEVEN YEARs-4sAH SPEAK AND HEAR AS GOOD
- ks Any ONE. -
Pulaski COUNTY. VA, November 20, 1876.
Mr. @. a. Heern1ans, II desire through the
columns Of your paper to make confession
of great wrong i have perpetrased on the
people for the past seven years, and flor o
warning to the rising generation, and for my
future happiness. in the world 10 come, and
to warn every body from dram:drinking and
bad company, for ifs that which has brought
me to my present degraded position. l.
doubt If 1t can bring another lower than It
has me, but 1t is sureto bring those who use
liquor 20 some bad end. .s1tiFfVf Il.
For seven long years maze never spoken
but twice, and when j look back i wonder
how I have passed these years in silence !;
but it Is true. have tried to do right all
this time shave wronged mo man save Ia one
respect i have failed to meet my obiiga.l
tions--I have often failed to meet my debts.
That is the only way have Wronged any
one. Ny failure toSheet my obligations was
never Intentional, but would venture into
things too deep for me, and build my plans
on imagination, and when payday came ].
would be no better prepared than at first. I
don't wonder now, when look back and see.
how was carrying on, was harming MYSELF
more than others. ~ ~ Tf8-I ~ Ia ~ Z.
Now I will give you. the outlines Of my
life. The space in your paper would not
permit me to tell the hundredth part would
like to tell. go -
I was fatheress boy. My grandmother,
Hannah Thornburg, Of Forsythe county, n.
c., cared for me until was ten or eleven
years old. She procured for me home with
Thomas Rich, Of the same county, twelve
miles east of Salem. He raised one of my
older brothers. He gave me all the attention
"a parent could have done, and l lived with
him till was twenty years old. went to
John FL. Hester, at Kearnsville, to work for
him and 60 to school. While with him, some
eight or ten months, the evilspirit of dram
drinking seized me, and it grew to such pro-
portions that T would give anything In the
world for glass of whiskey. MIR. Rich gave
me horse, and I not only spent that for
liquor, but all else could get, and then when
ali was gone but credit I used that. had
tried to keep my drinking hid from the world,
but payday came, and the world saw; and,
oh, to my sorrow, saw myself ruined
| young man, and fled. 1 came to Wythe
county, Va, and worked on the Atlantic,
Mississippi and Ohio road where Crocket's
der0t now stands with Mr.. Mercer; after
| wards worked on the farm Of Alfred CO.
penhaven. There was man by the name of
William Crigger, who had saved ninety dol
lars, who proposed to 60 into business with
me. We agreed to trade in bale.cotton, do.
mestics, etc., from factories in North Caro-
lima. Mr. Crigger gave me bis money, pHr-
chased q horse and wagon, and started. But
| TO nv sorrow I took with me young man
who loved 8hiskey as well as myself. The
result is soon told. The money was spent
! for LIQUOR and the evils that attend it. We
had spent all Mr.. Crigger's money and my
own also. I came back to Mr.. CopenhaYen's,
but what to do did not know. I finally
made up my mind, like the prodigal SOD, to
/ go back to Mr.. Rich and ask bis forgiveness,
and started with that intention. Oh, how
| weak is human nature When within a few
miles Of his house my heart failed me, and
turned back to the world. Twas here that
the evil spirit suggested to me to play the
deaf-mute to obtain something to eat and
lodging. Thus roamed to Columbus, S. G. f.;
thence to Wilmington, N. c.; thence TO
NeWbern, n. c.. thence to Petersburg, Va;
thence to Lynchburg; thence to Christians
burg. Mr.. Gardner gave me letter to j.
A. Rawlins, at Dublin, with whom worked
about nine months. a1it him and went to
| carrying on the painting business on my own
hook. did very good business, but that
old desire for Whiskey was still with me, and
I drank and treated away all made.
went to Mr.. 4. P. Gilham's to paint his
house, and was married. moved to Gray
sonto wp, lived there two years, moved from
there to Central depo., and from. there to
New River bridge, where am still living.
These are the outlines; but, as / said before,
the one hundredth part is not told, but hope
in the future to tell it all. know have
violated the law in some instances, but hope
| for pardon-not for nay own sake, but for
the sake fmy wife and dear little ones, now
dependent upon me for support. Bad man
as I have been, I have had respect for my
| family, and have supported them as we'll as
any poor man could. will state that, God
permitting, I expect 10 pay every man for
all 7 have Wronged him, especially Mr.. Orig.
ger; he comes FIRST. ] might fill pages with
nv experience but i will not tire you with
their recital. iL3il s@i.>t -
Trusting God may be with me to help and
strengthen ME in doing that which in mea'
sure will recompense for my past misdeeds,
and spare me to my dear. ones at home, -
am bumbly yours, A. j. MORGAN,
of Forsythe county, N. c., now known as
James a. Headrick. AZ tIISi
AN UNNATURAL MURDER.-Bufalo, No
yember 26.-A woman, aged forty, named
Wihelmina Weik, was arrested this after
noon charged with numbering herstep-son
/ aged fourteen years, who has been missing
| since the 2d.instant. The body was found
in an old well on the premises in nude
state, except q shirt, with chains and other
weights attached to bis neck. Property be-
longing to the murdered boy and reYertine
to her own child in case OF his death is the
supposed cause. eco ~" -. -.
MURDER By TRAMP. Springfield, Mass.
Novem Der 2S.-Moses Dickinson, aged sixty
four, a farmer of Amherst, was found muir.
dered In bis house Saturday night, his head
being smashed in with an axe. The muir.
derer was doubtless o tramp, whom he hired
two weeks before, and the murderwas done
for money. 80 .A... ~
EXTENSIVE FIRE AT BEARDsTowN, ILL.,
Chicago, November 27.-A fire at Boards