Year: 1868

Late yesterday afternoon it was reported
that the body of murdered man had been
found lying in the Charles City road about
eight miles from the city. Our reporter
rode down in that neighborbood, and found
that the report was true, and the body that
of young man named Emanuel Cross,
who was employed as charcoal l-driver by
Mr.. William Hutcheson Gathright, who
lives about eleven miles from the city.


The following particulars were learned ::
On Thursday morning young Gross started
to town with a load of charcoal. He had
with him some money of Mr.. Gathright's,
with which he was to buy seed oats, and
also some money of his own-the whole
sum probably amounting to fifty dollars.
Mr.. Gathright waited very impatiently for
the return of Cross until night, but as it
became dark he became uneasy. He wait
ed for him till a late hour, when he was
much surprised by the arrival of the horse
and cart, the cart filed with bags of oats.
He waited awhile, supposing that Cross
had been walking, and that the horse had
run ahead with his load. But Cross did
not come, and Mr.. Gathright thought
he would remove the oats from the
cart. In doing SO he found that some Of
the bags were smeared with blood, and
that there were spots of blood on the front
of the cart. Mr.. Gathright Immediately
suspected that Gross had been murdered
or badly injured, and determined to look
for him the first thing in the morning.
This he did, and had gone but a short
distance when he came across the body Of
Cross lying in the middle of the
road at a place known as Jordan's
Horse Water, on q road leading from
the Charles City road, and about mid
way between that and the Williams
burg road. Near the road leading to the
water is very steep place, and the body
was lying on the incline. Mr.. Gathright
examined it, and found that though the
body was almost covered with blood there
was but one wound, and that one on the
right side Of the head just below the ear.
4 closer examination showed that the
wound had been made by large pistol
ball. One OF the pants pockets was
turned inside out, and the money
gone. There were marks on the legs
where one Of the cart wheels had pass
ed over them. There were no indica-
tions Of q struggle, or anything else to
make it appear that the murder had been
committed where the body was found. The
supposition is that he was shot on the road
some distance above, robbed, and then
propped up on his seat, and the horse made
to move on, and that he, following his
natural instincts, started tor home. The
road being comparatively level, the body
remained steady until the cart came to
the creek, and in going down it tumbled
off and, from appearances, fell between
the shafts. Those who supposed this to
have been the way the deed was commit
ted were confirmed in it when they heard
the statement Of Mrs. Eacho, who lives on
the Charles City road between three and
four miles above the spot where the body
was found. She stated that about 8
o'clock the night before she heard some
voices near her house. The persons SEEM
ed to be excited, and at last one Of the
voices said "The road is wide enough,
and there is no use of your coming through
the field" A few moments afterwards
she heard the report Of a gun or pistol. A
gentleman living near this lady said that
he also heard a shot fired about the same
time.


The victim of this mysterious affair is
about eighteen years Of age. Both of his
parents are dead, and he has no relatives
living in this section OF the country. He
has borne a most irreproachable charac-
ter, and, in the language of one of our in
formants of the affair, he was too good to
have enemies, and he Eust have been shot
for the money which il was supposed he
carried.