Today's word count pushed out at 6,528, however, as with yesterday, 1100 words were from a newspaper report - although this needed many of the words fixing as they had lost their form in the digitizing process.
Here is an excerpt from Day 4.
On my marriage to Benjamin Hampton
5th December 1862, we set up home together close to Paddy’s Scrub, home to many
of the Irish community and ticket of leave and ex-convicts. I was said to be sixteen years old, although
if the truth were known, neither my mother nor I knew my exact age, or hers
either for that matter. She’d never learned to read or write and had little
understanding of numbers, their value, or the process of addition and
subtraction. I’d also never received any formal schooling and accepted as my age whatever others suggested to me, or what
seemed to be a likely number of years at the time. While I was accused of lying
about this, as well as other matters, after my marriage to Samuel Nowell, I
state now this was never intentional and if my guesses were short or long of
the mark this can only be put down to never having learnt the intricacies of
numbers.
I now know I was closer to twenty when I married Benjamin, both of
us hopeful of staring a family of our home. Benjamin’s older brother, Richard,
had married two years previously with his first son born just nine months after
the marriage, yet we remained childless as the years passed. I kept myself busy
though, working at the local hotel as a cook and trying to avoid the endless
trouble in the town. Occasionally I’d hear of my mother’s latest antics but
those who knew me understood it wasn’t something I wanted to discuss. I knew
who and what I was and had ambitions to rise above this – to reach a point of
respectability that would wipe out my humble and shameful beginnings. I missed my
brother and sister, but l knew they were better off out of it where they had a
chance to rewrite their history if need be. I should have left the town and
done the same thing, however, Benjamin had strong ties to his own family and I
immersed myself in their circle. He’d come from a similar background to mine, with
both his father and older brother transported on the same ship, yet his family
seemed to take strength from their early adversity and fitted well into the
moral social structure that was slowly developing in Deloraine, in contrast to
the lifestyle of my mother and other ex convicts who somehow found solace in
continuing criminal and anti social behaviour.
Still, my inability to bear a live child
began to carve a wedge between us and, try as I might to distance myself from
the troubles around us, it seemed as if it was always going to find me without
much help on my part. I closed my ears to the drunken domestic disputes and the violence
of misplaced persons suffering the fall out from their fates or that of their
immediate forebears, yet quite by accident I found myself involved as a witness
in the murder case described below.[i]
COUNTRY INTELLIGENCE DREADFUL MURDER AT DELORAINE. (From our own Correspondent)
Saturday 8th July 1869
On the 8th inst. an Inquest was bold at the Police Office, Deloraine, by Henry
Douglas, Esq., Coroner, on view
of the body of Bridget Clarke, alias Coiley, Mr. H. S. Thomson being foreman of
the jury. The Coroner, jury, and
witnesses viewed the body in the
house of Mathew Clarke at Paddy's
Scrub, and then adjourned to the Police
Office. Catherine Cooke deposed
to living near Mathew Clarke's
but in Paddy's Scrub and knew the
deceased by the name of Bridget Coiley, but
latterly as Bridget Clarke; she was washing at witness's place till 4 p.m. on
7th inst., when she started to go
to Clarke's but she was then well in health; at 5 p.m. Patrick Coiley, now present, called into her
(witness's) house and had a drink; she noticed blood on his clothes and asked what he
was doing; he replied that he was
after killing Biddy, and would
kill himself; he said he wanted deceased’s
husband to give himself up to him
or to go for the police; witness then sent
her boy to tell Mathew Clarke, who was ploughing on next farm. Mathew Clarke deposed that he was the husband of deceased; both left the hut together on Wednesday morning, about a.m., securing the door; about 6 p.m. received
a report where he was at work
that Biddy was murdered; he then
proceeded to John Fenton and
brought him with him to witness's house, on
entering which they found deceased lying on
the floor on her back quite dead, her throat out,
and the floor all covered with blood; he also
missed all the blankets, sheets, and clothes
in his hut; there was a slab pulled away
from the back of the fireplace, making a
place where one could gain entrance; on this
day he saw a place at the back of his house
where some woollen clothes, crinolines, and
