Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange EventsBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents, and Strange Events
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Legends -- England -- Yorkshire; Yorkshire (England) -- Miscellanea
James Wilson, the constable, sizer, of Hebden Bridge Lanes, soon made
his appearance, and with him three others--viz., George Hargreaves, John
o' Paul's (Greenwood), and John Uttley, commonly called John Clerk,
being the clerk of Heptonstall church. Mr. John Sutcliffe and Thomas
Greenwood accompany the officers to Bog-eggs, and Joan is apprehended.
He declares that the note was paid to him by his brother William. Joan
is therefore set at liberty, and William is apprehended at Luddenden,
and taken to Halifax in proper custody the same day. He is brought
before Thomas Horton, Esq., J.P., at the justice-room, Copper Street. He
refuses to give any account of the note, being afraid of criminating his
brother, till Friday, February 14th. On that day William Greenwood
confesses the hoax as to the passing of the note from Joan to him, and
back again. The same day Joan is re-apprehended, and declares before Mr.
Horton that he received the unsigned note from Old Mike. William
Greenwood is set at liberty. Old Mike is looked for, but cannot be
found, his wife stating that he is gone off seeking for work.
Sunday, February 16th, Mike is apprehended at his brother's at Cowside,
near Blackshaw Head. He is kept in custody at an inn in Heptonstall for
the night. He declared to the Rev. J. Charnock, who visited him, "I am
as innocent as you are; I am as innocent as a child unborn."
Monday morning, February 17th, Mike was taken to Halifax, before Justice
Horton, with many other persons who had by this time been apprehended on
suspicion. (Some had already been brought before Mr. Horton at Halifax.
As many as sixteen or seventeen persons in all were taken up. Some of
these confessed other crimes, being, however, unconnected with this
murder, as of stealing meal and flour, and a gun from Handganroyd Mill,
sheep-stealing, &c. I believe that one or two persons were convicted of
sheep-stealing. The rest escaped, partly from the unwillingness of the
parties robbed to prosecute.) Mike is confronted with Joan, and denies
Joan's accusation. Joan contradicts himself by some blunder as to the
day of the week and day in the month when he went to Old Mike's to
borrow money. Hereupon Mike appears to be cleared, and is set at
liberty. Joan's father comes to Joan, and entreats him, if he knows
anything about the robbery, to confess it. At length he yields to this
persuasion, and unreservedly confesses all about both the robbery and
the murder. John Uttley, the constable, is in court, and having a horse
at the inn, he volunteers to pursue Old Mike on his way back to
Heptonstall. He overtakes him in King's Cross Lane, walking quickly
homewards, and eating "sweet parkin." Uttley calls out, "You must come
back with me." Mike, off his guard, asks, "What! has he been telling
something?" Uttley brings him quietly back to the magistrates' room.
Mike no longer denies the crimes of murder and burglary. When he and
Joan were confronted by each other there occurred such a scene of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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