Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-07-13

| DOOrn uVeQ III MdHcuesGof, W., anu
with him lived his sons, Stephen and
Jesse, and his son-in-law, Russell Col
vim. Colyin disappeared, and after
lapse of years, it was suspected that he
| had been murdered by the Boorn boys.
Then one of the neighbors remembered
that the boys had said they had 'put
| him where potatoes would not freeze
| him." At length some children found a
hat, which was recognized as the one
that Colvin wore at the time of his dis
appearance. A search was made, and a
dog uncovered some bones that lay I'M
der an old stump. Meanwhile stephen
and confessed that his brother had told
him that he and Colvin had had quar-
rel, and that he had killed Colvln.
Stephen was found and brought back,
but he stoutly asserted his innocence.
Both of the brothers were indicted,
however, and in November, 1719, seven
years after it was supposed the crime
had been committed, they were brought
to trial. Stephen was induced to con-
fess to the crime in the hope of mercy
from the court. Both he and his brother
were, nevertheless, convicted and sem
fenced to be hanged January %, 1920.
Moreover, the crime seemed to lie SO
entirely at their door that the mother
was expelled from her church and the
father held as a possible accessory to
the murder. By act of the legislature
Jesse's punishment was committed to
imprisonment for life, but that body re-
fused to interfere with the sentence i'm
posed upon Stephen. AS a last resource
Stephen prevailed upon his counsel,
who belle we'd him guilty, to advertise for
Colvin. This was done in the Rutland
Herald and copied into New York
paper, and Colvin was discovered alive
and working for farmer in Dover,
n. J.
Another remarkable case was that Of
William Harrison, steward of Lady
Campden, of Worcestershire, England
who left his home on August 6, 1860, to
collect her ladyships rents. Weeks
passed and he did not return. There
lived in the neighborhood family
named Perry, consisting of widow and
her two sons, John and Richard. The
reputation of the woman was bad and
John was half-witted. In the excite
ment that followed Harrison's pro-
longed absence, John Perry went be-
for a magistrate and deposed to the
committed by his brother in the pres
ence of his mother and himself, and
that they robbed the dead man of e14O
This deposition led to the arrest of all
three, and their trial by Sir Charles
Turner, for robbery Of the man they
were supposed to have murdered, as
the corpse had not been found. In the
hope Of clemency they pleaded guilty
After being sent to jail John still per-
sisted in his statement, and even
strengthened it by alleging that his
mother and brother had attempted to
poison him for telling the truth. At
the next session mother and sons were
tried for murder by Sir Robert Hyde,
and, although John retracted his accusa-
ton at the trial. the two were convicted
and suffered death as the penalty.
Three years later Harrison returned to
Gloucester. He had been impressed
by a gang and sold as slave to Turk
ish merchant.
a horrible case, caused by a mistake,
occurred under these circumstances: A
gentleman, who had been dining too
generously, fell down in the street in a
state of vinous insensibility, and, as he
lay there, two passers-by, who had
quarreled, stumbled over his body.
One of them, noticing that the drunken
man had a sword, drew it and ran his
companion through the body, leaving
the weapon sticking in the wound. In
the morning the men were discovered,
and the reveler was tried, convicted
and hanged. Some years afterward the
real murderer confessed the crime.
In the following case the reader will
find fine illustration of poetic justice: :
A wealthy gentleman, known to have
a bag of gold in his portmanteau, took
lodging for the night in small inn near
ST. AIDS Bridge in Oxford. At mid
night the innkeeper entered the room,
armed with a knife, with the intention
of killing his guest and taking his
money, but he had been anticipated
and his would-be victim Law bathed in
blood. Meanwhile two other guests,
aroused by the cries of the man, en-
tered the room and arrested the pro-
prietor Notwithstanding the fact that
none of the property was found upon
his person, he was arrested, sentenced
and hanged. Some years later the real
criminal was sentenced to the gallOws
for a similar crime and confessed the
first murder.
Sir Edward Coke mentions this case
as remarkable instance of the fallacy
of circumstantial evidence: "ln the
county of Warwick there were two
brothers; the one having issue a daugh-
ter, and being seized of lands in fee, de-
vised the government of his daughter
and his lands, until she came to the age
of Is years, to his brother, and died.
When she was about or years of age
her uncle, for some offense correcting
her, she was heard to say, ooh good
uncle, kill me not, after which time the
child, after much inquiry, could not be
heard of, whereupon the uncle, being
suspected of the murder of her, the
rather that he was her next heir, was
upon examination anna JAG. Regis com
mitted to the Jail for the suspicion of
murder, and was admonished by the
justices of assize to find out the child (,
and thereupon bailed until the next as
sizes Against which time, for that he
could not find her, and fearing what
would fall out against him, he took an
other child, as like unto her, both in
person and years, as he could find, and
appareled her like unto the true child,
and brought her to the next assizes
but upon view and examination she was
found not to be the true child; and
upon those prescriptions he was indict-