The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1913-06-12
THE GREAT cAMPDEN
+ SECRET,

About the middle or the Seventeenth
century all England was greatly ex-
cited i've the Campden mystery, which
had TO; deal with the disappearance OF
William Harrison in August, 1860, who
was supposed TO have been robbed and
then murdered. A mother and two sons
were executed as having committed
the deed, but two years later Harrison
returned home Inc told q remarkable
story OF his having been kidnapped and
conveyed to some foreign port, and only
was able to return after q series of
most exciting adventures.
Harrison's story was so full Of i'm
possible and conflicting statements that
It a generally come to be believed
that he was lever very far from his
own home during the intervening few
years from the time OF his reported
murder until his return. 1t was OBJ
viously made worth his while to tell
his story on his return, and to accept
the situation. afE r,fsIy& I'll atG
No n was ever able to discover why
Harrison remained away so long and
allowed the injustice to be done TO the
Perry family, but the mystery Is also
still unsolved as to why the Perrys told
such extraordinary and misleading
stories as to ieopardize their own lives.
The disappearance OF Harrison.
briefly told, Is NJ follows: He left his
~ la AN y AAoSAA SAAA gAAAhSAn ~
was supposed to have walked, two
miles to Charringworth to collect his
|lady's rents. When he did not return
late in the evening his domestic, John
Perry, was sent in search Of him. That
night neither master nor man returned.
In the morning a son of Harrison start
ed in search and met Perry returning
without his master.
They both started to discover the
whereabouts of Harrison, but succeed
ed only In finding a hat, comb and
bloody band belonging to the supposed
murdered man. On hearing OF the dis
covery the public generally started to
search for the murdered nan The
mysterious way John Perry acted led to
his being accused OF the crime. Even
the lying story he told was corrobor-
ated by several men he named. Perry
even stated that his mother and brother
Richard had frequently asked him to
tell them where Harrison went to coll
lect rents, and that he believed they
had murdered him.
On the strength OF Johns impossible
farrago OF insane falsehoods, all three
were arrested, were tried and were exec
cuted. Strange as ii may seem in view
.of the innocence, they pleaded guilty
ito the robbery, because Some one whis-
pered to them TO do SO, for the crime
was covered by the Act Of Pardon and
obhANAOi PlS1Od w Sb0AtCS ~ az HIS
happy restoration, ,--
AT a later trial they all pleaded In
nocent, but this did not lave her. Joan
was hanged first. Richard came next,
but rot until after he had made a plea
ITO his brother John to clear his char
.acter by a dying declaration. Finally,
when Johns turn came, he said he
knew nothing of his masters death.
nor what had become OF him. 1t has
always been presumed that John at
least had an inkling OF the real state
OF the case.
Nearly three years after three per-
sons were hung for his murder, Viii
liam Harrison suddenly reappeared.
Where had the old man been2 He ex-
planned In a letter to Sir Thomas Over
bury, but his tale is as hard to believe
as that OF John Perry.
He said he left his. house to collect
rents, was waylaid by highwaymen.
was handcuffed and carried away. For
several days his kidnapers kept him In
seciusion and finally he was put on
board ship. No explanation was ever
forthcoming as to what his kidnapers
wanted with him, for he was 20 years
old, and had little money in his pos
session, and one OF the stories he told
| was how his abductors had kept him
freely supplied with money.
He declared that he waE finalIy sold
to q physician at smyrna. who was 81