Year: 1866

occurred. | was at that time post
master in the town of l.. An
unusually warm spell of weather had
carried away much of the snow, and
left the roads very muddy, and rem
dered the travelling very bad. l
thought of this as | closed the shutters
about nine o'clock in the evening, and
also remembered that, as it was We'd
nesday, the stage from c. was due
at eight, but owing to the bad going
it was not yet in. | therefore deter
mined that | would, as | had often
done before, lock the front door be-
tween the inner and outer rooms, and
leaving the light burning, go to sleep,
trusting to the driver to wake me by
rattling the door.


1t seemed but a few moments, so
soundly had l slept ere | was awak
ened by pounding On the door,
Glancing at the clock, which stood op-
posite, | discovered however, that it
was one o'clock in the morning, and
that l had been asleep nearly four
hours. AS hurried toward the door,
1 put my hand into my pocket for the
key and found it empty. The two
door keys and both the keys to my
safe, all of which had when | went
to sleep, were gone. Stepping to a
rear door, in the lock Of which | al
ways kept the key, found that also
locked and the key gone. This so
surprised me that for a few seconds [
remained on the spot utterly unable
to do anything to solve the mystery.
From this state | was aroused by re-
newed pounding on the door. There
was now but one available mode Of
exit from my prison and that was
through a small window. Throwing
up the sash | sprang out and hurried
round to where | expected to find the
driver. Mysteries seemed to have no
end, for instead of meeting the driver,


| came upon an excited crowd ofabout
twenty. My appearance was the sig
nal for all to commence telling me
the cause Of their excitement, Silence
was however, at last obtained, and
then the Sheriff told me in as few


words as possible the state of affairs.


1t seemed that one of the physicians
of the town, DR.. Smith, was returning
from a prolonged visit to a patient
and when about a mile from the town


heard in the road ahead Of him a pis
tol shot. Hurrying on, he found about
a mile farther on, the stage, for which
| was waiting, down by the side of


road, and in the middle of the road
the body of man. Bringing his
lantern near the face, he found that il
] was the driver, and that he was dead
having been shot through the head
He found the robes, &c, Of the team


scattered around on the ground, a:


was also the mailbag, but the latter
. had been unlocked, not cut open, anC
. the contents gone. He lift c d th,
body up and placed it in the stage
: and was Just starting on for assistance
{ when he saw a revolver laying nea
e by, which from the fact that one barre
I had been discharged, he decided wa
0 the weapon with which the deed hat
i been committed. Arriving in tow
k he aroused the sheriff and few neigh
e borS; and while some were dispatche
e with the doctor after the body, tn
e sheriff and others had gone to IN
q house after me. Finding | was no
= there they had come to the Office, an
s. just as | joined them the body arrived
u This was the substance of the fact
i, related to me. 1t seemed strange tha
y the sheriff should have gone to IN
u house instead of after the body, and
"a was about to so express myself, whe
le he stepped forward and laying h
D. hand on my shoulder said;


a II arrest you, John Blanchard, fC
IL the murder Of Charles Smith the stag
v driver"


e. If he had struck me | should ne
r. have been more surprised. | tried
al reason with him, but although he W;
IL, very civil he was equally firm, and tt
or result was that | spent the remaindC
IT. of the night in the county Jail, whi(
Is building was situated in l., tn;
1t being the shire town. The eXamin
IL tion the next morning elected the f(


lowing rather curious facts:


When the sheriff searched my pc
OIL son he was surprised to find no key
Dr. and indeed no wallet or memoranda


book. Sending to my assistant he O
n? tanned the door keys but the safe ke


could not be found, and my clerk {
? clared that always carried them wi


me. Upon entering they found tE


the letters were all gone, the mon


drawer empty, and few stam]
ice which the clerk informed them we


ways left out Of the safe at night, mi


ing. And no trace could be found
Tou the safe keys. Supposing that l h


disposed Of them in order that
$. trace of my guilt, which was taken
eir granted had concealed in the sa


could not be discovered, they brous


a locksmith, and after much laE
1t forced the lock. This labor o.
ers showed them that the safe had bt
att completely rihed, and that the sum
lies three thousand dollars which had bt
hat in it the night before was gone.


sun | found that the causes which
lor- to suspicion being fastened upon
the were the three following: First,
as revolver with which the deed was c.
ally mitted had upon the butt silver pl
ros- on which was engraved my name.
zen clerk took oath that the weapon
any mine, and that | always kept it in


office. When they produced it | &C


not doubt for a moment that it did
ohm long to me. Second, that the bag
ars, unlocked and not cut open, show