- The Umberjjer Tragedy. Story of the Crime. The crime for which ttie Nicely bo;s lo-day vielded their lives was committed in a little old farm-bouse among the foot-hills of the Uurel mountains, one mil north of the Tillage of Jennertown and twelve mites north of Somerset. The dwelling was occupied by farmer Her man Cnil-erger and hiswife, Nannie Hor ner, a teti-vear-old grand-daughter of Mm. Imbergvr. and Ella Stern, a servant girl. It seems t'it farmer linl-ergcr had liitle coiitidcm-e in baims.and rather than trust hi money ti them, he kept it ,ith him in his hoi-e. The fat that lie always had a large amount of cash jn hie house apjiears to have been well known. For several months prior to the murder be had made a S.ecial effort to collect in ail money that he had at in terest. When cautioned by neighbors of the danger of keeping so much money in bis house, he invariably replied that -he wax able to protect his proj.erty."' lie was a man of powerful strength, ana wax a at ranker to fear, but had been greatly debilitated by increasing age and Hick newt. The family bad partaken of a late sup jer Wednesday evening, February 27, IsS'.t, and tLe inmates of the Louse were together in the pitting room when, the hour being about 7 o'clock, a knock was beard at the front door and the hired girl was told by the mistress of the house to go to the door and see w ho was there. The door w opened, and t wo men step jied into the rooui, sayii.g, "tiood even ing, Mr. Umberge.r." They were invited to sit down and tx.k chairs facing Mr. l'mterger, and w ith their backs to the female. After some conversation they tid they were olliifrs : that a jewe.ry U.x had been lost between Jenner and -lohiistowu. and they had a search war rant to search every house between the two places unless the box war found, and that, although the July was unpleasant, they would have to search his house. One of the straugers was a large man, with a yellow spotted handkerchief tied around his chin. The other was a com paratively small man, dressed in dark clothes, and wearing a derby hat and gum I wots. The latter did all the talk ing and made the search, his coin -anion remaining in a standing position in the kitting room. Mr. I'mberger. ac.-oinuan-ied by his w ife and grand-daughter, con ducted the stranger into the parlor w hich udioins the sittimr room, where he made a cursory examination of the articles iu it, and tnen passed into the room adjoining-Mr. I'mlK-rgei's bedrisim. In al'ureau drawer in this room were two long pock et books in which Herman Fmlierger bad laid away the earnings of a long hf; ff labor, toil and strict economy, from I went to twentv-five thousand dollars iu currency, lieside pacers to the value of from fifteen to tweuty thousand dol lars. u opening this drawer farmer I'm liergersaid, "these joeketlooks contain a little change ; I guess you don't want to examine tlieiu." The stranger replied thathedi.l not, an.! the little party re turned to the sitting room. By this time the suspicions of Mr. I'mls rg'T U-gan to b 'aroused, and stepping back into the bed room he took the ockct books from the drawer and, lieing without bis coat, placed them in the inside ocket of his vest, and again returned to the sitting room. As tie stepeil into the sitting room the smaller of the two meu whipjwd out a revolver and pointing it full in the farmer's face demanded the money or his life. Then ensued a feartul struggle. The roblier tired four shots froui his revolver, and as he did ho the little girl and the hired girl rushed out of the hr -, "J Vr, Tr"' a " ..... mug the lurge flin tier liell. She had giveu the bell roie but one or two pulls when she Leant one more shot, when her husband staggered into the kitchen and fell dead at her feet, shot through the heart. The ringing of the liell ami the screams of little Nannie and Miss Steam soon brought a number of terrified neighbors to the farm house, who were horrified to learn of the ghastly tragedy that had iieeu enacted there. The murderers, with their booty, escaped in the dark ness. Mrs. I'lulH-rger thought that her hus band recognized one of the men and that they killed him on that account, as thev could easily have overjiowered him and aeciired the money w it hout doing him any bodily harm. The news of the terrible crime spread with great rapidity throughout the com munity, and caused the timet intense ex citement. People for miles around flock sl to the scene of the murder early the next morning and searching parties were organized and started out in every direc tion. The murderers could be tracked tor some distance through the snow, the tracks leading in the direction of the mountains. hkwkiption of the