Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-02-24

OLI hAaAAAANN INN 80 ~ 49,
in store for the public. When called
upon t plead he answered Not
guilty" to the charge of robbery, but
desired TO plead guilty to the accuse
ton of having murdered the boy. This
took everybody aback, of course, and
as they had no more proofs in the one
case than / IN the other, the charge of
robbery was dropped and he was ar
raigned on the other. On the stand
he told the story as follows:
81 had discovered that Bob was a
thief, and had punished hil several
times for stealing. had punished him
ON this day. When ! returned to the
store in the evening l went up to his
room to have a talk with him. He was
impudent, and l struck him a blow and
broke his neck. ] then carried the body
TO the river and flung it in, and the
a you didn't find it was because
il fioated AVA with the current. | am
very sorry. had no malice and no
thought of hurting him. struck the
blow on the impulse of the moment
When he came to trial a plea Of mot
guilty was of course entered, but his
lawyer made little or no effort and he
was pronounced guilty and got n sen
tence of fifteen years. After it was
over, public opinion whipped about, as
1t generally doeA and every person felt
sorry for the man. He went to prison,
saying that it was a just punishment,
and it was a year and a half before the
real climax came. One morning Bob
Isle walked into town as cool as you
please. and when he had satisfied us
that he was no ghost he told his story
as follows:
On the night Of the murder he had
hardly got TO bed when he had nose
bleed. He was down stairs TO look for
water when his uncle came in and
opened the safe and removed the money.
He did not see Bob at all, but after
hanging around for a spell left by the
back door, falling out Of il as he went.
In this way he got the dust on his coat,
and at the same time let go of some of
the money Bob realized that il was a
robbery, and suspecting that il was a
put up job To get him sent TO prison he
determined to run away. He took two
or three dollars left in the money
drawer, bundled up something to eat
and when morning came was miles
away. For upward of a year ne had
been running on a steamboat One
day he had heard two passengers talk
ing Of the case, and when he discovered
that he was supposed TO have been
murdered he at once started for home
to clear his uncle. Stowe was in state
prison, a. you know. When told that
the boy had returned alive and well he
was all broken up. When Bob was
taken to the prison his uncle had moth
ing to say.
Well, as a matter Of course, steps
were taken TO secure Stoves pardon,
and it was soon granted. Then came
the question of trying him for the rob
berry but various delays occurred, and
his lawyers advanced various technical
objections, and the case finally petered
out. He disappeared, going to Aus
tralia. and it was two or three years
later when the final particulars came
TO light. He had been boarding his
cash for three or four years, ealculat-
ing 10 skip out. He had robbed the
safe and buried the money in his cellar,
and he fully intended to accuse Bob of
the crime. He suspected that Bob had
run away, and therefore accused him
self Of the alleged murder to cover up
the other crime. After he had skipped,
leaving his family without a dollar, a
great many Of his dishonest transac
tons came TO light, and it became
plain 10 everybody that he was a rascal
in disguise.
While | do not deny, as | told you
at the outset. that a man entirely limo
cent of a certain crime may be sent TO
prison as guilty of it, it can scarcely
happen il he is an honest man and
above suspicion. His conduct must be
against him as an innocent man. Cir
cumstances-such as being seen near
the place of crime, betraying guilt when
accosted, being unable to make salts
factory answers, etc. go a long ways
where direct proof is lacking, and
think / am safe in saying that the man
who has been f-dnd innocent Of the
crime for which he was hanged OF sent
to prison was guilty Of something else OF
a serious nature which he was seeking to
hide al the ime.-New York SUI.