St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1902-07-05
AMurderer'S
Story


summer night, of the year 1854, when
a slight rattle at the window blinds
arrested my attention. Reaching for
my pistol, I cautiously unbolted and
opened the door leading out on the bal
cony. / vas confronted by a cringing,
anxious, scared-looking man, whose
face, or l should say form, was not en-
tirely unfamiliar. At that date my
factory, on the upper side of Canal
street, was the last building toward the
rear of the city. The two roadways
for a considerable distance were un-
paved, and the neutral ground" as
we called the green stretch which di-
vided the municipalities was an un-
trodden tangle of noxious weeds and
swamp grass. Some distance above,
on the opposite side of the street, two
or three small, detached cottages, sur
rounded by low fences, struggled un-
evenly along the narrow sidewalk.
Still further up Canal street "Wood's
cotton press" was the only occupied
lot for quite a distance.
I was daily at my factory, and occa-
~sionally clerical business detained me
in the Office after nightfall.
My shabby visitor I thought l recog-
nized as a tenant of n Of the before
mentioned cottages, though had never
met him face to face, as we walked on
opposite sides of the broad street. He
called me by name, and whispered he
was in great trouble, and had been
watching my Office several nights hop
ing to see a light there that would in
dictate my presence. 1 told him to
come in and close the door and tell me
his trouble. In response to his inquir-
ing look, I assured him there was no
one besides ourselves about the build
ing. BY the light of the room / saw he
wa all in tatters; his clothes, of good
material, were torn by thorns and
briars and despatched with swamp
mud.
"Why, man." 1 said. "where have you
been? And what is the NATTER"
"'Oh. MI. VIM, l am in great trouble.
/ have killed q man this three nights
ago, and I run away and hide in the
swamps all days. And only nights I
creep out and watch for your light. I
want you to help me-. I want you to
hide me. Do something!" he added.
and the tears raced down his careworn
face and dropped upon his ragged coat
front.
"You have been in the swamp back
here all that time? Without food and
in all that mud? Ionly wonder you are
not crazy. Here, take a drop of brandy
and brace up, and then we will talk it
over"
I saw he was verging IN a complete
collapse. He swallowed the brandy and
seemed a trifle more composed. as
sumed a very reassuring manner. and
~cheerfully said:
"Now, tell me all about it. Maybe l
can help you. Mr. don't even know
your name. You say you have killed a
man. Don't you live in one of those
cottages across the street? Haven't
you a family? I see a m around
there sometimes"
fired the questions at him to get him
nu;eted down, for he was fairly
shaking now with nervous excitement.
"Yes, yes, I live there. 1have a wife;
Ihave no children. You don't know me.
but / have always known you since you
come out here. And there's nobody
but YOU. Mr.. Winn, can help me now"
"Tell me all about it now; it's getting
late, and both of us are tired. We1lsee
what we can do to help you. What is
YOUR business? and where is your wife?
and how did you happen to kill a man?
and where did you doit? Brace up and
tell me the whole story"
"Well, l am in a shoestore down on
Levee street, and they sent me to La
fourche on business. This is Friday,
isn't it? Well, I got back Wednesday
night; it was after dark when the BOAT
got in, and 1 took my bag and walked to
INV house. My wife she go to Pass
Christian while I bin gone. and so the
house was shut up. l open the front
door and struck a match and lit the
lamp in the hall. Then I just chance
to look into my parlor, and there was a
man standing in there in the middle of
the room; a big man; heap bigger than
me. standing there looking straight at
me-: his hat on like he just come in. 1
saw to him: What you doing here"
or something that way. He look back
at me, fierce like. and he scowl at me,
hut he never said a word. I know he
heard me-, for he scowled and frowned