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Piketon, Ky. nd '65
To His Excellency
Gov. Bramlette
Dr, Sir.
I am requested by M r Rice to give a statement of the main facts proved in the case of the Com th vs. Wash Chafin, in the Lawrance Circuit Court, & who you have lately pardoned, so that you could act inteligently in the case of James Short, who is included in the same indictment with Chafin, but was not tried.
It was proved that Chafin & Short, two young men, passed Esquire Holbrock's house one evening on horse-back on their way to Graham's & get some whiskey; that they talked with Holbrook & told him they would stop on their return & let him have some; that about 9 or 10 o'clock at night he heard them return & they did not stop but passed on & from their manner of talking he took them to be drunk; that next day he found that he lost three sides of leather that night, & believing that they took it, he send them word to fetch it back; that the leather was brought
back & laid near the fence on the premises of the said Holbrock; the said parties it appeared also had made some acknowledgements about the takeing of the leather, allegeing in extenuation that they took it while drunk on the night in question & that when they recieved the word from the Holbrook & realized what they had done they clandestinely returned the leather & laid it near the fence where found. These were the main facts proved against Chafin & of course apply to Short as well.
Respectfully
Your Obt. Servant
J. S. Dury
N. B. Chafin is a married man & the leather was taken to his house & from the marks on the saddle, had been carried by him; Short is a single man, & lived with his father four miles beyond the house of Chafin.
J. S. D.