akssis. Sirs. I'mberger, Klla Stern, and Nannie Horner gave the following description of the murderers. The larger of the men was aWrtit " feet It) inches tall, weighing ixuhap 170 pon mis, wore a cap, dark overcoat, and overalls with yellow striCH, lie kept his mouth and cheeks covered with two red handkerchief with white iota, tlie one having larger dots than the ther, be apjeared tolea!out thirty-five years of age, and Mrs. t'uderger dis tinguished hiin fruui the other as the "red faced iuan." The otlier uutn was about five feet veven inches tail, and wore a brown derby hat, w ith a hole in the crown, and wore it st-t back on hi head, lie had long mixed gray whiskeisaod moustache but both had the apearance of being false ; also his hair, which was kind ol rtirly and tangled. He wore a dark ivereoat, dark cloth trouaer, and guui lamia. tua kin; Tin: mi kiki;i:hs. Shortly after the alarm was sounded bf lira, luilierger. the neighlsjrs came running in and made every possible t-tlort u follow the murderers but the trail was coon lost in the darkness. Thursday ntorning the track of the men were traced froui the house to the moun tain. The footprints revealed peculiar marks of guui boots. Alut one-forth of a utile from lite bome, ici-es of bread, -tc. were found, Uidicattug that the rou liers bad lunched there. The footjirinta were plainly disceruable Lii the snow and led aerut Uie field to the mountain. Thd entire neighborhood, in small parties, acoured the mountain ana surrouuding ountry Thursday. A SI se&T .tKUBTF.n. Three young a ten from the neighbor hood returned to Mr. I'mberger's bouse Tuormlay evening and reported that they h ul follow! the trail of a man to and f.tu the toll-gjtle near IvatighlinHtown, ttn stiles northwest from the scene of the murder. There was no trail beyond t e toll-gate, and this circumstance led ti the suspa-ion that Collins Hamilton, a noted criminal, who made Li home w ith two old-maUl elative keepers of the toll-gate-w as one of the guilty par ties. He answ ered the dcription of the loan who did the shooting. He tallktl also with the description of one of two luen seen jjoing ia the direction of Tea- lierger's als.ut o cl.s k Wednesday even ing. . A warrant was issued for Hamilton s arrest, and he was surprised at bis home at a late hour Thursday night, and brought to Somerset and lodged in jail. He was subsequently discharged at a haUat ro7- hearing. No evidence hav ing been produced against him. THE JXytKST. Justice Henry Ranch of Jennertown, held an inquest on the body of the mur dered man. Thursday morning. On ex amination by !r. Walker it was found that one bali had struck Mr. Vmln-rger in the right breast and passed through his body. It was found lietween the skin and his shirt. It was a 32 calibre ball. Another bullet entered the left side and passed through the heart. The first three shot did not hit Mr. Umberger. Two of the balls were found imbedded in the wall, above the boon case,vand the third was discovered in the ceiling, whiih indicates that there was a struggle or that the first shots were fired w ith the intent of frightening Mr. I'aiberger and not of injuring him. $500 Reward. The morninir follow ing the murder a rew ard of $"iO was otfcred for the arrest of the criminals. Constable John O. Rauch ,ET A TIT THAT I.KAIIS To THK ARRBT oc TIIE Nil ELVS. Constable ICauch spent three or four days following the murder in and about Ligonier and bunting up evidence in re gard to"OoU" Hamiltob.wuo had been arrested for the crime. A number of peo ple residing in that neighlwrhood inti mated to the constable that he was on the w rong si-ent and that two residents of the l.igonier valley who had long ls-en hiisiected of committing numerous w.l.Wies in that section were more than likelv the murderers. Acting npon this ' information Uauch soon learned that Joe and I'ave Nicely tallied with the discrip tion of the murderers given by the w it uessesof the crime and 8K'n afterwards he discovered that they Lad been seen by different parties on the evening pre--eeding the murder traveling in the di rection of I nibergers. At the same time Itauch came into poeession of informa tion that led him to susect two other men residing in Westmoreland county, and coining to Somerset he appeared be fore Justice I- M. Hicks Saturdiy and procured a warrant for the arrest of two men. names unknown, on a charge of mur der. Fauch and Hammer Cauitield, left the same morning for Laurelviile.a short distance this side of Mt. Pleasant, where thev bad reasons to believe they would find the parties they wauted. When they got to Ijiurelville they discovered they were on the wrong scent, the men they suspected had not been aaay from home the day or night of the murder, but while there they gathered some im portant information, after learning which they made a lne line for l.igonier. They arrived at l.igonier about 11 o'clock Monday morning, and, after get ting 'Squire tilessnerto renew their war rant, they hired a carriage and drove to the residence of Iavid Nicely, about three miles distant from l.igonier. AKKKST or THE Ki:l FACED MAN. lave Ni.