The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1905-08-18

the house was a hole four feet square.
made for the purpose of burying po-
tatOeS.
"The pit was opened and a large
knife, a penknife and button found
in it. Mrs. Colvin accurately de-
scribed these articles previously to
their being shown to her. and after
she had seen them declared the large
knife and the button to have belonged
to her husband Careful search was
made for the body, but it could not
be found. Finally, on the strength of
the dream, Jesse was arrested. After
his arrest pieces of bone were found
in a hollow stump, two bits OF which
were identified as human toe nails,
while the others were declared by
several physicians to be human, al
though on this there was difference
of expert opinion.
There did not seem evidence
enough on which to hold Jesse and he
was on the eve of discharge from Jail
when he made full and complete con-
fession of the crime. He declared
that his brother Stephen killed Col
vim and that he, Stephen and their
father then put the body in the potato
cellar.
He added that the body had been
long afterwards taken up and flung in
the river, but that his father had put
some bones in stump.
Immediately on this confession
Stephen was arrested, and both he
and Jesse were brought to trial. Then
came still another amazing feature of
this amazing case. stephen confessed
as we'll as his brother, Stephens con-
fession being quite lengthy written
document signed by himself and de-
scribing the crime with elaboration of
detail In this confession Stephen as
serted that after he had struck COlvin
he and Jesse had left him, but on COM
ing back they found Colvin lying dead
in the field.
stephen went on to declare that Col
wins body had then been put in the
potato cellar after a knife had been
taken from his pocket; that subsequent
ly Colvins body had been exhumed and
being buried in a hole by stump.
Every trivial detail of the supposed
murder was described.
Search was again made for the body
of Colvin. but it was not found, and on
the twin confessions of the two brothers
they were brought to trial. just seven
years after Colvins disappearance.
The Boorns were found guilty and both
sentenced, Jesse getting life imprisOn-
ment and Stephen being sentenced to
be hanged Immediately both began pro-
testing their innocence. They declared
they had nothing to do with the murder
of Colvin. and that their confessions
were false. No man. however, doubted
the guilt of the prisoners, and it was
generally believed that the murder had
been detected by providential interpo-
SitiOn.
Then came the startling finale of
the case-a finale which shows with
what caution confessions of guilt should
be accepted. even when strongly cor
roborated by circumstantial evidence
A few days after the sentence the man
supposed to be murdered turned up
alive. During all those years he had
been living in another part OF the state
in a condition of harmless mental de-
rangement The Roorns, of course, were
freed.
The other peculiar case of false con-
LESSONS occurred in Illinois, and was
also a case in which brothers were IN
volved. There were three Of them, by
the name Of TrailOr their Christian
names being William, Henry and Archi-
bald Archibald lived at Springfield
He was a sober, Industrious man, car
penter by trade. Henry was man OF
like quiet habits and lived on farm 20
miles from Springfield. William. with
similar characteristics to his brothers,
lived on a farm 100 miles from the state
capital.
Living near William was a man
called Fisher. who did odd jobs, and
whose habits were so economical that
the story got abroad in the neighbor-
hood that he had accumulated consld-
cradle amount of money. At the time in
question William decided to visit his
brother Archibald in Springfield, and
Fisher joined him ca the trip. They
drove in a buggy and went by way OF