William "Duff" Armstrong was charged with the August 29, 1857
murder of James Preston Metzker in Mason County, Illinois. Lincoln
had been friends with Duff's father, Jack, while studying law in
New Salem, and when Lincoln heard about the murder he offered to
defend Duff pro bone. The trial was moved to Cass County and held
in Beardstown.
A witness, Charles Allen, testified at the trial that he
witnessed the murder from 150 feet away by the light of the full
moon. Lincoln, in Duff's defense, produced an almanac that showed
that there was not enough moonlight for Allen to witness the murder
from that distance. Duff, based on this evidence, was
acquitted.
Duff went on to serve in the Civil War for the Union. During his
service he became ill. The now President Lincoln had Duff
discharged and sent home.
To find this cache you will have to project a waypoint from the
posted coordinates, the gravesite. The cache is located at a
heading of 217 degrees and 68 feet from the gravesite. The location
of the cache should be fairly obvious. Have fun and enjoy the area.
Please do not seek this cache at night.
