The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1882-05-26


companied them to the station.
There he made the following impor-
tant statement He had started, he said,
from Woodley in the morning, with five
passengers. This, of course. could be
verified by reference to the officials
there. At various places. 80 he said, he
had set down five passengers. He
had also taken up two, but did not re-
member what they were like, as he
thought nothing about them at the time;
could not say even if the two were men
or women thought they had alighted
on the way, and that the gentleman in
the coach was one of those who started
first at Woodley. When about two
miles on the other side of Winfield Hell
low he heard what seemed to him to be
a violent dispute going on inside the
coach. He stopped the horses and went
to the door. Only two passengers were
then insi6e-one young man with dark
eyes and chestnut hair, and the other he
could swear was the murdered man.
They seemed to be in high dispute but
when they saw him, and knew that their
alteration had stopped the coach, the
murdered mamie was certain he could
swear it was the murdered man-put
his head out of the window, and said
What do you want? My friend and
/ had few harsh words, and what is
that to you?"
When he heard this he remounted the
box. About five minutes later one of
the gentlemen stopped him To get out,
seeming to be much agitated, which he
supposed to be on account OF the dis
pute. He did not notice ut the time
which gentleman left, but could certain
ly swear that it was the murdered man
who had spoken to him from the win
dow, and who appeared to be the prin-
cipal in the dispute. A few minutes after
the unknown gentleman left the MUIR
dered man the accident occurred which
prevented the coachman from any very
close remembrance of particular in
cidents.
Rush, the stage coachman, appeared
to be much troubled during his exam.
nation by the police, which was very
natural, as he had good reason to know
that he would be greatly blamed, and
would probably in the end be dismissed
for carelessness. 1t is no pleasant thing
TO drive coach. and to have people
murdered in it. He was. however. much
relieved when he found that his conduct,
on account of the excitement occasioned
by the accident, was not considered to
be very culpable, and that he was only
bound over TO attend and give evidence
at the inquest, which he was very willing
to do.
Inc inquest was held in due course.
Mr.. PrItchard, the Coroner, being an
active, sensible man, nothing was left
uudone which might subserve the ends
of justice. Several people were called
rs witnesses, but only three gave evil
dence OF any consequence. The first
was the clerk at the office where the
coach started. He gave the names of
the passengers booked. but could not
identify the murdered man.
The next was the coachman, John
Rush, whose tale was much us has been
already told.
The most important point in his evil
dence was that he affirmed that the muir
dered man spoke little huskily through
his nose, and had way OF lisping out
his words so that, even in the midst of
the fight, he could hardly help laughing
at him.
All this evidence he gave in clear,
straightforward manner, such as, it was
thought, proved him beyond doubt
to have no completely in the foul deed.
The third witness was the porter who
discovered the dead body; and after
these were one or two others who We're
present at the time, including the med
ical man who examined the corpse.
Tho Coroner summed up with great
ability, and the jury, without q moments
consideration, returned o verdict of will
full murder against some person or per-
sons unknown.
The next day the body of the MUIR
dered man was buried and the police re-
newed their search, but everybody saw
that, after little popular indignation,
and a little fuss on the part of the news
papers, the tragedy of the Bellair stage
would probably become one of those
mysteries which wait for eiucidation
and punishment until the day of doom.
Strange to say, however, the perpetrator
of the crime was discovered, and con-
victed on his own evidence, and the very
means which he adopted to hide the
dreadful deed were the occasion of it
bChuS w iASio, GO oii"h INV
briefly explain,
The town OF Bellair was about forty
or fifty miles from Woodley, and the
stage ran between the two places. A
few miles from Woodley was another
small town called Oakbourne, and in
Oakbourne lived widow lady, named
Conway, and her daughter.
Mrs. Conway had brother who was
deaf and dumb. His name was Thomas
Ellwood. His affection, as might be
supposed, was source Of great trial to
his family, and had his parents been
poor it would have made his course in
life much harder THAI it really was; but
his father, old Mr.. Ellwood, had but two
children, the eldest girl-who married
while young certain Mr.. Conway-and
Thomas, of whom am about to speak.
After Jane Ellwood became Mrs. Con-
way she saw very little of her own fam
lily. for her mother was already dead, and
in less than year after her wedding day
she lost her father, and now her only
surviving relative was her brother
Thomas.
To Thomas ENwood his father left