Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1897-09-03

come home, nor during the night
and when morning arrived a search
begun. All Boston, Cambridge and the
adjoining neighborhood was searched
IN vain. AS the days went by and no
| news of the missing man was heard
the excitement grew intense. Descrip-
TONS were published and rewards Of
Tered. DR.. Webster informed Park
man relatives that he had had an IN
terview with the missing man on the
morning of November 23d and had ar
ranged for meeting with him at the
college after lecture hour; that DR..
.Parkman had come to the college
and that he had paid Parkman the
money due and held the cancelled
notes and that the doctor left the col
lege, saying he was going TO Cam
bridge.
10th to suspect a man Of Webster's
high character, yet the police were
obliged to search the college. and
particularly the laboratory, a private
work-room of Webster's, situated in
the basement, which contained two
furnaces, a sink, stove ard a closet.
Two separate searches were made of
the premises, but nothing eliminating
was discovered. A weak had elapsed
since the mysterious disauuearancet
and the fever Of excitement was in
creasing. Several thousand dollars in
the way of rewards were Offered. and
various theories advanced. Que that
was largely believed was that DR..
Parkman, being of an irritable turn
of mind. had suddenly become de-
mented and had wandered off but as
the search became so complete, this
became untenable and suspicion was
centered in the college. In the mean
time Prof. Webster conducted himself
as under ordinary circumstances. He
lectured at the college and spent his
evenings at hurno> nlavlng WHIST with
his daughters reading alnln, and on
one or two evenings spent the Ime III
social visits.
IT seems that the suspicious of Lit
tlefield, the college Janltor, had oeen
aroused, first, because on the evening
of the dav of Parkman's visit he at
tempted to enter the library and found
all the passage ways leading to 1t bar
red from the inside, an unusual thlng.
He also heard water running III the
sink. that evening and the next DAY
for an immoderate length of time, an
other unusual thing. He also dlscov-
cred heat along a fiue leading from one
of the furnaces that was rarely used.
He noticed, too, when the oIHclai
search was made that nearly two par
rels Of wood that had stood near the
furnace had been exhausted. And on
account of hearing the repeated re-
mark that the body of Parkman Woulo
he found in the college, led him TO IN
vestigate on his own account. lie
made his way under the basement ana
with a crow bar made an entrance into
the closet vault. Here was discovered
mart of a hip bone, thigh and por-
zion of a leg. After this more
thorough search was made, and IN
box presumably Of minerals, a human
thorax was found from which the VS.
cera, had been removed ana portion
of thigh inserted. In the furnace were
found some charred and broken pones'
and with them the most damaging evil
dence of ala number OF false teeth'
A carriage was sent to DR.. Webs
! ter's residence and he was requested 10
accompany the occupant to the college,
| for the purpose, they told him, of max
| ing a further search-upon entering
the carriage he was driven TO the jail
prisoner.
, At the trial expert evidence was IN
Produced to show that the bones coulC
have been those of a person the bullc
If DR. Parkman The dentist testlfeC
positively that the false teeth were Dr
| parkman's. and produced the cast from
which he made them, and the!
exactly fitted The distinguished DR.
Norton. however, testified that the hea
would in all probability warp the snap
Of the teeth and that no one could ties
tfy to whom they actually belonged
Prof. Webster's bank account wa
brought into evidence and it was prov
en- that he did not possess the mean
of satisfying the notes as he had claim
ed. He was convicted and sentence,
to be hanged August 80, 1852. Prevl
Gus to his execution he made con
fession acknowledging the crime, say
ing that at the interview on Novembe
%. Parkman became so aouslv
that in fit Of rage he struck him wit
heavy piece of grape vine upon tn
temple. the blow Unexpectedly causin
| death. In his terror he bolted the pas
saeewavs. and then removed the bod
70 the sink ard dismembered it, allow
ing the running water to carry ava
the blood. He burned the head an
viscera and was prepared to remov
the remainder Of the body when n