Page:History of John Gregg, and his family, of robbers and murderers.pdf/4

(4) the ſtricteſt ſearch and enquiry could not find out how theſe melancholy matters happened. There were ſeveral honeſt travellers taken up upon ſuſpicion, and wrongfully hanged; ſeveral innocent innkeepers were executed for no other reaſons than that the perſons who had been loſt were known to have lain at their houſes, which occafioned ſuſpicion of their being murdered by them, and their bodies privately buried in obſcure places to prevent diſcovery. Thus an ill-placed Juſtice was executed with the greateſt ſeverity imaginable, in order to prevent theſe frequent attrocious deeds, that the innkeepers, who lived on the weſtern road, left off their buſineſs for fear of being made examples of, and followed other employments; this on the other hand occaſioned many great inconveniences to paſſengers, who were now in very great diſtreſs for want of accommodation for themſelves and their horſes, when they were diſpoſed to bait or to put up for lodging at night. In a word, the whole country was depopulated.

John's family was at laſt grown very large, and every branch, as ſoon as able, aſſiſted in perpetrating their wicked deeds, which they followed with