Year: 1862

Editors intslligeReer: i.z ~ dr1si1


It having been pretty generally circula-
ted through the country that Col. BroRu
of the 18th Va. regiment, commandaut of
this post, was in some way mixed up with
the killing of Lewis Wetzel, it is, due to
Col. Brown ami the regiment that the pub
lie should know what dispOsitionwss made
of the case. The warrant under which he
was arrested was rather vague in its mean
ing. It charged that Col. Brown was
'.pTincipdl IN; the Seeon6 degreen in killing
one Lewis Wetzel, or at least that he was
accessory to the killing &C., before the fact.
AS neither charge was sufficiently clearly
indicated to enable the defense to divine
the intentions of the prosecution, il be-
came necessary to raise an inquiry upon
the subject. This was handsomely done
by Col. Ben. Smith for the defense. but to
the astonishment Of your correspondent
and all Others concerned, the prosecution
refused.to give direct answer, but referred
the defense TO the Court, whose prerogu-
tive, they maintained, it was to de-
fine the intent and meaning of the
papers, The Court declined to render
any decision in the case and threw the
responsibility back upon the prosecution,
wisely concluding that lawyers should be
able TO determine the meaning Of warrants,
or at least they should be the judge oftheir
own intentions in the premises, and that
by all means the prisoner should know for
what he was prosecuted. The prosecution
still refused to decide, maintaining that it
was the duty of the court to define the
meaning of the warrant, and expressed en-
tire Willingness to prosecute according to its
dicision. At this poihttlfe defense moved
to. 9uash the warrant aud dismiss the suit,
bnt the court decided thAtthe papers were
good, aud reatfirtns its former decision, that
the prosecution should determine what
they intended to prosecute for. After a
good deal of legal strategy aud squirming,
it became apparent that they had ''caught
Il Tartar" and were likely to be "bagged,"
take which course they might. They final
ly moved to quash their own warrent upon
the grounds OF illcgality. But the court
had already decided that the warrant was
good and could not recedo from it. Here
was dilemma-the court could not quash
and the prosecution would not prose-
cute according to the apparent meaning Of
the warrant. The court asked what it
should do2 Old Col. Ben gravely answer
ed that his advice would be to Itbrow the
whole thing out of court, for it ought never
to have heen brought in" This advice
was gravely followed, and the important
suit of the commonwealth against Colonel
Brown was brought to a close, the court
remaking that it was prepared to have doue
that same thing the evening before had the
case been submitted to its decision.


There is not much of Importance going
on in this valley at present. The 18Th Va.
regiment is still encamped at this point,
and Gen. Spears brigade, of the Cumber.
land Gap army, is eucamped across the
river Just below. The most interesting
thing in progress here at present is the
catching and breaking Of mules, of which
there is n fine lot in respectable distance of
my boarding house, To witness the scene
is good for the dyspepsia The geographi-
cal location Of their nativity and raising
aud their political status in general, is easi-
lys determined from their repugnauce 10
being constrained to enter the service of
Uncle Sam, and the determination with
which they resist any encroachments upon
their personal liberties. Like the South
ern Statesr they seem to deem it coEsti-
tutional duty TO make WaT-like demopstra-
tions so soon as sister mule essays to eat
from the same pile, hence they usually do u
good deal of superauous kicking before
the hour of danger comes. But after
all, like most other things, they are easily
managed II taken in the right way. Every
thing, it is said, has its vulnerable points
The vulnerabiiity ofa certain fabled Mari
on of old was in his head, the evulnerability
ofthe Southern Confederacy is in the mig,
ger, but the yulerability of a mule is in iis
ears. Ifyou take a man by the ears to com
pell him to do that which Is against his
will, you are likely to get yourself into
trouble, but take mule by the ear aud he
becomes passive at once. No more certain
was SamPson's strength subdued by the
clipping of his hair, than is mules be.
ligerent propensitiss by the twisting of his
ear. He either has high regard for the
organ as an ornament and fears thct re-
sistance will result iuity loss, or its ex-
treme sensitiysness to pain so -afflicts the
body as to fepdefresstance oht Of the ques.
tion. However be this as it may, the pro-
cess puts a good many mules into the trains
of the army of the, Kauawha, which is a
very important arm Of the service, aud will
soon be more so-if-thezgood= Being does
not soon see proper 70 send rains to raise
the river. WEsr VIRGINIA. ]


CAMP JEssE, Va, Nov. sths 1852.


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