Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1886-04-24

dav night who was the prophet that had
foretold II, in all Its circumstances. on Tues
day morning? If Mr. Higgiubotbam's |
corpse was not yet discovered by his own |
family, how came the mulstto, at about |
thirty miles distance, to know that he was |
hanging in the orchard, especially IS he had |
left kimballton before the unfortunate mau |
was hanged at all ? These ambiguous cir
cumstances, with the strangers surprise ana |
terror, made Dominicus think ot raising a |
hue and cry after him, rs an accompice ia |
the murder since a murder, 1t seemed, had |
really been perpetrated. |
"But let the poor devil go" thought the |
peddler. " l don't want his black blood on |
my head and hanging the niger wouldn't |
unhang Mr. Higginboham. unhang tho |
old gentleman It's a sin, Know (; bnt J
should hate to have him come to life second
time and give me the lie "
With these meditations, Dominicus Pike
drove into the street of Parker's Fails, which,
as everybody knows, is as thriving village
as three cotton factories and n Sitting lniu
eau make ii. The machinery was not in mo.
ton and but a few of the shop-dCors un-
barred when he alighted in the eyard
of the tavern, and made 1t his first business
to order the mare four quarts oi oats. His
second duty, of course, was to impart Mr..
Higginbothams catastrophe 10 Ihe oster.
He deemed it advisable however, not To he
too positive "a to the date ot the direlul fact,
and also TO he uncertain whether 1t was per
petrated by an Irishmau and mulatta nr
10y the sou of Erin alone. Neither did he
profess to relate il on his own authority, or
that OF any one person hut mentioned IL as
report generally dilused.
The story ran through the town like tire
among girded trees and became 80 much
| the universal talk that nobody could tell
| whence IL had originated. Mr.. Higginbuth-
| am was AS well known at Parkcts Falls as
| any citizen of the place, being part owner oil
the Sitting mill and a considerable stock
holder in the cotton factories. The inhabit-
ants felt their own prosperity interested in
| his fate. Such was the excitement that the
Parker's Falls Gd1Cttc anticipated its regular
| day of publication, and came out with half n
| form OF blank paper and a column of double
plea emphasized with capitals, and beaded
HORRID MURDER OF MR. HiGGlN
BOTHAM , Among other dreadful details
| the printed account described the mark ot
| the cord round the dead mans neck, and
| stated the number OF thousand dollars of
| which he had been robbed there was much
| pathos also about the aifiictiun of his niece,
| who had gone from one taintlng mt to an
| other ever since her uncle was found hang.
| ing on the st. MiChael's pear tree with his
| pockets inside out The village poet like
| wise Commemorated the young lady's grief
| in seventeen stauzaS OF a ballad. The select
| men held a meeting, aud, in consideration q
| MIR. Higginbotham's claims on the town, de
| termiued to issue hsudbills, offering a re
ward of five hundred dollars Tor the appre
hension of his murderers and the recovery
| OF the stolen property.
l
Meanwhile the whole population of Par
| ker's Falls, consisting of shOpkeeperS, mis-
| tresses of boarding-houses, iactory-girls
| mill-men aud sChool-bOys rushed into the
| street and kept up such a terrible luquacity
| as more than compensated for the silence OF
| the cotton machines, which reirained from
| their usual din, out of respect to the deceased
| Had Mr.. HigginbOtham cared about pOsthu
nous renOwn, his uutimely ghost would
| have exulted in this tumulL oar friend Do
I Ia lf IA
intended precautions, aud mounting on tbs
town pump, announced himself as tn,
bearer OF the authentic intelligence whicl
| had caused so wonderful sensation. II
| Immediately became the great man OF tn
moment, and had just begun new edItio,
of the narrative, with voice like tiel,
preacher, when the mail-stage drove into tn
village street 1t had travelled ali night au,
must have shifted horses at kimUalltou d
three in the morning.
I" Now we shall hear all the particulars,
; shouted the crowd.
! The coach rumbled up to the piazza OF th
tavern, followed by thousand people fC
! | if any man had been miuding his own bus
, | ness till then he now left il at skies an
seVens To hear the news, The peddler, for,
: most in the race, discovered two passenger
| both of whom had been startled from d con
1 Portable nap to find themselves IN the cent?
of mob. Every man assailing them wit
. separate questions, all propounded at one
the couple were struck speechless, thong
Z one was a lawyer and the other a your
9 lady.
" :" Mr.. Higginbothsm Mr.. Higginbothau
. Tell us the particulars about old Nit Higgi
< botham ~ bawled the mob. Z" What Is Il
!, coroner's verdict Are the muTdsreTs a.
pretended Is Mr.. HiggInbOthatt' nieC
e come out OF her fainting fits ? Mr.. Higgil
o botham Mr.. Higgin botham ! ~
The Coachman said not 4 word, except
swear awfully at the ostler for not Driugin
him fresh team of horses The lawyer il
side had generally his wits about him, eve
when asleep the first thing he did, afte
learning the cause of the excitement was I
produce large red pocket-buOk. Meantim
DominiCus Pike, being an extremely pOlit
young man, and also suspe"tiug that femal
tongue would tell the story a. gliblyaSa law
| yers, had handed the lady out OF the coach
| She was fine, smart glrl, now wide awak
and bright as button, and had such a swee
. | pretty mouth that DomiuICus would almus
as lief have heard loye-tale from it rs tai
| of murder.
:" Gentlemen aud ladies'" SAID the lawve
| TO the shop-keepers, the miil-meu aud tn
factory girls, " | can assure you that SON
unaccounta6le mistake or, more probably,
| wiliul falsehOod, malICiOu,ly cOntriVed to in
| Jure Mr.. HiggnbOtham'- credit, has excite
| tins singular uproar We passed thrOug
klmbaltton at three o'clock this morniu
aud most certainly should have been III
formed of the murder had any been perpe
| tIated. But have proof nearly as strong a
MIR. Hlgginbutham's own Oriu testimony fl
the negative. Here is "A note, relating to
suit OF his in the Connecticut courts, whici
| was delivered me from the gentleman him
sell, hnd 1t dated at ten o'clock last even
| ing"
| So saying the lawyer exhibited the dat,
and signature OF the note, which irreiragably
proved, either that this pCryerse Mr.. HIggln
botham was alive when he wrote 1t, ora,
some deemed the more probable case Of two
| doubtful uneS-that he was SO absorbed IN
| worldly business as Ia continue to transact
It, even after his death. But unexpected eyi
dence was forthcoming. The young lady
alter listening 10 the peddlcr's explanation
hnotely selEed moment 10 smooth her gown
anu put her curls i'll order, aud then appeared
AZ the taNern-dOor, making modest signal
to be heard
"Good people" said she, " a,n Mr.. Hig
| Slnbotham's niece
| wondering murmur passed through tho
crowd on beholding her So rosy aud bright
| lho same unhappy niece whom they had
| supposed, on the authority OF the Parker's
| Falls Gdzettc, to be lying at deaths door in
| iainting fit But some shrewd fellows had
doubted all along whether a Young lad 3
| would be quite so desperate at the hanging
| Ola rich Old uncle
| you see, continued Miss HigginbOtham
with smile, /" that this strange story Is
quite uniounded, as to myself ; aud be.
lleNe may Affirm II to toe equally So in re-
| gard to nay dear Uncle llggiubutham, lie
mas The Kindness to give me a home in his
house, though ! contribute to nv own sun.
port by teaching school. l left KnuUalIiGu
thlS morning to spend the vacation OF conf
lhencemeut week with a friend about five
miles from Parker's Falls. Nv generous
uncle, when no heard me on the stairs
.A.N