The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1907-09-21
The Times Daily Short Story.
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In time Jesse Bourn, eXhorted by his
spiritual adviser, confessed that he
and his brother Stephen and their IA.
Their, after Stephen had knocked Col.
win down, had carried him to the cellar
aud cut his throat with a jGekknife.
The next year they managed to remove
most Of the remains of their victim.
The confession of one man may turn
out to be false, but there was another
confession in this case that precluded
any doubt whatever that the first was
genuine. Stephen Bourn after a time
admitted that what his brother had
said was true. The father and the two
sons were convicted and sentenced to
be hanged on the 2Sth Of January,
1880.
Despite the double confession there
were persons SO obstinate In their
opinions as TO hold that the men were
innocent and some SO hard headed as
to doubt even that Colyln was dead.
Some Of these took It upon themselves
to insert advertisements Ia d number
Of papers for the missing man. Then
came another Of these chapters OF
events. A letter dated Shrewsbury,
N. j., Dec. G, 1910, and signed by a
Mrs. Chadwick appeared in the New
York Evening Post, stating that a de-
ranged man named Russell Colyin had
been there FIVE years before. The let
ter was considered a hoax.
In the Colvin case It was different.
James Whelpley Of New York, who
had known Colvin, resolved to follow
up this elew He tracked the man
who had been seen at Shrewsbury to
Dover, N. j., fifty miles away. Mr..
Whelpley went there and found his
old acquaintance, Russell Colvln. He
had been there ever since 1913.
The evidence that had determined
Colvin 70 have been murdered and the
process by which he was discovered IA
a singular illustration Of the blending
of the superstition Of the century with
the more enlightened methods Of the
eighteenth century. He had been
pronounced dead by n ghost seen IN a
dream. Those be accused were placed
under that inqulsitorlal process in
vogue during the two previous cen
turtles. The clergy were still power.
and a Clergyman oyhorted the accused
TO confess. as those accused Of witch
craft had been exhorted to confess.
Then comes in the dawn Of more
enlightened age the little newspaper
Of that period, candle compared with
the eearchlight Of today. to caat It's
feeble rays upon the victim and lights
up the truth.
Mr.. Whelpley took the murdered
man with him TO Kew York. and the
city council gave him money to go to
Manchester. who're he arrived about
month before his murderers were 10
have been hanged, OF course his
coming had been announced by mail.
The prisoners were released. the be.
lievcrs in dreams chlmed In with those
who had believed III the Boulms III
nocence, and the whole town, wild
with excitement, re-cnforced by dele
cations from the surrounding country.
prepared to welcome the man called
back from the dead. A salute was
fired from q cannon md small arms,
Stephen Bourn firing tho arst piece
Since that day the early newspaper,
l,sued occasionally whom the printer
Lea nothing better 70 do-has grown
from q elzc 70 bigger than the letter
sheet tl,3a tired to 10 hundreds Of
pages dailys It has continued to lay
bnrc fh0 eccrctg Of tho world. IT
lights Up dark corners where skcle-
tons wouldso.hcrUigo rot. II brings 10.
gother parents ard children, brothers
and sisters, lovers vho have lost one
another; 1t tolls the woeld Of useful
articles TINT eavc labor and that con-
iinually ada 70 CIR comfort. Dut Il is
questionable II Il has ever done bet
ter thing than 20 save the lives Of
three men BY feSi5T third. ne was
done b. SIS dd.ainutiyc ancestor OF
1910. EDWARD 9. srISNEY.