Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

SAVANNAH DAILY HERALD; . a.x; ' VOLUME I.) 3No. ||;ibamt;ilj * | . ub poteusukd ,y ; . t , : .*i EVERY EVENING, SUNDAYS EXCEPTED, < •gjf . ’ $3. w. M.VJSON & co. ;, f! At lit Bat Street, Savannah, • Georgia, terms: Per C0py....................... -Five Cents. Per Hundred :.. .$3 50. Per Year,'. ~. ....$lO 00, • ADTEKTIgIBfI: A limited number of Advert!semeets will he re ceived at the rate of Twenty Cents per Line for first insertion,and Fifteen Cents per Line for each subsequent insertjpn ; invariably in-advance. Ad vertisements should be handed in before noon of each day. JOB PRINTING In every style, neatly and promptly done. ,^ ♦ .... - v 4 *' 4 ~ ' *~“ L “ * ’*'* "~~ 1 ~ “STUMPY BROWN.” About four years since there lived in the town of Woodbridge, in Suffolk, a short, sharp-featured, wiry little man, who apparently had no occupation, but professed to be a farm-laborer, and re ally got his living principally by poach ing. His proper name was Richard Brown, * but the townsfolk of Wood-- bridge, from some fancy or other, prob ably bn account of his short stature,* had changed the Richard into Stumpy, < and by that name he was always known.— Every one was afraid of Stumpy Browh; he lived in the outskirts of the town, on the Martlesome road, and rarely troubled himself to converse much with his neigh bors. When he did it was generally to dispose of a horse, or game of some de scription, which he nearly always'had in stock. His dress, in addition to the knee breeches of the period, and the* usually bright-colored vest, with a long brown coat of very shabby appearance, and a loose felt bat, which he wore over his forehead, whilst his cold, grey eye's glanced malignantly from under its brim.' No oiie could say any harm ’Of Brown, beyond that he was a surly, ill conditioned sort of fellow, who shunned his neighbors, and wasaknown poacher, but yet there were suspicions and ru mors abroad about him, which, if true 1 , would have brought him to the gallows. Some few years before the time of which I speak throe murders had occurred at various intervals in the neighborhood of Woodbridge, which considering the na ture add size of the town, was a very startling circumstance. Os none of these was theperpetrator known. • .) . Ad officer of a regiment quartered at Woodbridge had been drinking in the Red Liok public house on the Martle some roal; he had been seen and recog nized here ; on i the following mom in g he was fdmd in a ditch near by, his throat and his pockets empty. ) o The Captain of a Norwegian trading vessel, tten lying in the port, after he had been missing for ten days, was found in a putrescent condition at the bottom otfthe river, tied up in a sack, without tie least clue as to where or by whom (he lad bfeen murdered. Lastlyv?* farmer of the name of Aigh ton, whoseproperty was in the neigh borhood, vfcg known to have gone into Woodbridg on the market day; he did * not return iome in the evening, but on the foliowbg morning his body was found Uvahrn by the side of the road behind the which it was necessary for him to inverse on his way back.— His head haqbeen battered in, apparent ly by some >lunt instrument, and hia pockets rifleq More attention appears to haVe been excited by this murder than in two fomer cases. 'Hie officer pd the captain were stran gers in the-to fyi, and with regard to the Norwegian sapper's case, it , was the genejral some of the vessel’s crew were confected with the matter. — SAVANNAH, THURSDAY EVENING, FEB. 16, 1866. i . • : 777 TANARUS). *»CD rj M if',;. But in this instance, the victim .was no stringer. Farmer * Aighton was f-weU,* known and Hespeeted in 'Woodbridge, anand had been: mahy of: his friends on the very day. of Uis The inquest was held as fin the two otheiL.vasesj.'but no evi- 1 derjee wasadduced as to the author, of! thd cripie. | .Justice appears to .•have been tardy in i thefee tiines, at rate in that quarrel of tjhe World j npw-a-days it would in deed Astonish us fehould three undiscov ered murders spread their dark shadows of suspicion and feqr over a .single small tow(n within the coferse of ten years.— Although no evidence had been brought before the authorities, tending to incul pate any indiVidual%ith the murder of Aighton, yet the ringer of suspicion, as directed by the good people of Wood- Jtiriuge, pomted to Stumpy Brown. He was known to have poached on the fariher’s grounds, and had been prosecu ted jby him, and threatened' with a Sec ond summons. ' Stumpy a sour-mouthed fellow,, and! had Seen heard to say that he would “dej sor 1 * any person Who interfered with what be considered his privileges, and in conse q uence of t h is, m any. farmers and ! neighbors had from ' prosecu ingT Brown, absolutely ''through fear.