Idaho news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1887-1891, 1889-02-16
HANGED TOO SOON.
What Circumstantial Evidence Did
for an Innocent Man.

i IernapS tne most singular case oil
the kind, said lawyer, "is one which
is recorded in the books and is pretty
old. 1t gave rise, as l understand. to
the change in the law requiring the
body of a murdered person to he found
before any one can be punished for the
crime
Two merchant sailors went to an inn
in an English seaport. To make the
story clearer, I'll call them Jack and
Tom. Jack pulled out a well-filled
wallet to satisfy the landlord that he
and his friend could pay their way.
They invited the landlord to drink
with them, and Tom produced big
jack-knife curiously handled, to cut
his tobacco. The inn was close on the
harbor. The front door opened upon
the quay, and at the side was a cover
ed way which led to the sleeping
rooms in the rear. Near by on the
quay we're stone steps going down to
the water for the accommodation of
boats.
AFTER the two men had had good
time they retired to one of the rooms
in the rear, where they were to occupy
bed together. They were both just
sober enough to know what they were
about. The next morning spots of
blood were observed upon the floor of
the covered way, from the door Of the
bedroom occupied by the sail ors to
the quay. The landlord went to rouse
up his guests, but found only one of
them there. 1t was Tom, and he was
fast asleep and required good deal of
arousing. When asked where his COM
panion was he appeared confused and
alarmed and said he didn't know.
''On the bed-clothes and floor there
were large spots of blood. The water
in the basin was bloody, and the towel
showed that bloody hands had been
wiped upon it. The jack-knife, seen the
previous evening in the possession of
Tom, was found upon the table, and was
likewise stained with blood. Under
Toms bolster at the side next the wall
a wallet was found filed with money,
and was identified as that which Jack
had exhibited the night before Every
thing so far pointed to a murder, and
to Tom as the perpetrator, the authorit-
les were notified and Tom was arrested.
He told very remarkable story.
He said that when he and Jack were
about to get into bed Jack suggested
the idea of robbers, remarking that it
wouldn't take very clever fellow to
get in at the window, and, as they were
likely to sleep soundly after their ca
rouse, it would be easy for thief. if
he got into the room, to rob them. Tom
had already got into bed, and was lying
next the wall, so he suggested that all
their money should be put un-
der his pillow. 1t would be compare
lively easy task, he said, for thief to
draw the wallet from Jacks pillow, but
it would be much more likely to rouse
one or the other of them if thief at
tempted to reach over and take the
money if it were under Toms pillow.
This suggestion was adopted, and the
wallet belonging to Jack was placed
under Tons pillow. Soon after they got
into bed Jack complained that his nose
had began to bleed, and rose. He
poured some water into the bowl and
tried to stop the bleeding. Then Tom
rose and assisted. Finally Tom said
that he had heard that cold metal plac-
ed at the back Of the neck would stop
bleeding at once, and thereupon he got
his big iack-linife, opened it and placed
it against Jacks neck. 1t was dark, and
they were both little muddled with
drink, so that their movements were
not particularly careful, and thus the
blood got upon the floor, the table and
the knife. Finding that the bleeding
would not stop, Jack grew somewhat
alarmed, and this probably sobered him,
for he said that he would put on his
clothes and walk down to the quay, as
the exercise and fresh air might stop
the flow of blood. Tom said that he lay
down, and the last that he remembered
was Jack leaving the room to carry
out his purpose.
This story was considered a very
clever concoction, as it fairly accounted
fo- every thing but the absolute disap-
pearance Of Jack. Toms theory was
that he had fallen into the water and
been drowned, and that his body had
been carried out by the tide. The the
DRY of the authorities was that Tom had
murdered Jack for his money and car
ried his body to the water and thrown
it in. The fact that Tom had not at
tempted to escape or in any way to
cover up the crime did not give the Of
ficials much concern. He might, they
said, have felt confident that his story
would be believed. or he might, after
the deed, have been overcome with
the liquor he had taken and laid down,
or that he might have imagined that he
would have opportunity enough to get
cleer before any alarm was raised In