-ely's wife resjwnded to Con stable Rauch's knock at the door and to his question as to whether Mr. Nicely was at home replied that he was in the shop. .!u-tas she said this Mr. Nicely came out of another door and started for the constable. Constable FUuch knew bis man, and, draw ing bis revolver, or dered him to throw up his hands. After in charge of his deputy he proceeded to search the house. Among other things found in the room was a pair of VE1.I.OW KTHII'I'Ell OVKKAI.I.S, a red handkerchief w ith white spots, an oven-oat. and a pair of boots. There were also several letters relating to " green goods " found among Mr. Nice ly's etreet. The prisoner's wife cried and protested violently aitaiuxt bis being taken away, while he himself, took the matter quite coolly. The constable, with his prisoner In charge then started for the residence of Joseph Nii-ely, alsmt a mile distant. AKKE-T III' THE " I.ITTI.K MAX." Joseph Nicely was found at a black smith shop close by his house and was am-sted without any great dilhcully. His family consisted of a wife and seven chil r n. When arrested he had on a pair of Oi It BooU, which, when compared with the tracks made in the snow ty one of the murder era, corresponded precisely. A search of Lis house waa made, and among other things discovered was a wallet, a low -crowned derby hat with a hole iu the rim, and a suit of dark-colored clothes. THE It KA KINO. The constable took his prisoners to Lig onier, where he kept them overnight. and at an early hour Tuesday morning started with them to Jennertown, where they were given a hearing before 'Squire Uauch and were " Fl I.I.V AMI POSITIVELY IDENTIFIED by Mrs. I'mberger, Fallen Stem, and Nannie Horner, as the men who murder ed and robbed Herman '"mlierger. The guiulKK'ts w orn by the "little man" were compared with the tracks made in the snow Ly the murderers, and were found to fit exactly, as ere the boots found in the hou.se of the " red faced oiaa. " VuLable Ranch proihioed a 3? calibre, five shot revolver, and a number of car tridges which he had found in tlu house of tlm " lil tie man. " The cartridge balls were preciaely the same aa the one taken from the body of the murdered man and those found imbedded in the wall above the book-case in his bouse and they were fired from a centre Ore revolver. When Mrs. I'mberger was brought in to the presence of the prisoners she said that she believed they were the men w ho had murdered her husband. Ellen Stern positively identified both men as the parties who robbed and mur dered her employer, Herman I'mberger. The overcoat found in David Nicely a bouse she recognized as the one worn by him the night of the murder, also the rellow-striiied overalls, k red handker chief, wilii white Fpots, taken .'rom the person of lUvid iiicely, was shown her and she said it was rxai tly similar to the one worn by the maoked man. he rec ognized the voices of both men and was positive that they were the murderers. A nun tier of the witnetw test i tied that they Lad seen prisoners travel ing in the direction of I'mbeiger'son the afternoon preeeeding the murder. COMMITTED TO JAIL. 'Squire Rauch committed both prison ers to the county jail to await trial at the next term of court. The ties of the arrest of the murder ers had spread like wild-fire throughout the surrounding country, and the entire population came trooping into the village to get a sight of the malefactors. The feeling and excitement waa an. lx.mide.l. and w hen the constable start- - a r... cn,iKui mith his prisoners, a r' t i ' j J"11 " ' m ' i nuiulirr of the cit:?ens motnuea uieir ; horse sn.l, notwithstanilingthe horribly inclement wea'her and the almost im passable condition of the roa.'.s, insisted r.n .mimninvinf the partv and seeing that the murderers were safely delivered into the custody of Sheriff McMillen. The party reached Somerset at about 9 o'clock, and Constable iuucii ueiivere.i his charge into the custody of the sher iff. The Nicely Boys in Jail. Our reporter visited the county jail two or three day following the arrest and after being admittel to the prison corridor by Deputy McMillen, he t on.