The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1881-01-06
Stranger than n Dime Novel.

MURDER REVEALED BY AN OLD LETTER AFTER
TWO YEARS C0NCEALMENT.
from the st. Louis Republican, December 3lst
The Vandalia train which arrived at the
Union deC0t Yesterday morning mad on
board Sheriff Heber, OF Greene county,
Missouri, and young man named James
Hickman. The latter was prisoner in the
hands OF the sheriff. Tue two were bound
for Ash Grove. Missouri, station on the 81.
Louis and San Francisco road, moi. far from
Spring field. The outward. bound Train did
moi leave until ten minutes to 3 l.. NJ, ana
! in the interim the sheriff took his prisoner
| to the Four Courts as the easI' s. place 10
| keen him. II was there that the sheriff was
| Intercepted by reporter. lie said thtt
Hickman was charged with purder. This
caused the reporter TO get bis 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 a
thriving young farmer. He kept company
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 mar
riaee-day arrived a child was born. She
hid her shame, living on ana not letting her
friends or hi, know Of her trouble. He
seemed true 10 her for awhile. and always
| promised to keep the VOW that he had made.
that be would marry her, but the marriage.
dav never arrived. One day he went TO
her and told her that he loved another and
intended TO marry her. This cruel COM
iession so wrought upon the giiPs feel
/ ings that she threatened To expose hin,
| if he lid so, to people of the village and TO
| his father and mother, who were aivt, and
who we're well thought Of. lie did not eX.
! IN nh no "
| engagement which be had already made,
and marry the woman he had wrOh@ed as
soon o. the banns could be duly proclaimed.
| Instead OF doing this he returned 10 his new
love. Time flew by. and the day came when
Hickman had to marry at least one OF the
\ womer. That Que was his latest love. who
bad brothers, who had an mixing OF Hick-
mans treatment of his tirs. victim and who
were determined that he should iit no
sister OF theirs. Hickman, finding him.
| self between two fires, wrote letter
| TO Kate Rice. He told her - she valued
! her life to keep the contents OF II secret,
I am TO meet him that night in an Out-Cf-
| ,he-way place. She Obeyed his request,
| leaving her home on the night Of Seplem-
4 Der ~, 1879. She was never seen alive again.
| out two days later her body was found at
the side OF a field wtb bullet through Der
brain and a pistol by her side. There were
no signs OF struggle. The pistol no one
had ever seen before. Those Vho knew Of
her troubles supposed that il was case Of
suicide, and those who did not know OF
them thought The same ibing. The body Of
the eirl was laid In grave. Hickman, IL
would appear, was so overburdened with
guilt that he resolved TO leave the scene OF
the murder. He transferred bis worldly
goods into cash as soon 3s posi-
bile and left, telling those who took
| The trouble TO ask that he was going
East to embark In mercantile enterprise.
But little was said concerning his depar-
ture and less thought Of 1t until one day
about three ,n0ntbs ago the mother OF the
! dead girl made discovery. While looking
over some OF her daughters old letters she
found the one tdat had been written TO her
| upon the very night Of the murder. The
mol concluded almost ut O0ce that that
letter was the slceoy which ied 10 her
daughters death. She consulted the au-
tb0rities and they Cefe quick about iOvesti-
eating the ease. Tie mother still held the
revolver that had keen found with her
daughters body. Sue had never found The
real owner OF it--in LET, no one hid looked
Tor the real owner. Tbe authorities lock- d,
AID, strange 10 say, found upon very short
inquiry that Hickman bad pui chased the re-
s0Iser bnt few days before the girps death.
This fact, together with hi. sudden disap-
caused further Inquiry 10 be made.
His parents professed ignorance as to his
This itself, II was thought, !
Implied gait. They were watched, and II
Has found thst they did receive letters tfom