May 1748, about ten in the morning, he struck her with his open hand,
and made her cry: that she going out of the house to the dunghill,
opposite to the door, he followed her, with a hook in his hand, with an
intent to kill her; but before he came up to her, he set down the hook,
and went into the house for a knife. He then came out again, took hold
of the girl's left hand, and cut her wrist all round to the bone, and
then threw her down, and cut her to the bone just above the elbow of the
same arm. That, after this, he set his foot upon her stomach, and cut
her right arm round about, and to the bone, both on the wrist and above
the elbow. That he still thought she would not die, and therefore took
the hook and cut her left thigh to the bone. His next care was to
conceal the murder for which purpose he filled a pail with water at a
ditch, and washing the blood off the child's body, buried it in the
dunghill, together with the blood that was spilled upon the child's
clothes, and then went and got his breakfast. When he was examined, he
showed very little concern, and appeared easy and cheerful. All he
alleged was, that the child fouled the bed in which they lay together;
that she was sulky, and that he did not like her.
The boy was found guilty, and sentenced to death; but he was respited
from time to time on account of his tender years, and at length
pardoned.
BENJAMIN TAPNER, JOHN COBBY, JOHN HAMMOND, RICHARD MILLS, RICHARD MILLS
THE YOUNGER, AND OTHERS.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
We do not recollect ever to have heard of a case exhibiting greater
brutality on the part of the murderers towards their victim than this.
The offenders were all smugglers, and the unfortunate objects of their
crime were a custom-house officer, and a shoemaker, named respectively
William Galley and Daniel Chater. It would appear that a daring and very
extensive robbery having been committed at the custom-house at Poole,
Galley and Chater were sent to Stanstead in Sussex, to give some
information to Major Battine, a magistrate, in reference to the
circumstance. They did not, however, return to their homes, and on
inquiry, it turned out that they had been brutally murdered, the body of
Galley being traced, by means of bloodhounds, to be buried, while that
of Chater was discovered at a distance of six miles, in a well in
Harris' Wood, near Leigh, in Lady Holt's Park, covered up with a
quantity of stones, wooden railings, and earth.
At a special commission held at Chichester, on the 16th of January 1749,
the prisoners Benjamin Tapner, John Cobby, John Hammond, William Carter,
Richard Mills the elder, and Richard Mills the younger, were indicted
for the murder of Daniel Chater; the three first as principals, and the
others as accessories before the fact; and William Jackson and William
Carter were indicted for the murder of William Galley.
From the evidence adduced, the circumstances of this most horrid murder
were proved, and it appeared that the two deceased persons having passed
Havant on their road to Stanstead, went to the New Inn at Leigh, where
they met one Austin, and his brother and brother-in-law, of whom they
asked the road, and they conducted them to Rowland's Castle, where, they
said, they might obtain better information. They went into the White
Hart, and Mrs. Payne, the landlady, suspecting the object of their
mission, sent for the prisoners Jackson and Carter, and they were soon
after joined by some others of the gang. After they had been all sitting
together, Carter called Chater out, and demanded to know where Diamond,
one of those suspected of the robbery, was? Chater replied that he was
in custody, and that he was going against his will to give evidence
against him. Galley, following them into the yard, was knocked down by
Carter, on his calling Chater away, and they then returned in-doors. The
smugglers now pretended to be sorry for what had occurred, and desired
Galley to drink some rum, and they persisted in plying him and Chater
with liquor until they were both intoxicated. They were then persuaded
to lie down and sleep, and a letter to Major Battine, of which they were
the bearers, was taken from them, read, and destroyed.
One John Royce, a smuggler, now came in, and Jackson and Carter told him
the contents of the letter, and said that they had got the old rogue,
the shoemaker of Fording-bridge, who was going to inform against John
Diamond, the shepherd, then in custody at Chichester. Here William
Steele proposed to take them both to a well about two hundred yards from
the house, and to murder and throw them in; but this was rejected, and
after several propositions had been made as to the mode in which they
should be disposed of, the scene of cruelty was commenced by Jackson,
who, putting on his spurs, jumped upon the bed where they lay, and
spurred their foreheads, and then whipped them; so that they both got up
bleeding. The smugglers then took them out of the house, and Mills swore
he would shoot any one who followed or said anything of what had
occurred.
Meanwhile, the rest put Galley and Chater on one horse, tied their legs
under the horse's belly, and then tied the legs of both together. They
now set forward, with the exception of Royce, who had no horse; and they
had not gone above two hundred yards, before Jackson called out "Whip
'em, cut 'em, slash 'em, d--n 'em!" upon which, all began to whip except
Steele, who led the horse, the roads being very bad. They whipped them
for half a mile, till they came to Woodash, where they fell off, with
their heads under the horse's belly; and their legs, which were tied,
appeared over the horse's back. Their tormentors soon set them upright
again, and continued whipping them over the head, face, shoulders, &c.,
till they came to Dean, upwards of half a mile farther; and here they
both fell again as before, with their heads under the horse's belly,
which were struck at every step by the horse's hoofs.
