Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-09-18
All this seemed straight and reasonable,

at ZiU BARK street ana ASKED TO see Mdttle
Davis, but when told that she was out and
would return within ten minutes he would
not wait Why? That was his object in
going to Providence. as he admitted. and
I he had plenty Of time. He did go up
stairs with John Carew. but ten minutes
after enterirg his room be came out again,
A chanibermaid saw him. She saw that
he wore different hat, or, rather, had ex
changed his hat for cap. When he went
down stairs he went out by the ladies
door. In every corridor of every large
| hotel the help are sentinels. 1t is a part
of their duties to watch the guests. This
woman suspected and watched young
Brush. When the night watch came on,
he was told to look out and see at what
! hour the young man returned.
| A train left Providence at midnight
| hunted up the conductor who had the run
| that night. and he remembered taking up
and sat in the smoker. The passenger
deeply interested, although the light was
very poor it was a strange hour to be read
/ ing the news Of the day. He was sure this
passenger got off at the town where tie
murder was committed A train left here
/
! the morning | found the conductor Of
that. and he remembered taking a cash
fare of a young man wearing a cap, who
had got on a. that place; remembered it
more distinctly because the Young man
was curled up in his seat as if asleep, or
as if anxious to beat his way. | returned
to Providence and interviewed the night
watch at the hotel, and he said the young
man assigned to room No. 81 came softly
in at about $3.50 and staggered along as If
drunk. He figured lit out that the young
mar had come into town for lark, and
had had it.
1t took me ten days to study this all out,
and meantime the murdered woman had
been buried, the coroner's jury had re
turned verdict, and public opinion lad
settled down to the conviction that the
crime was the work of a tramp, who had
got safely away. | must be sure of my
case before moving against young Brush.
as | would stand entirely alone. When
had the evidence as above given, | began
to hunt for the back door key. la a search
of half an hour found it in the garden,
where it had been thrown after locking
the door 1t had fallen il the snow, but
the snow had melted. Then | got the
chambermaid and night watch down for
a quiet look at James, and both identified
him As the train from Providence en-
tered the depot, it stopped for moment
at q street crossing. This street crossing
/ was quarter Of a mile nearer the Brush
| house than the depot. | concluded that
Brush got on and off here. The nearest
! building was an office of coal yard,
! which had a man on watch all night
| When ! came to interview him he remem
| bered seeing man alight from the train
and walk rapidly up the street. The
night and the hour conceded with my
figuring.
The Brush house had been practically
shut UP since the murder, though James
had visited it several times in the com
pany Of relatives. | was allowed to go
and come at will. and on the next day,
after interviewing the Waterman at the
coal yard, | went to the house about the
! the middle of the forenoon TO take a last
| look before bringing my accusations.
i While | was inside heard some one enter.
! Off the upstairs hall was a closet, into
which stepped and held the door tightly
ajar. Ny idea was that it was young
Brush, and that he had come alone for a
purpose. He could not have known of my
presence, but he came in very quietly, and
as he got to the head of the stairs, where
could see him. saw that he was pale
and nervous. He acted like one who had
dreaded to come. but had still been forced
to. | had overhauled his clothing in his
room, and had searched high and low in
hopes to find the knife with which the
| stabbing had been done. | was certain
that he could not have escaped blood
stains, and that he had changed at least a
portion of his clothing after committing
! the murder. | was there for a last search,
and it WASH five minutes before had the
proofs that had been blind.
| Young Bush dared not enter his moth
er's room He started to, but backed out
| He walked up and down the hall two or
three times, evidently trying to get his
courage up, and then entered his own
room. gave him couple of minutes to
work. aud then left my place of conceal
ment and tip-toed to his door. A chimney
ran up through bis room and was fitted
/ for a stovepipe. but the hole was stopped
up by all ordinary tin stopper. He had re-
moved this and was standing on a chair
and had his arm in the hole as | entered
the room. For half a minute he looked
down into my eyes with frightened, de-
sparing expression. Then he made d
spring for me, and as we both crashed to
the floor he grabbed for my throat. He
was desperate, and desperation gave him
false strength, but, after a struggle of
three or four minutes ] had him hand
cuffed and helpless. Then l investigated
the chimney. There was a fireplace down
stairs, but it had been stopped up. open
ed it and found the entire suit he had on
when he committed the murder. Every
garment was splashed and spotted with
the blood of his mother. Not only the
clothes. out the bloody knife was there. 1t
was a farmers iack-knife, with a blade
large enough to prune trees. Not word
was spoken between us until | had all this
evidence. Then the young man asked:
Did you suspect me from the frst?''
Il did"
Il thought so. | was fool to come
here in the day time. suppose the jig is
up?'
Il have all the proofs to convict you
Sitting on a chair IN his own room. with
the bloody evidence before US, he confessed
to everything and related all the details,
While he expressed no contrition. he said
he should plead guilty and humbly accept
his fate An hour later, when | had him
in JAIL he had rich and influential reia-
tives to back him In this decision, and when
the case came to trial he was actually
acquitted In spite of proofs enough to con
Wet him ten times over. The defense set
up that !, as a detective In the case, could
not find The real criminal. and therefore
made my plans to convict young Brush.
They even charged me With preparing and
hiding the clothes and with buying and
fixing the knife. | was denounced as a