— Hence it was thought not improbable iha( Stumpy Brpwn.bad murdered Farm er Aighton to prevent his executing UiS' threat of a second summons Time pass ed 6n and people forgot their suspicions concerning Brown* . When h was a boy in the town, about fortjy years since. Stumpy was regarded by the more sensible folks as-a character, a qtieer sulky old fellow, but no credit was given to the rumors of his being a mutderer. I was apprenticed to q, dpc-, tor fa the town, and being fond qf, fish ing jor shooting whenever I .could steal the time, managed to make the acquaint ance of. oia Brown, who always ,knew where a hare i was, or an old pike. He seemed to take a fancy to me, and many a evening haye with hint fishing in the riyer. One evening I remember w§ll walking with him at the back of the town. I nevjer gave the least credence to the re ports about Stiimpjf' atari therefore had no hesitation in referring to the murder.* •• ‘‘Ah,” said I, pointihg to the foad, “that’swhere they murdered Aighton, isn't it r - Brown started A little, and said, “ I Wish, sir, yonld'nt talk on them sort of things that ain’t pleasant I heerri mucp about it, never he erd much’. 1 I suppose that be the place; as thfeysay soi but my Opinion is that that’s fercher alofigi not that I should kndw abonf it; fr IjOiten heard him muttennglh hi&ffef anc once found him staffing into *Kyson dock in and very intent manner. I started him by my appearance, and he That's deep down therO; Sir, Vary' deejp. That would easily drOWn a * man' specially if he were tied And tpem he laughed.' * i I recall these circumstances now, hut at the time lUhought nothing Os thefn.— Towards the end;of the tear iB6O, .the small pox broke out in Woodbridge wftli great violence, as it did in many tbWnS in East Angjffia at period; All the help and care that could be dbtainefl were required for the hundreds of pa tients who wCredafiy earned off by this terrible disease. My master and I 1 had the greater part of the Work to’do. 1 * 0 ; , A pest house was established, and the mdividualsx'appointedi'tb take charge of it, to receive .the patients and superin tend the nursing, were Stumpy - Brown and his wife Lt>ld Mrs Brown, Whom I •have not mentioned/ had been wedded to btumpy lbr tony years, and T always considered her an hohefct 014 Woman. i When the pest broke out, BtuiUpy haid vea« getting jnkUfolke, the marks ot sixty winters being upon them. I ] wvr: v ic .'ui TiMnwjii however, found Brown an excellent as house, as he te> bdrisess a very great amount of sang &oid in dealing with dtMl bodies, 3 which iaa valuable quality. .•ii Jithough as we beforesaid, among the educated of the .fb'yhs-ncbpj? no mo: 'e »Wes TOorigbt of the rtimor ‘that * Brc wn had murdered Aighton, yet the Lower Classes still feared him.. Mrs. Brc wn had all aiohg shared the same dislike as ‘ her husband. It was said that she had the “evil eye,*'that she was a witch, ami various other disagreeable things. When, therefore, the doctor placed my old acquaintance, Brown and his wife, in charge of the pest house, it was not won der ill-that many of the poor were afraid ongoing there, and tried hard to be al low edxto remain in their own homes. . AjMrs.' Fiteh. Whose husband had been smijtten with*‘the disease, and was to be sept to the''pest house, begged hard that lie should not go. ' 1 ‘]He knbws, sir, that of Brown that ( Vpod hang r> im,” she said," 1 “and it’s hell neVer Come out alive.” Rut of cotirse no heed could be paid' to this, and Fitch went. In two days hfe lfecarrie much worse, and skid he should Uke,tq,see the clergyman before he died. The doctor passed with me on our! reguW fbund, hnd I despatched Brown sot” the curate of the parish.— EitohWbrild last another day, we both thought, arid leaving him' with Mrs. ; BroWn, Went inl.o. the next Ward. When theiclergymah came Fitch w&s dead’.' liwent up 1) study in. London after the epi(|emid had passed away, and forgot Btumpy Brown apd Woodbridge until the; following facts were narrated to me' about seven years afteirwards. It appeared that a man of the name of Green was charged at Woodbridge with burglary. This map I knew was an old companion of Brown's, t and seemed al ways to have a sqft o| very, mysterious, couuecilvii with him. When awaiting his trial he wrote to Brown that unless he came and swore to-ga “Alibi” for him. he would ‘let him (Brown) know.’ Brown did t pot oqme forward emi aec-orclingly when in prison (jreien, burned iiingis and im f* Heated old Stumpy in the njynrder of ‘ai mer Aighton. It was, nearly thirty years since the murder occurred, and Brown ; >vas now a feeble old man.