Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-11-26
Washington Times

ties of Maryland have furnished within
the past year make bloody chapter
In the States history.
While all have had in them tine ele
ment of curious incident none have
been more novel than most dramatic
incident which took place in the Kent
county Jail at Chestertown. Md, Sun
day afternoon, May 4th, 1891, which is
now published for the first time. At
s the time of the trial of the case in
question, it was not made public for
obvious reasons. The chief personages
In this startling dramatic episode were
WILDER M. Bates, the business mana
ger Of "The Great Train Robbery"
then reporter for the Philadelphia
Press, and Moses Brown, stalwart
negro, who was aiterward hanged for
murder.
Saturday evening, April 23rd, 1891,
= party OF negroes, through desire for
revenge for fancied wrong, assaulted
young physician, DR.. j. Highe Hill,
from the effects of which hs died the
next day. The assault took place on a
lonely road, about mile from the vii
lage Of ,Millington, small place of
about 500 people, situated on the Chess
ter River. 16 miles from Chestertown,
the county seat.
The murder would probably remained
an unpublished crime to this day had
1t not been, In great part, for the ener-
getic work of the reporter who was sent
there to write up the event. Before no
had been in the town OF Millington
three hours be had secured clew to
the perpetrators of the murder, and
within "a hours had secured sufficient
aviHpnna IN III mt fha - afn
negroes for participation in it.
The following Thursday, by carefully
playing negro of honesty and intelli-
gence against one who had been ar
rested and purposely released SO he
would have the opportunity to talk,
information was secured which enabled
the reporter to gain partial confession
from one of the prisoners, which impli-
Gated all held fos this crime. with the
exception OF burly, stolid negro
named Moses Brown, who denied he
was out of his home the night of the
assault, and whom the prisoner who
confessed denied was present when the
young doctor was injured.
At 2 O'Clock Friday morning the
Chestertown Jail was threatened by a
lynching party intent on hanging every
one OF the men charged with Hills
death. These men all came from Mil
lington. They were induced to go
away, but, fearing violence, the follow
ing day. the four principals in the crime
were taken from the Jail in a closed
carriage to special train and removed
to Baltimore for safe-keeping. On the
way the two boys who had held the
DOCTORS horse while the assault was
committed on him confessed to the re-
porter their share of the crime. They,
like all the rest, denied that Moses
Brown was present or had anything to
do with the crime.
Sunday afternoon, May 4th, 1891, the
reporter had returned to the Chester.
town Jail, and before two hours had
passed had secured two more confes.
sions, but not word could be secured
that would implicate Brown. Mr..
Harrison W. Vickers, the assistant
State attorney, was present when every
confession was made, except the two
made on the train going to Baltimore.
He was inclined to believe that Moses
Brown was not in the crime. The re-
porter thought differently, and deter.
mined to try an experiment.
Moses Brown was brought from ar
isolated cell where he had been KEEP
the Jail Office Mr.. Viclsers sat at
desk in one corner of the room partl,
in the shadow to make notes. A chaii
was placed in the centre of the room
facing the window, and on this Brown
Vas told to sit down, where the ligh
would squarely strike his face He die
30, curious as to what was to happier
next. The reporter took chair ant
placed it directly in front of Brown
Looking him squarely in the eyes hl
said:
Moses, whenever man commits
crime, God has so fixed it that photo
graph of what he does is taken on hi
brain, which can never be hidden. d.
you know what voodoo man is?''
''Yas, sar; | knows what voodoo is
sar," nervously responded the negro.
Moses, am voodoo msn-one &
I. whom God has given the power 70 loo
through the eyes of criminal and SO
the pictures of the crimes he com
mits. You were present when DR.
Hill was hurt.
The negro started to make a denial
Don't lie 1t is useless. | can Sc
the picture on your brain, and to prov
to you that l am not deceiving you,
will describe to you just what you di
as | see it through your eyes. -
The negro, speechless, and, it seemed
fascinated by the steady glance of th
newspaper mans eyes, did not utter
word in reply. The confident assuranc
that his crime was known and could b
demonstrated in supernatural name
coupled with his own knowledge of hi
guilt, seemed to strike him dumb.
Carefully watching every expression
of the negroes face and studying mir
every instant, the reporter began to re
late the movements of the murderer
from the time they learned DIR. Hi
was going out to a farm to attend
sick child to the time the assault wa
committed. Every detail was mos
graphically related with most dra
matte pretensions of being read fror
picture in Browns brain. AS detail
after detail was related with absolut
eXactness, founded on the partial con
fessons of the others, of which Brow
knew nothing, the negroes nerve hega
to desert him and the reporter to he
come more and more confident he wa
right in his suspicion of Brown.
Up to this time the picture describe
had been a general one, only those j
it being mentioned by name who ha
themselves related some specific pre-
liminary act. Now came the crucia
test. Brown must be "guessed in
right, else the carefully reared struc
ture of fancy. the imaginary brai
picture of the negro would be mos
ignominiously demolished. Only sus
pinion rh ar h a sunarst IL inue N q a., 80 40