-e engaged the Nicely brothers in conversa tion. The tall man David w as w illing to talk with the reporter only after he had consulted with his brother and appa rently gained his irmisfcion to open bis lips. He would frequently pause in his conversation and w hisper to the smaller brother and then say, "I guess I won't tell you about that." David Nicely was suffering from either a bud case of dys pepsia or an e jua'ly bad case of remorse. His countenauce had a sad far away ex pression, w hile his eyes wandered around with the restleasni-ss of a wild animal, not fixed on the same object for two con secutive seconds. The so called little man Joseph Nice ly was of medium height, w ith a hih bald forehead, under which anai- of calui.grey eyes, looked into yours w ith the confidence and candor of a child. His face was red, but it w? only the ruJdy complexion of health and not an unusual or distinguishing mark. He chattered away like a parrot in reply to anything that was said to him, and all the w hile he was talking a smile played around the comers of his mouth iu which a well oiled tongue was buisiiy wagging. He never hesitated for a tnoireiit nor did he forget what be was talking about, neither did be allow any movement in the room to e jije the calm eyes that seem to be riveted on the person he was addressing. A merry mu sical little laugh was emitted at the cl.se of every sentence he uttered, w hiie its owner Bhowed no outward evidence of fear, no matter bo his heart quailed in secret contemplation of the horrible crime w ith w hich he was charged. JOE NICELY TALKS. "We are here because this is the way a fellow over in Westmoreland county, takes to get revenge," said Joe Nicely in reply to a question. A few years ago I w as in the butcher ing business, in Ligonier, another man came there and wanted to start an oppo sition shop. I rented the room he want- . .i , I. . ... i. : ... ed lO get lor lour montus, ana ')i. umi aw ay. I paid the rent and more, for the four months and then went west. A judgment was secured against me for the rent for the rest of the year, but they couldn't make the money out of me, be cause my wife ow ns the p-ojierty. Now, I don't want to say much, but if I want revenge, 1 want it out of a mans hide, not by sending him to prison on a charge of this kin 1. I know that 1 w ill have no trouble in proving my innocence ; my conscience don't lash nie a bit ; would like to see the guilty parties caught, for even if e do prove our innocence many jieople will still think there might be something in the charge against us. I never "did time" in any prison in my life, and was never arrested before this time. Rauch went to J.iurelviile only to throw people off the track; I know where he got his infoimation, and it's all done for revenge." TIIKIH FATHEK VI:T TIIKM AM) EMPLOYS Thursday evening Anthony A. Nicely, father of David and Joseph visited his sons in the jail, and shortly afterwards w?nt to the law oilices of ColLroth & Ruppel, where W. H. Koontz, Fsq., soon joined him. The next morning Mr. Nice ly said to a HkiIai.d reporter. "The boys are innocent and I am going to stand by them ; 1 don't want to boaHt of my wealth, but I have as much money to spend on this as the man w ho is try ing to throw supicioii on the boys has." Habeas Corpus Hearing. A w rit of hilira coryti was issued Mon day, March lltb, commanding Rush S. McMillen, High Sheriff and keeper of the jail of Somerset county, to produce the bodies of David and Joseph Nicely forth with before his Honor, V. J. Raer, Pres ident Judge. Notice of the issuing of the writ was served upon District At torney Iiiesecker and his associate coun sel, l J. Kooser, F.sq., and Thursday, March 2!th, was fixed for the day of hearing. The fact that the accused w ere h lie brought inta court on a writ of ia. cirf,tu on Thursday having lieeu given U the public, had the effect of drawing a large number of people to town on that day. When the hour set for the hearing arrived, the walk leading from the jail to the coart house was lined on either side with men six or eight deep, straining their necks in morbid curiosity to catch a glimpse of the Nicely boys as they were led from the prison to the court room where the hearing was to be held. The clock had barely sounded the hour of l when the Sheriff and Lis dep uty, with the prisoners between them, were seen descending the stone steps leading from the jail, and as they passed between the crowd one could Lear the half smothered expressions of those w ho thought they could detect evidence of guilt or innocence in the faces of the prisoners. The court room presented a stramge sight vben Lis Honor, Judge Raer, rap ped for order. T'u-' scaffolding erected by the paper bangers was still in posi tion, and away back in one corner work men were engaged in putting the finish ing touches to the coiling. Here