704
THE GREEN BAG
night. The court were Dudley Chase, Chief Judge, uncle to Salmon P. Chase, later Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, and Joel Doolittle and William Brayton, As sistant Judges. Owing to lack of space to accommodate the audience the trial was held in the Congregational Church. The evidence, aside from the written confession of Stephen and the testimony of Silas Mer rill and Lewis Colvin, was mainly circum stantial. Stephen's written confession, hav ing been excluded when offered by the state, was offered by the defense, and admitted. Lewis Colvin, son of Russell, whose testimony was in part corroborated by that of Thomas Johnson, testified that the last time he saw his father was during a quarrel with Stephen, in the course of which Stephen knocked his father down with a club. The witness, being frightened, then ran away to the house and was later threatened with being killed by Stephen if he said anything about striking. Silas Merrill, the principal witness before the grand jury was a fellow-prisoner, charged with forgery, and it appears that after giving his testimony before the grand jury Merrill's chains were taken off and he was permitted to go about the streets, whereas, previously he had been in chains and in close confine ment. His testimony was as follows: "Manchester, Aug. 27, 1819. "In June last, Jesse's father came to the prison and spoke to Jesse. After the old man went away, Jesse appeared much afflicted. We went to bed and to sleep. Jesse waked up and shook me and wanted that I should wake up. He was frightened about something that had come into the the window and was on the bed behind him. He stated that he wanted to tell me something. We got up, and he went on to tell me. He said it was true that he was up in the lot together with Stephen and Russell Colvin and his son, picking up stones, as Mr. Johnson testified. That Stephen struck Colvin with a club and brought him to the
ground. That Colvin 's boy ran, that Col vin got up and Stephen gave him a second blow above his ear and broke his skull. That the blood gushed out; that his father came up and asked if he was dead. They told him no; he then went off. Soon after he came again and asked if he was dead. They told him no; he then went off. Soon after the old man came the third time and asked if he was dead; they told him no; the old man said, damn him. Then he (Jesse) took him by the legs, Stephen by the shoulders, and the old man round the body, and carried him to the old cellar, where the old man cut his throat with a small pen knife of Stephen's. That they buried him in the cellar between daylight and dark; that he stood out one side and kept watch. That a jack-knife was found which he knew was Russell's that he had often borrowed it to cut fishpoles. Two or three days after Stephen had Colvin 's shoes on. That he (Jesse) spoke to Stephen and told him that Sal. would know the shoes; that he saw no more of them. That the old man gave Stephen one hundred dollars, and Stephen promised twenty-five of it to him. After Jesse was put into another room, when we were permitted to see each other, Jesse told me that he had informed Stephen of his having told me the whole affair. Stephen then came into the room. I asked him if he did take the life of Colvin. He said he did not take the main life of Colvin. He said no more at that time. A week or ten days after, Stephen and I went up into the court-room together. Stephen then said he had agreed with Jesse to take the whole business upon himself, and had made a con fession which would only make man slaughter of it. I told him what Jesse had confessed, and he said it was true. Jesse told me that in February, eighteen months or more after the body of Colvin was buried, there came a thaw. That he and Stephen took up the body, secured the bones and remains in a basket and pulled up a plank in a place where they kept sheep, and put
