Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1906-05-25

( Captain Peter Carey. He was born IN
45-hfty years of age, He was a most
caring and successful seal and whale
fisher. In 1888 he commanded the
steam sealer Sea Unicorn, OF Dundee.
He had then had several successful
voyages in succession, and in the fol-
lowing year. 1854, he retired. After
that ne travelled for some years, ard
finally he bought a mall place called
Woodlands Lee. ear Forest Row. In
Sussex. There he has lived for six
years. and there he died just a week
! ago today.
There wer" some most singular
points about the Il In ordinary life,
he was a strict Puritan-a silent,
gloomy fellow. His household consisted
Of his wife, his daughter, aged
twenty, ard two female servants.
These last were continually chang
ing, for il was never a very CHEEKY sit
uatiOn, and sometimes 1t became past
all bearing. The man was an inter
mittent drunkard, and when he had the
fit IN him he was n perfect fiend. He
has been known to drive his wife and
daughter out of doors in the middle of
the night, and fog them through the
park until the whole village outside the
gates was aroused by their screams.
He was summoned once for a saw
Z assault upon the old vicar, who had
called upon him 10 demonstrate with
him upon his conduct. In short, Mr..
Holmes. you would go far before you
found a more dangerous man than
Peter Carey, and / have heard that
he bore the same character when he
commanded his ship. He was known
In the trade az Black Peter, and the
name was given him, not only on ac-
count Of his swarthy features and the
color of his huge beard, but for the
l.~ - n
round him. I need not say that he
was loathed and avoided by every one
of his neighbors, and hat / have not
heard one single word of sorrow about
his terrible end.
You must have read in the account
OF the inquest about the mans cabin,
Mr.. Holmes, but perhaps got friend
here a not heard of 1t. He had built
himself a wooden outhouse-he always
called IL the 'cabin'--a few hundred
yards from his house, and 1t was here
that he slept every night. 1t was a lit
tie, single-roomed hut, sixteen feet by
ten. He kept the key in his pocket,
made his own bed, cleaned 1t himself,
and allowed no other foot to cross the
threshold. There are small windows
on each side, which were covered by
curtains and never opened. One of
these windows was turned towards the
ilISil iOdus anu men the liSul DuTIltu
in IL at night the folk used TO point it
out to each other and wonder what
Black Peter was doing I'm there. That's
the window. Mr.. Holmes. which gave
US n OF the few bits of positive evil
dence that came out at the inquest.
You remember that a stonemason,
named Slater, walking from Forest
Row about ! o'clock i'm the morning
two days before the murder-stopped
ne hn no GGa1 tho ygCrynI. md TOplyAI
at the square OF light still shining
among the trees. He swears that the
shadow of a mans head turned side
ways was clearly visible on the blind,
gnd that his shadow was certainly not
OF Peter Carey, whom he knew
well IT was that OF a bearued man.
but the beard was short and bristled
forwar03 in q way very different from
that nf the captain, So he says, but
bod been we hours in the public
house, and II Is some distarcc from the
10 The window. Besides, his re-
fers 20 the Monday. and the crime was
cone upon the Wednesday.
. the Tuesday, Peter Carey was in
one Of his blacklist moods. flushed with
drink and as savage as Il dangerous
wild beast. He roamed about the
house. and the women ran for il when
they beard him coming. Late I'm the
evening he went down to his own hut.
About 2 o'clock the following morning.
his daughter, who slept with her win
dow open, heard q n st fearful veil
from that direction. but il was no un-
usual thing for him to bawl and shout
when he was Ia drink, so no notice was
taken. On rising at I, one OF the maids
noticed that the door OF the hut was
open, bat so great was the terror which
the man caused that II was midday be-
fore anyone would venture down to see
what had become of him. Peeping into
the opcn door, they saw n sight which
sent them dying. with white faces, into
the village. Within an hour. | was on
the spot and had taken over the case.
We'll, | have fairly steady nerves, as
you know, Mr.. Holmes. " | give you
ny word. that l got a shake when |
put my head into that little house. II
was droning like a ~harmonium with the
flies and bluebottles, and the floor and
walls were like n slaughter house. He
had called 1t q cabin, and a cabin IL
was. sure enough, for you would have
thought that you were I'm n ship. There
was a bunk at n end. n sea chest,
maps and charts, a picture OF the Sea
Unicorn, q line of logbooks on a shelf,
all exactly as n would expect to find
1t IN n captains room. And there, In
the middle or Il. was the man himself
his face twisted like a lost soul I'm tor
ment. and his great brindled beard
stuck upwards In his agony. Right
through his broad breast n steel har-
pooh had been driven. and 1t had sunk
deep into the wood of the wall behind
him. He was pinned like a beetle on a
card. OF course. he was quite dead. and
had been so from the instant that he
had uttered that last yell of agony.
II nov o u methods, sir. and / ap-
piled them. Before I permitted any
thing 10 be moved, l examined most
carefully the ground outside. and also
the floor OF the room. There were no
footmarks.''
Meaning hat you saw none?"
II assure YOU, sir, that there were
none"