Year: 1876

to be the truth, but 1t was generally
considered cunningly devised scheme
by which to throw suspicion on the
bathers, and clear himself of the
charge of murder. AS it was thought
of great importance to fix the owner
ship OF the knife, an officer was detail
ed to search among the cutters in
Manchester to discover, If possible, o
clue to its purchaser. The detective
was emincntly successful, for he not
only found the man who sold it, but
the latter at once designated Pelter,
whom he knew we'll, rs the purchaser,
identifying the knife by a new blade,
which he had subsequently inserted
for the owner.
When Pelter ascertained the facts in
relationship to the weapon which had
inflicted the wound in the neck of
Mary, he exclaimed:


"My God! Can it be possible? Why,


hat very night she asked me for me.
mento to remember me by, and l gave
her charm from my watch. Then re-
membering that Charley, her younger
brother, who was her fayerite, had Of
ten coveted my knife, l gave it to
Mary as present for Charley"


In spite of all these plausible ex.
plantations. Pelter's trial resulted in a
conviction, and he was hanged in
Bristol in the autumn OF the fame
year, everyone being satisfied of the
justice of the sentence.


AS already stated at the outset of
this article, a confession has just been
made by dying convict in Portland
prison, which exonerates Pelter from
the crime of murder, and confirms the
latest story told by him.


Alfred Barber was sentenced to life
imprisonment for burglary ard vio-
lence, in 1868. and has been in Port
land prison since 1873. Toward the
close Of last year he showed symptoms
of consumption, and after lingering
for few months, died in February
Just before he brcathed his last, he
made confession of several crimes, aud
among them, OF outrage and murder
) of Mary Janion,


On the night that the unfortunate
girl met Pelter on the river, Barber and
another, whom he would not name, be-
cause, no said, he was dead, were bathing
with two others younger than them
selves. These latter two were respecta-
BILE lads, and being afraid to be seen in
the company of the others, dressed and


quilted the river first, passing up the
! field to the highway. Barber and his
companion remained in the water for
J some time, and white swimming out in
the stream, caught sight Of a man and
woman on the bank, around the bend.


Soon after, Barber and the other dressed
and went round the bend to see where
the man and woman had gene. There
was no sign of them on the river side,
and Barber suggested that they were in
the shrubbery. He and his companion
passed gently through the bush, and un-
: man seized a valise which lay on the
s ground and ran, leaving the girl alone
Barber and his companion made pro-
posals to her, which were rejected,
and then the awful outrage followed
which resulted in her death. Stupi-
fed by the blows, the ruffans succeeded
in their horrible purpose, and then rifed
her pockets, from which they took
charm, some money and the knife. They
were about to quit their victim, when
, she showed signs of reviving conscious
ness. Barbor thereupon suggested that
there would be no safety for them if


she should recover, and suggested that


they should finish her.


The other man at once opened the big


blade of the knife which they had Just


taken from the girls pocket, and stabbed
her IN The throat. The blood gushed out
nearly yard high, and she was speedily
J a corpse. They then resolved to fling


her into the river, and as they thought
her clothes would cause her 10 float, and


so cause spee6ier disco rery then other
wise, they stripped the bciy, tied the
clothes in bundle, with two or three
stones inside, and flung it :, the river
Then they dragged the corpse to the
creek and dropped it in among the rushes
and reeds. They fastened across the
field to the read, and flung the bloody
knife away in their fight.


One thing about this case is Rote-
worthy, and puts it on par with more
than one murder OF recent occurrence
in this country. The officers of the law
once having made up their minds that
the facts all pointed to Pelter as the
guilty man, never took one step to ascer-
tain who the bathers in the river were
on the evening Of the IN urder.