[Illustration]
Upon placing them again in the saddle, the villains found them so weak
that they could not sit; upon which they separated them, and put Galley
before Steele, and Chater before little Sam; and then whipped Galley so
severely, that, the lashes coming upon Steele, at his desire they
desisted. They then went to Harris'-well, and threatened to throw Galley
in; but when he desired that they would put an end to his misery at
once, "No," said Jackson, "if that's the case, we have something more to
say to you;" and they thereupon put him on the horse again, and whipped
him over the Downs until he was so weak that he fell off. They next laid
him across the horse, and little Sam, getting up behind him, subjected
him to such cruelty as made him groan with the most excruciating
torments, and he fell off again. Being again put up astride, Richards
got up behind him; but the poor man soon cried out, "I fall, I fall,"
and Richards pushed him with force, saying, "Fall, and be d--d!" The
unhappy man then turned over and expired; and they threw the body over
the horse, and carried it off with them to the house of one Scardefield,
who kept the Red Lion at Rake. The landlord remarking the condition of
Chater, and Galley's body, the fellows told him that they had engaged
with some officers, had lost their tea, and that some of them were
wounded, if not dead. This was sufficient, and Jackson and Carter
carried Chater down to the house of the elder Mills, where they chained
him up in a turf-house. Their companions, in the mean time, drank gin
and brandy at Scardefield's, and it being now nearly dark, they borrowed
spades, and a candle and lantern, and making him assist them in digging
a hole, they buried the body of the murdered officer. They then
separated; but on the Thursday they met again with some more of their
associates, including the prisoners Richard Mills, and his two sons
Richard and John, Thomas Stringer, Cobby, Tapner, and Hammond, for the
purpose of deliberating what should be done with their prisoner. It was
soon unanimously resolved that he must be destroyed, and it was
determined that they should take him to Harris'-well and throw him in,
as it was considered that that death would be most likely to cause him
the greatest pain.
During this time the wretched man was in a state of the utmost horror
and misery, being visited occasionally by all his tormentors, who abused
him, and beat him violently. At last, when this determination had been
arrived at, they all went, and Tapner pulling out a clasp-knife, ordered
him on his knees, swearing that he would be his butcher; but being
dissuaded from this, as being opposed to their plan to prolong the
miseries of their prisoner, he contented himself with slashing the knife
across his eyes, almost cutting them out, and completely severing the
gristle of his nose. They then placed him upon a horse, and all set out
together for Harris'-well, except Mills and his sons, they having no
horses ready, and saying, in excuse, "that there were enough without
them to murder one man." All the way Tapner whipped him till the blood
came; and then swore that if he blooded the saddle, he would torture him
the more. When they were come within one hundred yards of the well,
Jackson and Carter stopped, saying to Tapner, Cobby, Stringer, Steele,
and Hammond, "Go on and do your duty on Chater, as we have ours upon
Galley." It was in the dead of the night that they brought their victim
to the well, which was nearly thirty feet deep, but dry, and paled close
round; and Tapner having fastened a noose round his neck, they bade him
get over the pales. He was going through a broken place; but though he
was covered with blood and fainting with the anguish of his wounds, they
forced him to climb up, having the rope about his neck. They then tied
one end of the cord to the pales and pushed him over the brink; but the
rope being short, he hung no farther within it than his thighs, and
leaning against the edge, he hung above a quarter of an hour and was not
strangled. They then untied him, and threw him head foremost into the
well. They tarried some time, and hearing him groan, they determined to
go to one William Comleah's, a gardener, to borrow a rope and ladder,
saying they wanted to relieve one of their companions who had fallen
into Harris'-well. He said they might take them; but they could not
manage the ladder in their confusion, it being a long one. They then
returned to the well; and still hearing him groan, and fearful that the
sound might lead to a discovery, the place being near the road, they
threw upon him some of the rails and gate-posts fixed about the well, as
well as some great stones; and then finding him silent, they left him.
Their next consultation was how to dispose of their horses; and they
killed Galley's, which was grey, and taking his hide off, cut it into
small pieces, and hid them so as to prevent any discovery; but a bay
horse that Chater had ridden on got from them.
This being the evidence produced, the jury, after being out of court
about a quarter of an hour, brought in a verdict of guilty against all
the prisoners: whereupon the judge pronounced sentence on the convicts
in a most pathetic address, representing the enormity of their crime,
and exhorting them to make immediate preparation for the awful fate that
awaited them; adding, "Christian charity obliges me to tell you that
your time in this world will be very short."
