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THE TRIAL OF EDWARD D. WORRELL FOR THE
MURDER OF BASIL H. GORDON,
UNION, MISSOURI, 1857.

THE NARRATIVE,

Edward D. Worrell was the only child of Dr. Edward Wor-
rell of Dover, Del, a college president. He was well
educated and after practicing dentistry for a while had en-
listed in the army and in 1855 was stationed at Fort Leaven-
worth, as a sergeant. He deserted in company with William
H. Braff of Macon, Ga., in the early part of January, 1856,
and started east on horseback. While traveling through War-
ren County, Mo., they fell in with Basil H. Gordon, a
civil engineer, who was assisting in locating the North Mis-
souri Railroad. On this trip, however, Gordon had been out
on the proposed line collecting money that had been sub-
seribed ag a bonus to the road. The three men slept the night
of January 24, 1856, at a tavern in Warren County and there
Worrell and Bruff learned that Gordon had a large amount
of money with him. The next day it snowed hard. As Gor-
don did not return to the railroad offices at St. Louis, the pres-
ident of the road sent a searching party to hunt for him. They
soon learned that the three men had left the tavern together
on the morning of January 25, and that Worrell some time
afterwards was seen to come out of a hazel thicket a short
distance from the tavern, riding a horse and leading another,
which satisfied his friends that Gordon had been murdered
in the thicket.

Several days were spent searching for the body and the
party had begun to despair of finding it when one of the
searchers noticed a small dog scratching in the snow, and

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