and j there, between the boards of the scaffold ing, one could catch sight of the deep blue and bright gold colors that were to beautify the musty old room. Men were standing up on all of the seat, hile the open space outside of the bar and the bar itself, were packed with a pushing, perspiring mob, thicker than flies were ever collected on a molasses covered sheet of paper in a country grocery. Men were standing in the window recesses and on chairs, and so closely packed was the crowd in the room that it was next thing to impossible to get out when once j in. On the bench sat Judges liner an I l'i!e. Hi Honor had occasion during the hear ing to rebuke the audience tor audibly smiling at the eidence of a w itness, anil to wmind tliem that the court was en gaged in an extremely solemn duty. Rack of the Judges, and between them and the wall, stood a row of half a doaen venerable farmers, with heads inclined forward, bound that nothing should es cape their ears or observation if they could prevent it. At the Commonwealth's table sat Dis trict Attorney Biesecker, F. J. Kooser, Fq , and the principal w itnesses for the State. The table for the defense attracted the eye of all present. Around it were seated 4 ' J. T 3 1 :' 1 a i$m& INTERIOR OF OLD attorneys Coffroth, Ruppel, Koontz, and Joe and David Nicely. The Nicely boys were dressed in new ganuents, fresh linen, and with their faces cleanly shaven and hair closely cropped, presented a very genteel ap pearance. A smile played constantly around the corners of Joe Nicely's mouth, and his eyes sparkled brightly while the evidence against him was bding heard ; nor did he eihibit any concern w hen Miss Stern identified him positively as the "little man" who drew a revolver on Herman L'uilierger and demanded bis money or his life, David Nicely's pale and hollow cheeks showed no change of color throughout the entire proceeding", and the only manifestation of life he exhibited was the regularity w ith which he stroked his thin, straggling moustache. Once, when Miss Stern was explaining to the court the manner in which the "red face I man" had his face partially concealed tieneath the folds of a handkerchief, he glanced quickly around at her, only to resume his listless position without changing a muscle of his face. Immediately in the rear of General Coffroth, w ho conducted the cross exam ination, sat the aged father of "Joe" and "Dave" Nicely. His honest countenance and earnest expression as he whisered now and then to the counsel for his boys, called for the sympathies of the specta tors. THE COMMONWEALTH'S CASK. The first witness called was Hammer Canilield, and intelligent young school teacher. He Siid : On the evening of February 27th I was at the hou-e of Mr. I'eter Bowman ; we heard bells ringing, and supposing there was a fire, started in the direction of the sound of the liells ; came to Mr. I'mberger' house and fou 'd Mr I'mbergi r bad been killed ; we made investigation for tracks same evening; next morning I came back and we made further investigation ; when we came to the top of the hill above I'nibergcr's we found tracks iu the snow of two persons going in the direction of the house. The witness then proceeded at consid erable length to describe how he and other parties followed the tracks lo and from I'mberger's house, to the stone bridge, or burnt cabin, a short distance east of the toll gate above Ligonier. General Coffroth subjected the witness to a very rigid cross-examination, hut failed to lessen the weight of his testi mony in the slightest degree. DAM VOIVO TESTIMONY. As Mr. CAiillMd retired from the wit ness stand, District Attorney Biesecker called Liu. W. Vaneer.aud a bright look- . . .. t..ii;- way through the dense crowd and stood with uplifted hand before the clerk to he sworn. He took the elevated seat pro vided for witnesses and in a clear and distinct tone of voice testified substan tially as foliows: I live in Ligonier, Westmoreland coun ty ; have known the defendants six or eight years ; saw them on what is called "Sand Flat" on the Lniirel Hill moun tain, on the pike, coming east, on Feb ruary 27. I POSITIVELY IDENTIFY THSM AS TIIE MEN. They were walking very fast; Dave was nearest me when they passed ; I was IIS yards from them ; my father was with me ; we were engaged in cutting logs ; this was betw een 4.:0 and 5 o'clock in the evening of February 27th ; w hen they passed me they were six and a half miles from their homes, and from be tween one and a half and two miles from the county line. The witness identified a cap found in Dave Nicely's house as the one w orn by the prisoner. Miss Eila Stern was next called. A low murmur ran through the audience and every nck was craned to get a glimpse of the witness Uon whose evi dence so much w as know n to depend. She was young, bright, intelligent ; bad been an eye-witness of the terrible tragedy ; had con versed with the " Red-faced Man " at some length on the evening of the murder, and hail heard the prattle of the M Little Man " qo ta t..LI ol-..