The heinousness of the crime of which these men had been convicted
rendering it necessary that their punishment should be exemplary, the
judge ordered that they should be executed on the following day; and the
sentence was accordingly carried into execution against all but Jackson,
who died in prison on the evening that he was condemned. They were
attended by two ministers; and all, except Mills and his son (who took
no notice of each other, and thought themselves not guilty because they
were not present at the finishing of the inhuman murder), showed great
marks of penitence. Tapner and Carter gave good advice to the
spectators, and desired diligence might be used to apprehend Richards,
whom they charged as the cause of their being brought to this wretched
end. Young Mills smiled several times at the executioner, who was a
discharged marine, and having ropes too short for some of them, was
puzzled to fit them. Old Mills being forced to stand tiptoe to reach the
halter, desired that he might not be hanged by inches. The two Mills
were so rejoiced at being told that they were not to be hanged in chains
after execution, that death seemed to excite in them no terror; while
Jackson was so struck with horror at being measured for his irons, that
he soon expired.
They were hanged at Chichester on the 18th of January 1749, amidst such
a concourse of spectators as is seldom seen on the occasion of a public
execution.
Carter was hung in chains near Rake, in Sussex; Tapner, on Rook's Hill,
near Chichester; and Cobby and Hammond, at Cesley Isle, on the beach
where they sometimes landed their smuggled goods, and where they could
be seen at a great distance east and west.
SAMUEL COUCHMAN AND JOHN MORGAN, LIEUTENANTS OF MARINES; THOMAS KNIGHT,
CARPENTER, AND OTHERS.
SHOT FOR MUTINY.
The _Chesterfield_ man-of-war, under the command of Captain O'Brian
Dudley, was stationed off Cape-coast Castle, on the coast of Africa,
when a dangerous mutiny broke out among the crew, of whom the
above-named officers were the leaders. They were charged on their trial
with "exciting and encouraging mutiny, and running away with his
Majesty's ship _Chesterfield_, on the 10th day of October 1748, from the
coast of Africa, leaving their captain, two lieutenants, with other
officers, and some seamen, on shore."
It appeared from the evidence adduced before the court-martial, by which
the prisoners were tried, and which was presided over by Sir Edward
Hawke, that on the 15th October 1748, Captain Dudley, being on shore at
Cape-coast Castle, sent off his barge to Lieutenant Couchman, ordering
him to send the cutter with the boatswain of the ship, to see the tents
struck, and to bring everything belonging to the ship on board that
night. Couchman, however, directly ordered the barge to be hoisted in,
and the boatswain to turn all hands on the quarter-deck, and then coming
from his cabin with a drawn sword, said, "Here I am! God d--n me, I will
stand by you while I have a drop of blood in my body!" He was
accompanied by John Morgan, the second lieutenant of marines, Thomas
Knight the carpenter, his mate John Place (a principal actor), and about
thirty seamen with cutlasses. They then gave three huzzas, and threw
their hats overboard; damning old hats, and saying that they would soon
get new. Couchman now sent for the boatswain, to know if he would stand
by him, and go with him; but he replied "No," and said,
"For God's sake, sir, be ruled by reason, and consider what you are
about." Couchman threatened to put him in irons if he did not join with
him; but the boatswain told him he never would be in such piratical
designs, and he was immediately ordered into custody, and two sentinels
put over him. Couchman soon after sent for Gilham, the mate of the ship;
but he also refusing to join him, was put into custody with five or six
others. They were confined, however, only five or six hours; for, in the
middle of the night after their confinement, Couchman sent for them into
the great cabin, desired them to sit and drink punch, and then dismissed
them. The next day the boatswain was invited to dinner by the new
commander, who began to rail against Captain Dudley, and proposed to him
to sign a paper. He refused indignantly, and was immediately dismissed.
When he quitted the great cabin, he went to the gunner, who informed him
that he had twenty pistols still at his disposal, and it was determined
that an effort should be made that night to recover the ship from the
mutineers. When evening drew on, the boatswain proceeded to sound the
ship's company, and he soon found about thirty of the seamen, besides
the mates, gunner's mates, and cockswain of the barge, ready to aid him.
The boatswain took the command on himself, and the first step which he
took was to get up all the irons or bilboes on the forecastle; he then
sent for the twenty pistols, which were all loaded; he next ordered
three men upon the grand magazine, and two to that abaft; and the
remainder, who had no pistols, to stay by the bilboes, and secure as
many prisoners as he should send. This disposition being made, he went
directly down on the deck, where he divided his small company into two
parties; and, one going down the main, and the other the fore hatchway,
they soon secured eleven or twelve of the ringleaders, and sent them up
to the forecastle without the least noise. The two parties then joined,
and went directly to the great cabin, where they secured Couchman and
Morgan, with the carpenter, whom they immediately confined in different
parts of the vessel. The ship being thus secured, the captain again
boarded her and took the command of her; and on her return to England
the mutineers were brought to trial.
