PANCAKES BITCHES?



"The pious Christian will consider these wretched convicts the proper subjects of earnest and unceasing prayer.”- The Report of…  

With Jack left out in the cold, and the posse warming themselves around the roaring fire, John Curtis and Sam Wilkin grabbed both ends of a threshing table and carried it close to the hearth. A slave in the Seward kitchen whipped up some pancake batter as two of Durland’s men lifted Richard Jennings’ frozen solid corpse out of the cart and laid it face up the length of the table. One arm stuck straight out, perpendicular from the body, while the other hung loose, broken at the shoulder, slowly swinging back and forth, black finger tips gently scraping the floor. Curtis asked Sam Wilkin to lean his weight against one side of the body as he forced the other arm against Dick’s side. You could hear the muffled ice and bone crackle as the arm popped and came to rest on the edge of the table. Then it slipped off, compliantly dangling loose, matching the other. Sam Wilkin then grabbed one of the large copper pots of water boiling on the wood stove and placed it under the table. It would take half the night to thaw out Richard Jennings’ body enough to get his sculpted frozen clothes off and survey his wounds. Drip. Drip. Drip.
    This was all that was left of Richard Jennings by the time Durland and his men reappeared in Florida with Jack Hodges- a vermin chewed, frozen piece of meat. Everybody but Uncle Dick’s glassy eyed corpse had a giant smile on their face. Charlie Durland opened another jug of rum and passed it around. The magistrates and the posse were astounded that they had actually captured Jack Hodges and had him shivering out front in the wagon. All seemed pleasantly stunned. At some point one of the men drew attention to Dick, lying there on the table, removed his hat and raised his glass. The others followed suit, toasting the gape-mouthed, dripping, corpse of my uncle thawing out on the long table. Here’s to ya Uncle Dick. I need another drink.

Friday Feb, 26, 1819  
The Court of Oyer and Terminer Goshen, NY
The hon. W.W. Van Ness presiding

The People vs. Jack Hodges on the indictment for the murder of Richard Jennings.

For the People:  Martin Van Buren NY Att. Gen., S.R. Betts dist. att., John Duer esq. 
For the defense: Henry G. Wisner esq

C.B. Durland  sworn
By the D.A.:

Q. Did you pursue the prisoner after the body was found?
A.  Yes, in the company of three gentlemen.
Q. Did he confess the crime to you?

Jesse Wood, Jr. (local store owner) sworn
By S.R. Betts- D.A.:

Q. Was you acquainted with Richard Jennings?
A. I knew him well.
Q. When did you last see him alive?
A. On Monday morning the 21st of Dec. last.
Q. When was he found?
A.  On Monday morning the 28th of Dec.
Q. In what state was he found?
A. Dead.
Q. In whose woods was the body found?
A. I do not know. They had for a long time been the subject of contention, and I cannot say in whom the title rested.
Q. What was the condition of the body?
A. Considerably wounded.
Q. How was it wounded?
A. It appeared to have been wounded by a gunshot on the side of the face, it being burnt, and by blows as there was a large hole in the forehead.
Q. Was the skull broken?
A. It appeared to be, but I did not examine it at this time.

Cross by Henry G. Wisner:

Q. Do you think the death was caused by the shot or the blows?
A.  By the blows.
Q. By what instrument were the wounds inflicted?
A. By the lock of a gun stuck in the forehead.
Q. Which of the wounds produced death?
A. The one on the forehead.


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