The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1876-02-12

che is lying asleep yorder, behind the
stove"
Then the drunken old fellow went
back TO his lounge, and minute later
he was sound asleep again. The men
stepped up to Capon. He was drunk
also. His coat and shirt were covered
with blood. They exchanged signifl-
cant glances, and aroused him, not
without considerable difficulty.
"What do you want ?" he asked
yawning
"The sheriff wants you, Jack"
1.-The sheriff What for7 / hain't
done nothing"
"You are suspected of having MUIR
dered Mr.. Sammis, of Pittsburg."
"Go away murdered Mr.. Sam
mis- ? You must be loony."
'LoOk at yourself"
Capon looked at his clothes. The
sight of the bloody stains caused him
to sober up at once.
"lIow did / get these stains on nv
coat and shirt ?" he stammered out at
last.
"Dcn't you know anything about
them ?" they asked.
"No-nol You say murder was
committed %
"COme-come, Jack CapOn," they
replied, "you cant fool anybody by
pleading ignorance. What did you do
with your cap ?"
He looked about the room.
''Some one must have taken it away
he said at last.
"You left it near the corpse of the
murdered man "
"Was 1t found there Great Cod
great God /"
He buried his face in his hands and
began to cry.
He then followed the men who also
touk old Sim Brooks along, willingly,
to the Ohio Tavern, where the coroner
had mean while arrived The sheriff
appeared soon afterward with some
men who were carrying the glory,
frozen corpse of the victim. Jack Ca
pom was conducted to the corpse. As
he caught sight of it he recoiled in hor-
rOr.
It's Mr.. Sammis," he gasped out.
" Poor Sammis, who has murdered
him %
You were the last seen In his COM
pan ," said the sheriff." your cap was
found near the corpse your clothes are
blood-stained who but you can be the
murderer p"
" am innocent !" cried Capon, des-
derately. " got tight at Brooks. |
don't know how got this blood on my
clothes, nor how my cap got near the
corpse. have even forgotten that l
was with this poor gentleman"
The coroner impaDeed a jury, and
in the first place, took them to the
spot in the woods where the murder
had been committed. Jack Capon, who
had been, meanwhile, heavily ironed,
was also conveyed thither. The foot
prints near the point where the corpse
of the murdered man had lain, was not
very distinct, but they seemed to cor.
respond exactly with the soles of Ca
pon's shoes.
Returning to the Ohio Tavern, the
coroner swore Sim Brooks, who by this
time had become perfectly sober, and
who stated that last night, about half
past ten O'Clock, Jack Capon had come
to his cabin and asked him if he had
any whiskey. He had given him half.
a'dozen drinks, whereupon Capon had
wanted still more. but he had no more.
Capon had then shown him a ten dol
lar gold piece, and had asked him If he
knew where any whiskey could be
bought. He had answered If he would
go to Mike Perry's he might get some.
There CapOn had gone, and returned
with whiskey, but without his car, and
with his shirt and the front part of his
coat all bloody"
Brooks added that he had asked Ca.
pom how he got the blood on him. Ca
pom was so drunk that he could not give
avery Ineligible account of what had
happened to him, but he had said some-
thing about having had fall and hurt
himself.
Upon hearing this evidence the priso.
ner exclaimed
Yes-yes, that's true-I do remem-
Der it nov. l made o short cut through
the woods to Mike Perry's house, where
l got the whiskey, and returned by
pretty much the same route, when |
stumbled over something, and fell"
The jury rendered verdict against
him, and he was committed for trial.
His pockets were then examined, and
the ten dollar gold piece, which Sim
Brooks had mentioned, was found.
CapOn said that Sammis, who had
taken an interest in him, had given it
to him. This was considered a very
flimsy falsehood, and everybody was
convinced that Jack Capon was guilty.
A messenger, with the news of Sam
mis- murder was dispatched to Pitts
burg, where it created profound sensa-
tlon. 1t turned out that the murdered
man had had nearly twenty thousand
dollars in large bank bills on his per-
son. Sammis' brother Mark, a whole
sale grocer, and very energetic man,
accompanied the messenger back to
Steubenville, and engaged special coun-
sci to assist in the prosecution OF Capon.
The latter was tried and convicted, but
the Jury having to fix his punishment,
he was not sentenced to death, but to
Imprisonment at hard labor for life.
The prisoner was overwhelmed with
grief because OF his conviction. He
never tired of protesting his inuOeense,
and his eyes were constantly red aud
swollen from weeping. lie was taken