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acquainted "over the bottle" and after breakfast (if they
breakfasted at all) left in company, on the main road
leading to Maysville. They had not travelled far, until
Desha [de?ed] him, as was supposed, off the main road
along a road or path but little traveled, leading in a
direction to Desha's residence, thru' a broken unsettled
region. It was on this road or path within about two
miles of Desha's residence that the murder was committed
as was generally believed under the expectation
that his victim had about his person a large
sum of money, but in this, he was disappointed,
he did not even get the little he had in his watch
pocket. I was in Frankfort, when the news reached
there of the murder. His venerable father, had been
only a few months before installed into the office
of Governor & was ex officio the leader of a great political
party in the state. I saw him in a short time
after the sad tidings reached him. He was perfectly
cool & self possessed; he believed his son was innocent
and that the charges was made against him to break
down him & his party. How long he remained of that
opinion, I never learned: His son was undoubtedly guilty.
I never saw Isaac B. Desha, but it was said, he
possessed great advantages of person; that he was
a portly handsome man & had been married
only a few months to a beautiful & accomplished
young lady (Miss Parker of Mason County). His friends
found no difficulty in procuring the passage of a bill
thru the Legislature, changing the venue from the
county of Fleming to the county of Harrison (Fleming
County at the election had given (I think) a heavy
majority against & Harrison had given an equally
heavy majority in favor of Desha for Governor.
J. B. Desha was tried in the Circuit Court of Harrison
County, in the latter part of the winter, or early in the