other things wore burned; knew Patrick Coiley, the accused; about a week ago he threatened to take witness's life and
that of deceased; when he saw his wile was murdered be went and reported it to the police at Deloraine. John Fenton corroborated the witness Clarke as to the state of the body and
the hut when they entered, and
that they found the body in the same position the jury saw it to day. Jane
Fenton (who was the first witness called,
but being nervous had to be allowed time
to collect her strength) deposed that she know
deceased; she called in to witnesses’ hut on
her way home from Mrs. Cooke's on Wednesday about 4 p.m.; saw her going into Clarke's hut, which is near witness's;
after a few minutes heard
deceased scream three times;
heard a man's voice three times also; did
not notice it, as she thought Clarke and Biddy
(deceased) had a row; deceased was well
in health when she left witness's house. John William Buckley
deposed-PatrickCoiley (now present) was at his house about 1 p.m. on Wednesday; heard him say he
was going to Clarke's, at Paddy's
Scrub; saw him go in that
direction; Coiley came to his (witness's)
house about 6 p.m. again in the evening; he appeared very fatigued,
and asked for n drink; noticed
blood on his trousers and
wristband, and asked him what he
was doing; he said he was over at Clarke's, cleaned
out the hut, and burned the things; Ist
added he was after killing Biddy; by "Biddy"
he meant his wife; I knew Biddy Coiley
to be his wife ; latterly she went by the
name of Biddy Clarke. Mary Ann
Hampton, wife of Benjamin Hampton,
saw Patrick Colley, present, going towards
Paddy's Scrub on Wednesday about dinner
time ; he said he was going to kill Biddy,
his wife; he said he was not so drunk but
be know what he was doing; witness knew
Bridget Clarke alias Coiley. Constable
Patrick Lane deposed that about 6.30
p.m. on Wednesday, Mathew Clarke reported at the Station that Patrick Coiley
had murdered his wife Bridget Clarke;
he then went to Buckley's house
and saw Coiley there; asked him
before he arrested him what he was doing;
he said he had cut his wife's throat with
a razor; noticed blood on his clothes ; took
him to the station and where he was charged, stripped him; the trousers, shirt,
vest, and handkerchief (produced)
were those he took off him; there
is blood on the left wristband of
the shirt, a large blood stain on the right sleeve,
several stains on the front and skirt below
the front; the vest is stained much on the breast also ; the stains were more
distinct on Wednesday evening there
were a great many stains on the
right thigh and knee of the
trousers; both pockets wore very much stained
also; the handkerchief was in the trouser's
pocket; it had blood stains also; when
Coiley was charged he said the razor was in the hut; did not know then whether he meant Clarke's hut or his own;
proceeded yesterday evening after
charging Coiley to Clarke's hut, and
found the body as reported by
Clarke; the body was in the same position then as when viewed by the jury
to-day; searched the hut for the
razor; found a razor in a bag but
it had no blood stains on it;
that morning he searched Coiley's hut and found there the razor he now produced
; it was much stained with blood,
as it is now; the blood appeared
then to be fresher; heard the accused say he was quite content with what he had
done ; knew Bridget Clarke; it was
her body he saw today. Dr. Rock
deposed to viewing the body, and described
ihe position; also the blood on it, on the
clothes, and on the floor. he then added there
was a wound commencing at the neap
of the neck about an inch from the mid jaw
line, extending to the edge of the lower jaw,
and from there extending about three quarters of an inch beyond the middle line in front, measuring altogether about 18
½ in. in length; the wound was
exceedingly deep, except towards
the termination in front, where it
was comparatively superficial, and it was especially deep below the angle of
the jaw and right ear; in its
course the external and internal
jugular veins were divided, and also the
external and internal carotid arteries; the facial
and occipital arteries were also divided ; such
an instrument as the razor produced might
have caused . the wound he had described; the blood on the razor appeared to be fresh ; did not think the wound
could be self inflicted; death must
have been almost instantaneous. Patrick Coiley was present in custody
during the examination. He put only a
few questions to one or two witnesses, and made no statement. The jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against Coiley, and he was
committed on the Coroner's
warrant to take his trial for the
same.
What a fascinating story, Merlene. It's easy to see why you got swept away... And you're powering forward with your word count. Well done.
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