The court-martial having found them guilty of the crimes imputed to
them, they were shot in the month of June 1749.
The boatswain (Roger Winket) was afterwards rewarded with three hundred
pounds a year, as master-attendant of Woolwich-dockyard.
JOHN MILLS.
EXECUTED FOR MURDER.
The case of this felon becomes remarkable from the fact of the criminal
being the son of Richard Mills the elder, whose ignominious fate we have
just recorded. It appears that he was engaged in the robbery of the
Custom-house, but escaped; and soon after his father, brother, and their
accomplices were hanged, he thought of going to Bristol, with a view of
embarking for France; and having hinted his intentions to some others,
they resolved to accompany him. Stopping at a house on the road, they
met with one Richard Hawkins, whom they asked to go with them; but the
poor fellow hesitating, they put him on horseback behind Mills, and
carried him to the Dog and Partridge, on Slendon Common, which was kept
by John Reynolds. They had not been long in the house when complaint was
made that two bags of tea had been stolen, and Hawkins was charged with
the robbery. He steadily denied any knowledge of the affair; but they
obliged him to pull off his clothes; and, having stripped themselves,
they began to whip him with the most unrelenting barbarity; and Curtis,
one of the gang, said he did know of the robbery, and if he would not
confess, he would whip him till he did; for he had whipped many a rogue,
and washed his hands in his blood.
The villains continued whipping the poor wretch till their breath was
almost exhausted, when at length the unfortunate man mentioned something
of his father and brother; on which Mills and Curtis said they would go
and fetch them; but Hawkins expired soon after they had left the house.
On their way back they met Winter, one of their companions, who informed
them of this fact, when they dismissed the men whom they had compelled
to accompany them, saying that they should be sent for when they were
wanted. Their next anxiety was as to the mode in which they should
dispose of the body, and it was proposed to throw it into a well in an
adjacent park; but this being objected to, they carried it twelve miles,
and having tied stones to it in order to sink it, they threw it into a
pond in Parham Park, belonging to Sir Cecil Bishop; and in this place it
lay more than two months before it was discovered.
Mills was afterwards taken into custody on the information of Pring, an
outlawed smuggler, and being tried, was convicted.
The country being at that time filled with smugglers, a rescue was
feared; wherefore he was conducted to the place of execution by a guard
of soldiers. When there, he prayed with a clergyman, confessed that he
had led a bad life, acknowledged the murder of Hawkins, desired that all
young people would take warning by his untimely end, and humbly implored
the forgiveness of God. He was executed on Slendon Common on the 12th of
August 1749, and afterwards hung in chains on the same spot.
AMY HUTCHINSON.
BURNT FOR THE MURDER OF HER HUSBAND.
This malefactor was born of indigent parents, in the Isle of Ely, and
having received a poor education, at the age of sixteen she attracted
the attention of a young man, whose love she returned with equal
affection. Her father, being apprised of the connexion, strictly charged
his daughter to decline it: but there was no arguing against love; the
intimacy continued till it became criminal. The young fellow having soon
grown tired of her, went off to London, and she determined to revenge
herself upon him for his infidelity, by marrying another suitor, named
John Hutchinson, who had previously been disagreeable to her. The
marriage accordingly took place; but her first admirer happening to
return from London just as the newly-wedded pair were coming out of
church, the bride was greatly affected at the recollection of former
scenes, and the irrevocable ceremony which had now passed. Unable to
love the man she had married, she doted to distraction on him she had
lost, and, only a few days after her marriage, admitted him to his
former intimacy with her. Hutchinson becoming jealous of his wife, a
quarrel ensued, in consequence of which he beat her with great severity;
but this producing no alteration in her conduct, he had recourse to
drinking, with a view to avoid the pain of reflection on his situation.
In the interim his wife and the young fellow continued their guilty
intercourse uninterrupted; but, considering the life of her husband as a
bar to their happiness, it was resolved to remove him by poison. For
this purpose the wife purchased a quantity of arsenic; and Mr.
Hutchinson being afflicted with an ague, and wishing for something warm
to drink, she put some arsenic in ale, of which he drank very
plentifully; and then she left him, saying she would go and buy
something for his dinner. Meeting her lover, she acquainted him with
what had passed; on which he advised her to buy more poison, fearing the
first might not be sufficient to operate; but its effects were fatal,
and Hutchinson died about dinner-time on the same day. The deceased was
buried on the following Sunday, and the next day the former lover
renewed his visits; which occasioning the neighbours to talk very freely
of the affair, the young widow was taken into custody on suspicion of
having committed the murder.
The body being exhumed, it was found that death had been caused by
poison, and the prisoner was convicted and sentenced to death.
She was strangled and burned at Ely, on the 7th November 1750,
confessing the crime of which she had been found guilty.
JOHN CARR.
EXECUTED FOR FORGERY.