Connecticut western news., 1881-01-19
STRANGER THAN A NOVEL.
Murder Revealed by an Old Lettt
 After Two Years Concealment.

After Two Years Concealment.
 The St. Louis Republican says The | vandalia train which arrived at the Union depot had on board Sheriff He- Der, of Green county, Mo-, and young man named James Hickman. The lat ter was prisoner in the hands of the Sheriff. The two were bound for Ash Grove, Mo-, 8 station on the St Louis and San Francisco road, not far from Springfield. The outward bound train did not leave until ten minutes to nine P. M., and in the interim the Sheriff took his prisoner to the Four Courts as the easiest place to keep him. It was there that the Sheriff was interrogated by reporter. He said that Hickman was charged with murder. This caused the reporter to get his pencil out and get to work. The Sheriff told the story of the crime and it is an interesting one.
 Only year ago James Hickman was thriving young farmer. He kept con- pany with girl named Kate Rice, who was one of the bellies of Ash Grove. They loved too well, as the saying is, and ere the marriage day arrived child was born. She hid her shame, living on and not letting her friends or his know of her trouble. He seemed true to her for while and always promised to keep the VOW that he had made, that he would marry her, but the marriage day never arrived. One day he went to her and told her that he loved another and intended to marry her. This cruel confession so wrought upon the girls | feelings that she threatened to expose him, if he did so, to the people of the village and to his father and mother, who were alive and who were we'll thought of. He did not expect this, promised to break off the new engagement which he had already made and marry the woman he had wronged as soon as the banns could be duly proclaimed. h. stead of doing this he returned to his new love. Time flew by and the day came when Hickman had to marry at least one of the women. That one was his latest love who had brothers who had an inkling of Hickman's treatment of his first victim and who were deter mined that he should jilt no sister of theirs.
 Hickman, finding himself between two fires, wrote letter to Kate Rice. He told her as she valued her life to keep the contents of it secret, and to meet him that night in an out of the way place. She obeyed his request, leaving her home on the night of Sep tember 19, 1879. She was never seen alive again, but two days later her body was found at the side of field with a bullet through her brain, and a pistol by her side. There were no signs of 8 struggle. The pistol no one had ever seen before. Those who knew of her troubles supposed that it was case of suicide, and those who did not know of them thought the same. The body of the girl was laid in grave. Hickman it would appear, was so overburdened with guilt that he resolved to leave the scene of the murder. He transferred his worldly goods into cash as soon as possible and left, telling those who took the trouble to ask that he was going East to embark in 8 mercantile enter prise But little was said concerning his departure and less thought of it un- til one day about three months ago the mother of the dead girl made 8 dlscov- cry. While looking over some of her daughters old letters she found the one that had been written to her upon the very night of the murder. The mother concluded almost st once that that let ter was the decoy which led to her daughters death. She consulted the authorities and they were quick about Investigating the case. The mother still held the revolver that had been found with her daughters body. She had never found the real owner of it. ill fact, no one had looked for the real owner. The authorities looked, and, strange to say, found upon very short inquiry that Hickman had purchased
 the revolver but few days before the
 girls death. This fact, together with
 his sudden disappearance, caused
 further inquiry to be made. His parents
 professed ignorance as to his where. } abouts. This itself, it was thought, i'm piled guilt. They were watched, and it was found that they did receive letters from him. These were postmarked l Paris, Ill. The deputy sheriff was sent on to hunt up the supposed murderer l He found him farming upon a piece o } ground not far from Paris. The result 7 was his arrest and transfer to the scene of his crime. Since the authorities com } menced Investigating the murder they l have found overwhelming evidence o: Hickman's guilt.