The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1896-11-27
SO Years of Cures.
Story Of a Murder.

The following from the Washington
Times, is the story of how WILDER M.
Bates, reporter for the Philadelphia
Press, secured a confession from one of
the murderers of DR.. ]. Highe Hill, who
was killed by eight negroes on the night
of April 23, 1891, near Millington, Kent
county, Md. Partial confessions had been
obtained from the others implicated in
the crime, but Moses Brown, a stalwart
negro who had been arrested on suspicion,
remained mistaken in his declarations of
innocence.
Sunday afternoon, May 4th, 1891, the
reporter had returned to the Chestertown
Jail, and before two hours had passed had
secured two more confessions, but not a
word could be secured that would impli-
cate Brown. Mr.. Harrison w. Vickers,
the assistant States Attorney, was present
when every confession was made, except
the two made on the train going to BALTIC,
He was inclined to believe that Moses
Brown was not in the crime. The re-
porter thought differently, and determined
to try an experiment.
Moses Brown was brought from an
isolated cell where he had been kept apart
from the other prisoners, into the Jail
Office. Mr.. Vickers sat at desk in one
corner of the room partly in the shadow
to make notes. A chair was placed i'll
the centre of the room facing the window,
and on this Brown was told to sit down,
where the light would squarely strike his
face He did so, curious as to what was
to happen next. The reporter took a
chair and placed it directly in front of
Brown. Looking him squarely in the
eyes he said
"Moses, whenever a man commits a
crime, God has so fixed it that photo
graph of what he does is taken OH his
brain which can never be hidden. Do
you know what voodoo man is?'
"Yas, sar; knows what voodoo is,
sar," nervously responded the negro.
"Moses, am a voodeo malone to
whom God has given the power to look
through the eyes of a criminal and see
the pictures of the crimes he commits.
You were present when DR.. Hill was
hurt"
The negro started to make a denial.
Don't lie. 1t is useless. can see the
picture on your brain, and to prove to you
that am not deceiving you, will de-
scribe to you just what you did as see it
through your eyes,"
The negro, speechless and it seemed,
fascinated by the steady glance of the
newspaper mans eyes, did not utter a
word in reply. The confident assurance
that his crime was known and could be
demonstrated in a supernatural manner
coupled with his own knowledge of his
guilt, seemed to strike him dumb.
Carefully watching every expression of
the negro's face and studying him every
instant, the reporter began to relate the
movements of the murderers from the
time they learned DR.. Hill was going out
to farm to attend a sick child to the
time the assault was committed. Every
detail was most graphically related with
most dramatic pretensions of being read
from picture in Browns brain. As de-
tail after detail was related with absolute
exactness, founded on the partial con-
fession of the others, of which Brown
knew nothing, the negro's nerve began
to desert him and the reporter to become
more and more confident he was right in
his suspicion of Brown.
Up to this time the picture described
had been general one, only those in it
being mentioned by name who had them
selves related some specific preliminary
act. Now came the crucial test. Brown
must be guessed in" right, else the care
fully reared structure of fancy, the imag-
mary brain picture of the negro would be
most ignominiously demolished. Only a
suspicion that his superstitious nature was
being played upon would have made the
negro victor in the play of wit.
But the suspicion was given no chance
to gain sway. When the point had arrived
when Browns position in the picture
mnst be declared the reporter had become
fully convicted by the varying expressions
of wonder and fear in his eyes that he
was one of the assailants and determined
to make failure or success of the expert
! ment by one coup.
The reporter had reached the point
where he was describing the direct attack
on Hill. He told of Brooks awful blow
with the stone, that crushed the young