The Portland daily press., 1883-12-01
Great Crimes.
A Fiendish Revenge and Its EssuHleieut
Penalty Am Incident of she Early Days
of Maine

A Fiendish Revenge and Hts EnsuHleieut
Penalty AN Incident of the Early Days
of Maine.
To the Editor Of fhe Press:
At the close of your article on great crimes"
in the Press Of Wednesday you say Human
nature is not greatly changed from what 1t mas
beeu always, and weak men left to themselves
are not able to hold their savage instincts in
subjectioD."
In proof of the truth of your remark will
Darrate the circumstances of great crime
committed in what was then our own county.
Although it is more than two centuries ago
the act has not been excelled in wieke6nesl or
brutal cruelty since. The people of New Eng
laud at tsat time dealt out punishment for
some crimes with an unstin'ing hand, but the
law officers were certainly lenient in this case.
In 1877 or 1878 there lived at the village OF
York two families. At the head of one was
James Adams. He was q mau of bad temper
and of malicious and reyengeful spifit. and
was notorious as great ar. Adams had
neighbor, Henry Simpson, OF whom the rec
ord is silent as to his treatment of Adams, but
the latter held a bitter erudge against his
neghbor Simpson. He may have CONF tlained
to the court, and had Adams punished, as he
frequently was, for his misdemeaDors But
for some cause Adams had long cherished BIZ
ter enmity against Simpson, and determined to
be reveDged. The last affront made him des-
petate, aud he sought out Simpsons moss vul-
nerable tenderness He had two boys, of seven
and niue years, whom he loved as the apple OF
his a1a data ooG To- 5 III
children the medium through which to crafty
his malice
He went into the woods three miles from the
village, out in tue town Of York. where there
Is steep and smooth ledge, and beilt prison
pen Of heavy logs, the walls OF which inclined
inwards toward the top on the three sides, and
the rock made the fourth so that it was impos-
sible that prisoner in this enclosure could
climb to the top. He also set the lower ends
as deep in the ground as his imDatience would
admit. This cage he had been weeks 10 plan
ming and building-not TO traD or secure wild
beasts, but to starve the i'm cent children OF
bis neighbor where no one would think of look
ing I or them. The next step In his cruel pro-
jest was to entice the innocent victims TO the
depths Of the dark forest, where he could size
and cage them How long he hal them in
training and how many short excursions he
uAu lbu tueiu OH, bfaQlIlou QO6S NOT reveal.
At last be told them he was goiog to Ice
where birds we're plenlv aud tame, and could
be aken on their nests. These representations
overcame the fears of the children, il they had
any, and they consented to go without the
leave OF their fond father. How long the
journey OF three miles through deuse wilder
ness occupied we have no means of knowing;
bit this We know, that they finally rss ched
ths dreary pen, and were let down from above
snppos ng that they were TO find the promised
birds nests at the bottom of the rocs; but iu
stead tbes found themselves in secure and
solitary prison, far away from human habita-
tion, or the possibility of bringing relief by
their cries-veriiy 'tbabes In the wood, in
such dark solitude that no birds would cover
them with leaves in their exhausted sleep. 1t
was probably near night when thes we're left
to starve by their worse than murderer. How
long they cried for help before their sxhaus-
tion from the journey snt their efforts TO
soften the heart of their savage persecuto.,
brought slumber, Can never no known. Acams
hasened lone, wearing the countenance nf
innocen Q, IS though he had been about his
ordi ary eWpioyments.
Mr.. Simpson aud his family became alarmed.
The two little boys were missing 1t Dgi.tfsll,
and DO ons had seen them since noon. DR..
Dwight III his travels through York in 1877,
mentions the circumsta nee as occurring duriD <
Philips war, but the court record shows that
il was after the peace which followed Philips
death. Ii 1t had been one year earlier their
absence would have been laid to Indians.
when il fact il was caused by worse savage
Than any who fought with Philip. The village
was aroused, but all search was fruitless, and
the devil incarnste who was in the searching
party, began to hope that his work had been
Enccessful.
The day after the imprisonment of the chill
dren, brought violent southeast Storm but il
cid not dampen the ardor of the people OF
York in their search. Within day or two
the boys we're found, almost perIshed, crawl
ing towards the sea, the sound Of whose
II ,ubled waters had been their guide tow ards
their home, TO which tney were carried in tri-
Nmph; and there was such q rejoicing as the
little town had never seen.
The boys narrative was this: They had
tried all ways TO climb the logs OF the enelos-
ure and the face of the rock, and always fell
back discouraged, even after one had been u
support to the other 1t is said that "hunger
will eat through stone wal" and 1t was hun
ger that forced them TO try to dig under the
peets. When they attempted this they founi
the ground filed with network of roots, and
they had NO means to cut them. After many
hours OF labor, which wore their little fingers
ta the bone, they succeeded in forcing their
way By a crooked passage out of their lonesome
prison
Adams was arrested; and il his crime had
been committed in these days, even ID the
sta,d old town of York, he would have met his
punishment before he reached the prison; the
opponents Of capital paDishme nj wo I'D vote TO
"snspend the rules in consideration of the
provocaton.
But no such punishment was meted ont to
him. This is the record of the sentence as
pronounced by the court.
'James Adams: The court have considered
your iuhuman and barbarous ofsnse sgai Bst
the life OF the children before the court, aud
gtea dis nrbsnce of the country, aud do sel :
teDee you to have thirty striDes, well Land over
to pay the father OF the children, Henry Simp-
son, five pounds iu money; TO the treasurer OF
the county ten pounds, aud to remain close
prisoner dufing the courts pleasure"
The thirty stripes We're laid on by the execu-
tioner.
The lonely spot where the children we're inn
prisened, has for two centuries, and does 10
this day, bear the name of "rhe devils inveh-
tion - w. G.
WINDHAM, Nov. %.