— ,Wfc ether it was on account of his old age; end the, time whiph bad elapsed, since the murder, or whether f pi default of evident, I cannot say, Brown, who was -tried pt Jdury assizes, was con - victfe/Lpf aggravated .manslaughter only, and sentenced to, penal servitude ;for the rehiainder of Mb days. The ship in Whicfehe to. have gone to Botany Bay was one o 7 jthe last convict transports which lptt; Rhglaqd.,. It was wrecked in Rhei channel otTßoulogne,. And. ,ail.rm, board Abembpe,' of tiho, myrders yfere explained; iii thejperson of my old acquaintance, and expiated., • ’ blyrs, Brdwn did hot,long surviye her husband. M she lay on : her dentil bed SHe said “to’the doctor— ( ' J , ! r ‘T should'like to fsti&lk to some 6ne befor^lgb/ inlergyman was sent for, but when, he came the old woman raised herself in lteifbed add said— ' , l - 1 ‘JTbCre’s no tisC yohr ebridihg herie ho good y’dri can do me. It'S trie mhgisffAth i Want.”''' f- ';; J ' r, ‘ ! 4fter this ,ehe! ’ Elapsed for some tithe, and with her last energy she said:— i! ‘!l mw gfal summit to yer afor I dfei Sthmpy’s' shall. Ibe soon, I sd that dom-matteiS You know the of ficer as was murdered and < robbed close iff itbM 'Manlesome andf Stumpy ba’idonfe that. (A paiHe.) Yer know the Captain what Wks found In a sack f I’hhd Stumpy put ’im fn. r ' Wo drugged ’im first and then took his money and 11 ) .. 1 ■ * seWed im up. Fiteh saw Stumpy phf - imi in the river, but he dursn’t tell, ’catse Stumpy said he'd do the same fer hint if he did. When he sent for the cfeßgyman when Fitch was a dying Btitmpy says to me, Says he, gemi ' teblab; you best f*trm im.” I knowed %hat be meant and so I stuck the pilloir onjhis face after you were gone, Ik weht off quite easy and uaferal like, and he hadnH long to live anyways. That's all about Fitch. (Another pause ) Stumpy killed owld Aighton 'cause he prosecuted ’im and it Warn’t like Im? Would stand that.. Stumpy's drowned, * ter can't git him, and I ain't,fur ©ft* dyibg. I can die more quiet like'now I have loosed my mind. That’s getting: cold now, I feel as if that were a kibes' o’Bipotberme. Oh, Lord!” And thus the old woman died. No» great publicity was given to. „ Musk Brown s confession, and to many the: W-cfodbridge murders are still a mystery. of the Savannah Herald. £ ‘Milton S. Cl, Feb. 11, IB6S_ Tjlie Arago, for New York, from th im port, left the wharf last night, and an chored in the river until 1 o'clock, P. M.,i to-day when Gen. Foster went on boa^df J The General has been granted », leave of absence on accbunt of disabili ty s|rom wounds. " He transferred the* command of this department, fin ac cordance With orders from the War De partment,) duffing his absence, to MaJ. Geq. Q. A. Gillmore, U. S. Volunteers. Tho best wisbefe of the officers and en listed men will accompany the General has ICft us. Among the passengers, per Arago, wo* wiiL mention Wit. F. Buchanan, Assis tant Surgeon, U. S. A., lady and child.— Dr.IB. has for some trme been the Ex ' eciilive officer of the Medical uF This Department. His uniform urbanity cheerful and obliging disposit ion.have wok for him q host of wbfLWjri'n hini much pleasure, on his trip home. Qn assuming command, Gey, Gill mofe issued the following General Order a t ' HFXDQOABTERB PEPABTiUC,T OK ’ME SotTU, HiltOn Hiau, S. C., Feb. 0.1605, General Oui>erß* ) . < » No. 10. ; Id compliance'with orders from' the Secretary of War, dated D: C., Jan. SO, 1805. tho under signtd hereby assumes command of the Depart meniof the South. j Afl e±ist|tig order's and kcguLatione will ro~ muLt iq. force until otherwise Ordered. r, y. A, GILLMORE. ‘ iV 1 : Major General Volunteers ' W. L. iMi BciuJJfcß, Ahb't Adj’tGtnwaL ; , JO^ciaM ffihree recruiting agents arrived, per Illihonv from New York. Tbuy offer 1 ■ It ~:<!■ * streng to colored men to. enlist/ One will go to your^fty; another to Beaufort, mid the third will remain ak / /piilton Head.’ More anon. j • • I-.,' ( .!*, CaSSANI)*.!.. I’uN—HoML .AUpfc), AND BoRR»W»1> FRojM our Neighbors.—NamCi *m<#> amk ybil destroy me ?—Silence. ; Why is it absurd to expect a pretty girl to be candid ?—Because she cannofc be plain. What is that from which, if you take* the whole, some will yet remain ?—The word “wholesome.” ‘ What is the difference between a pi cnife and the national debt ?-^Oneis fun alive, and tho other is fan-dead (funded). f Why cannot th© Emperor Napok< m msnre fais life ?-r-Because no man can make out his policy.!! What >is the # difference betwefen an honest>and a dishonest laundress ?—Th© forjner irons your- linen ; and the latter stei/ff HVL —Jnutf WfiO \nt m-i': ,vj ?; i; ' What kind offnut did they have in the* ark ?—Preserved pairs (pears). 1 PRICE ‘-I % iFlve Cents.