Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-03-12


but who was the woman who stood
by the side of the coffin, when the corpse
suddenly arose and started her into sud-
den flight? .,
The next day the lamp was found eX-
tinguished on the floor of the vault. 1t
was Unidentified as one which usually
stood in the vestry, and was used by the
sexton. It had doubtless been removed
at the same time when the key of the
vault was taken. Beyond that all was
mystery. -..
The object of the woman, however,
was easily discovered AS already stat
&c, Mrs. Bell was buried with a valua
BILE diamond ring on her finger. The
design of the woman was to steal this
! from the supposed corpse. Finding 1t
| impossible to remove it, the daring thief
had raised the hand of the dead woman
to her mouth, and in her attempt to
| withdraw the ring with her teeth caus-
ed the pang which went through the
| frame of the evident victim of a trance
and reused her to consciousness. On
the finger just below the ring, the mark
of teeth were discovered visible for sew
eral days after Mrs. Bells resuscitation.
Every effort was made to keep this
remarkable circumstance secret from
the gossip of the neighborhood; never
| theless, every exertion was used quietly
to ascertain who the robber Of the tomb
was. The general impression was that
| the garb of female was assumed as n
disguise, and that the depredator was IN
reality a man, and probably profess
sional body-snatcher. ''-'-,... '..-
1t was thought that the remarkable
circumstances attending Mrs. Bells sup
posed death had aroused the desire Of
some medical expert to possess the body
for the purpose of an autopsy; that he
had employed a person to steal It, and
that the body-snatcher, discovering the
valuable jewel, had resolved to gain
possession of it for himself.
Soon after this extraordinary occur
ance the vicar.of the parish resigned the
| living and removed his family to Eng
land. Several years passed away. and
the incidents herein recorded were al
most forgotten. Mrs. Bells father died,
and Mr.. Bell and his family quilted XII
mare and took up their residence at
Toxteth, near Liverpool. -'
! And now for the seq ael.
During the Chartist riots in 1910,
James Binns was arrested for murder
and lodged in Lancaster jail. He was
tried, convicted and sentenced to be
hanged. Before the last sentence Of the
law was executed be made confes-
sion Of many crimes, and, among the
rest of his exploits as a professional
body-snatcher, in which business he
had been engaged for many years. The
following facts are taken from his con-
fession. .e
In July, 1920, be was living in Bel
fast, having fled from England to es-
cape punishment for his offenses. He
had done several small jobs in Belfast
for doctors, and on the night Of July 90,
in the year named, a well-known phys
ician of Belfast sent for him and told
him that he had very delicate piece
of work for him to perform. A Mrs.
Bell, lady of great beauty: and the
wife of rich proprietor, had just died
of a very peculiar disease, and the doc
tor and his associates desired the body
to investigate the cause Of death. They
paid him so much money down, and
dispatched him to Kildare with such
instructions as were necessary. He was
to secure the corpse, and coach would
be ready at the churchyard gate in
which there would be two assistants who
would be ready to assist him at a given
signal.
He went to Kilmare on the day of
the funeral, at which he was present
He examined the lock on the door Of
the vault, and was satisfied that he
could easily remove it. At midnight
he went to the churchvard armed with
wrench, pair of shears, and a pick
lock. First satisfying himself that the
coach was in waiting. he entered the
churchyard and proceeded to the vault.
The night was dark and rain was fall
ing. Creeping up to the side Of the
church, he approached the tomb of the
Bell family. To his surprise he saw
that the door was open and faint light
burning inside. Stealthily drawing near
be glanced In. A second glance show
ed him that ? woman was at work
trying to remove a ring from the finger
of the dead. A sudden thought struck
him, and slouching down, he reached
in at the door with his shears, which he
had brought to rid the corpse of it's
cumbersome shroud, cut a piece from
the skirt of the woman's dress and re-
tired unobserved. AS he remained for
an instant peering into the strange
scene, to his horror and astonishment
he saw the corpse arise and raise the
hand which the woman was apparently
IN the act Of putting to her mouth. The
woman gave a shrek, rushed through
the door and fled, leaving the lamp
burning on the floor. The body-snatch.
er guessed at once the woman's design,
and, impressed with the conviction that
she was a person above the ordinary
rank, he resolved to follow and see
where she went to. He had no diff cul-
ty in tracking the rapidly retreating
figure. 1t passed out of the church
yard at a small wicket on the north
side Of the church and entered the par
sonage. Satisfied that he possessed an
important secret, out of which be
could make money, he retureed to the
nc ioot OF, h,,,. i