A HUMAN FIEND.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2150, 10 February 1880, Page 3

A HUMAN FIEND.

A man named Ford who admits having made quite a number of diabolical effects to wreck railway trains and destroy human life, was brought before (he .Napier bench yesterday, and remanded. It appears that the accused was arrested by a detective under a flax bush. lie gave the name of John Ford, but stated lie was better known as John Hutton. The account that he gave of himself was that he arrived at Fort Chalmers about eight years ago as an immigrant, afterwards went to Melbourne, Sydney, and other places in Australia, and returned to Wellington about nine months ago. He had been without employment ever since. He walked from Wellington to this district by the East Coast, calling at all the stations without getting work. For eight months he had not had a day’s work nor slept in a house,and had made up his mind that he would do something that would get him into prison. With that view he placed a large piece of timber on tlie rails near the 35 milepost on the 33rd of January, and went on to Karamu. He thought the train would be unset and that he would be looked for, but as he was not he returned and placed another log of wood on the rails last Thursday evening and again on Friday morning. When arrested he went with the detective and pointed out the first log he had placed on the rails, the spot selected was one where an accident would most likely be serious, it being at a sharp angle ami a steep incline, where the driver of the engine would be almost upon (lie obstruction before seeing it. It is somewhat curious that, although Ford pleads such extreme destitution, he was in possession of a silver watch.