Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-12-14
WOMAN'S INSTINCT.
HOW THE sLAYERS OF A BOY PED
DLER WERE BROUGHT TO JUSTICE.
Weird Tale Of Many Yenrs Ago-DIscovery
OF Head Frozen I'm 81 Cake OF Ice
Floating in the Delaware
philadelphia Press.l

philadelphia PressI
Murderers have been brought TO JUS
tlce in many strange ways, but the most
extraordinary, perhaps, that ever knew
OF was woman's instinct. A woman's
instinct-that was oil the explanation
that was ever offered
This is what Prothonotary William Is.
Mann said the other day among group
OF loungers who we're chatting OF the
strange turn that led to the arrest and
conviction of Birchall
Then Colonel Mann told the story OF
the discovery and arrest in this city Of
the murderers of Jacob Lehman, poor
peddler boy, in early January, 1852.
He and William B. Reed prosecuted the
case for the Commonwealth. Judge
Allison, who is still administering JUS
tice. was one OF the two judges who
tried the case. He had only been on
the bench few months, and the re-
markable case. which had reused the
whole city, was one OF tho first cases IN
the Criminal Court.
TIL. DIsNEMBERED BODY FOUND.
Jacob Lehman, who was the nineteen
vear-old son of Aaron Lehman, dis
appeared very early in January. He bad
been in the habit OF wandering all over
the city selling cheapjewelry from little
box or tray. Search was made for him
everywhere, but no trace OF him could
be found.
Finally, on the 18th Of January, four
little girls who had gone down to play
on the ice on the river shore between
Huntingdon and Cumberland streets, in
what was then the district OF Richmond,
saw strengthening objectlying among
broken cakes of ice. They ran back and
told Edward Brown, who was working in
n woodward, OF what they had seen. He
left his work and returned with them,
but mean time another man, who had
heard OF the matter, probably through
some words dropped by the children on
the way. had hurried to the spot, and
when Mr.. Brown got there no found
that this man had chopped the object
ont Of the ice aud had drawn it upon the
shore. The covering appeared to be an
old grayish blue overcoat roughly sew
ed together. IL was quickly ripped
apart and out came a package of goose
feathers, and then a heavy brick, and
then there came to the sight of the hor-
rifed beholders q human head, frozen
solid, and rs recognizable rs if it were
in life. It was quickly identified, of
course, ms that OF the peddler boy Leh-
man. Search was made and the rest
OF the body was found in the other
package They were sunken, and with
the coming of warmer days and the COM
plete breaking up OF the ice they would
probably have hoated away and down
with the current. But the frozen lips
told ont OF the ice in their own way the
story Of death and crime. A few hairs
had forced their way ont OF the covering
in which the head WAS wrapped, and
cinging to tho ice hal been frozen fast,
and so held the covered mass up from
the bottom Of the river, and when
slight thaw came brought it into view of
the little children, the first innocent in
struments of eternal justice.
That there had been n murder was OBJ
vious. The police made an investiga-
ton, but they quickly ran against Il
blind wall. They could learn absolutely
nothing
Yet how strange are the windings Of
the pathway OF Fate's footstepsl
MRS. BEATTY SEES AN EVIL FACE.
Mrs. Caroline Beatty, who lived in the
neighborhood OF Front and Moore
streete, close TO the Southwark canal,
had been uptown to market some two
weeks after the finding of the body.
The whole city was full OF excitement
over tho discovery, and Mrs. Beatty, like
every one else. had caught the fever Of
! discussion. She had been turning all the
details of the murder over and over again
in her mind as she trudGed along with
the well-fllcd basket on her arm. As
she was turning into the street in which
she lived she observed three men stand
| ing together in front Of house on Front
street near Moore. The day was bitter
cold, yet one OF the men was in hiS
shirt-sleeyes. Otherwise there was no.
| thing remarkable about any of them.
| But this little circumstance attracted her
notice 40 much that she peered at them
curiously as she went past. One of the
men, who observed her glances, gave
her a scowl so savage that she was
| startled and hurried on. After she had
gone a few yards she was so Mortified
that she could not avoid turning around
for another look. The man was still
watching her, and his strange, brutal
| looking countenance was full of malig-
nifty. Mrs. Beatty felt little shiyer OF
dread, and, as she turned into her own
street and disappeared from tho sight of
the strangers she impulsiyely said to her
| self
81 believe that man is the murderer
of the peddler boy"
That was all. But now that tho no.
tion had gotten into her head she felt as
satisfied as to the justice of it as if
tho whole case had been judiciously
heard. Why, she could not explain.
She had seen it all in the strange mans
face and looks, and that was the end Of
it. He was the man that the police
were searching for everywhere.
MR. beatty RoUsED AT LAST.
When she got home she told her hus-
band the story and her startling eonclu-
sion. Her husband was an easy-going,
stolid man, who worked hard for a
living, aud didn't understand in
stincis." He told her she was dreaming.
She became quite excited and insisted
that she was right. Then he told her that
she seemed to be on the way to heing
crazy. But she could not be argued or
bulldozed or ridiculed out of her po-
sition. She gave her husband no rest on
the subject. Morning, noon, and night
she would say 10 him, " Have you looked
up the murderer of the peddler boy
yet?"
He had not. But finally, little to
please her and great deal in the hope of
getting some restfcr himself, be concluded
to look into the matter. He strolled
around TO the neighborhood in which
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