The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1901-09-07

Hamilton was informed that his friend
was dead. AS soon as. the body was
FOUND he was placed under arrest ac-.
4lssedeof the mhrAer.f One Of the first
things he did was to produce from
kthe. linipg ,ofshis hat the $4,000 worth
EoS 1tqnlsiana Slate bonds which Dr.
Snnderson had brought to kentucky.
He did so,s protesting that the doctor
had given flSem to him in exchange for
cash and that he was innocent Of, the
slhurder, but polHpdy balieye9 hing
Then a p6ir Of blood Aained over.
nlls that had been worn by Hamilton
were found In corn crib and the cvi-
fncA seeraed complete. The young
Man swas Maccd OH trial at the next
teEm of cotirt sTi1I then he had had
the best Of reputation. and his friends
had been legion. lie hadn't many
| friends left when he went on trial.
One Of the ablest lawyers of the Ken
lucky bar of that day defended him,
hat 1T was q hopeless case.
"HaMiHon4took the stand on his own
behalf and he was an excellent wit
ness, according to the, stories they've
handed down ih KeHtucky. He swore
that he had accompanied DR.. Sander
son a nile or two on his way, had
given him the pistol because the doc
tor had none and also had persuaded
Santlerson to exchange his bonds for
United States currency because hc
thought the doctor might have difficult
ty in cashing the bonds. He had bid
den Sanderson God-specd Mt last, he
said and had left him riding away
toward Glasgow.
"A negro was ready to testify that
he had stained the cvcralls with blood
himself, having stolen them from his
master, to wear to 4 party. But he
was a slave and hi3 testimony was.
inadrlissiblc. Few CT those who heard
1t regarded Hamilton's story as any
thing but Il clevcrly concocted tale to
account for circumstances SO clearly!
against hiI3. The jury certainly did
not believe 1t. aud as thought before
hearing of the -cutccmosI would have
done IS those juryElen did. 6
Il I'm lpitc Of tho q any efforts to save
hfni HamiNo,l was sdjudged guilty.
f1eF was condemned to Death and e-e-
cuted,s protesting his innocence even
on the ccafsold. Only enc person be-
lieved il the probability Of the mans
story being trhe. He was the Judge.
~ believe John Hamilton was in
nocert CT the murder Of DR.. Sander
soa,' they cay he told lIar,ilton's
friends, after the execution. But the
very winds of heaven blew against Ec
in that trial.
"And new cones. the nest astonish-
Ing part Of the story. Many years af-
ter HaE,ilton's execution, there died
in Western Kentucky an old half
wittcd nan named King. On his
denthbed his mind seemed to grow
clear and he sent for witnesses and
told them what he said was the true
story of the murder Of DR.. Sander
| son.
"Onc day while wandering as lad
| II the woods near the road to Glas-
gov; he saw g stranger riding past
alone. A minute later the Sheriff of
Barren County. the man who after
ward found Hamilton's broken pistol
on the road, who was Instrumental in
fnding SaEdersen's body and who was
Har,ilton'3 bitterest prosecutor in the
proceedings that followed, appeared
from the opposite direction. The
c,,or;ff rodo pock %bo GIRO n rar. firm OIL
and rcdc up to hin, wrenched the
pistol from his saddle and dealt him a
blow that knocked him from his
horse. .a#a9-nE5 a5a E-
1.-THE dying man who, told this swore
that the Sheriff knelt beside the body
and searched it. Then, seeing the lad
watching him from q little distance,
| he called him and made him help car
r., the. body to the sand hole where It
|Mbst tftdrward npnd. II Thcy covered
lit tSyRh leaves and then the Sheriff,
after. threatening the lad with instant
death, should he ever tell what he had
seen, remounted and rode away. Such
was his fear of the murderer, the old
man said, that he had kept the secret.
though keeping it had driven him
half crazy. .,,
Zone Gaspar D. Craddock had been
Sheriff of Barren County when the
crime was committed. He lived for
years afterward in a distant part Of
the State, but a short time before the
old mans tale was told he had dis
appeared. Investigation showed that
not long after Hamilton's execution,
Craddock had deposited nearly $4,000
in United States currency in a bank
in that part of Kentucky to which he
moved, and from his subsequent life
no one who knew him doubted for a
moment that he was really the muir
dercr Of DR.. Sanderson. 60, .--,y--..,...,..a..s
s.In his new home the ex-Sherif
gave himself up to- life of crime and
violence. ! Nesscitizens who had slfycd
near liim finally warned him to leave
the community if he valued his life,
band a few days later he disappeared.
| He was recognized long afterward In
Cuha, apd the desperate ruse by which
+ ke Id Sway from Kentucky was then
freveafed. They say it was character
I