- 1. - -JZ- LIU ' V . .t it . 1 - ELLA STItrS. ",v "... . of the robbery of the peddler, the search warrant, etc. Were the prisoners at the bar the men w ho Lad come to her em ployer's house that fatal February night, and if so, would she be able to identify them, and how ? The witness affirmed and too' the stand, lle.r manner was collected and she answered all questions asked in an intelligent way and in a clear and dis tinct tone of voic.e. When they came in I was sitlingat the table close to the parlor door between the parlor door and the table ; Mrs. I'm berger was sitting in front of the table alongside of me ; we gave the two men chairs in front of the coal stove, and they sat down there w ith their backs toward me ; one was a taller mat) than the other, wore dark clothes, and had two handkerchiefs tied across his chin, and had brown overalta on with yellow stripes, and an overcoat ; the small man wore a mask with a long gray beard, had gum boots on and had his pants in his boots and had a brown Derby hat on, and he did the most talking ; the little man kept hie hat on and the tall man took his off. She recited all of the details of the search made of the ho.ise, and finally Low the little man drew a revolver and, pointing it at Mr. Vmberger, demanded, "Your money or your life." "Then I ran out of the home," said the witness, "and as 8'xm as 1 was on the porch I heard the shooting." (Red handkerchiefs with w bite spots handed the witness.) "These are the handkerchiefs he had tied around his jaws. I have seen these men since that evening." tj Where did you see them ? A. I saw thetr. last the day op at Rauch's ; they are in this bouse to day. i v'her are they ? A. Here they siL fPointiuj to the two Nieelys, who aat close to her.) Thia, (pointing to Dave m J 4- - I COl'-NTY JAIL. Nicely) is;th tall man, and this, (point ing to Joe) is the short one ; the little man kept hu hat on while they were in the house ; tbere was a piece torn out of the rim ; I tkink I could identify that bat ; (hat skown) ; that's the hat , the piece is out of the rim that I spoke of ; that was on the back of his head ; the larg man's lose was not covered by the hand kerchief; I saw his eyes and part of Lis face whfre there was no handker chief ; le bad an overcoat on and over alls ; I couldn't recognize the overcoat ; it was a dark coat ; he had brown strip ed overalls and leather boots ; I can't tell what kind of overalls or pants the little man had ; his pants were dark ; I don't know whether they were striped or not ; he had dark clothas on. Overalls shown and recognized by the witness.) Crw-'.ramimil'nm : The witness was cr.iRs-exaruined at great length by Gen. Coffroth, but he was unable to make her contradict herself in the slightest partic ular. " There was nothing over the little man's nose or eyes ; if that man's beard was natural, then I never saw him after wards ; I never saw any one with curly hair like his ; I could recognize the "little man " by his voice ; I could tell this handkeichief by the way it was rolled I up when I saw it taken out of the " tall man's " pocket at 'Squire Rauch's. SHOWS HoW IT W AS IXINE. At this point the handkerchief that was taken from David Nicely's pocket at the hearing at 'Squire Rauch's was passed to the w itness and another was handed her by a gallant ,T-r- -r-. young bachelor memberof the bar, and she was re quested to show precisely how they had been ! tied about the ! tall man's Lead. David Nicely was sitting imuiediate- t..l : r . c ' ' ooui ui NANNIE HOKNKK. ! the witness who, when the request was made reached over and, in a perfectly j nucerned manner was proceeding to tie the handkerchief over his head, when she was interrupted by Mr. Coffroth, who objected to her using the defendant for the purpose of tier illustration. The court suggested that she tie tl e handkerchiefs on her own head. In tLe most unembarrassed manner imaginable the young lady removed her hat ard proceeded to fold the handkerchie s about the breadth of a hand. She then placed one of them over her mouth, with the upper end touching btr i nose, and tied the corners at the back (f j k' -w,,, ,., j ; the crown of her head, and tied the ends j under her chin. When she had aceom j plished this her face was pretty effectu I ally concealed, with the exception of tht j upper jiortion of her nose, her eyes, ano the lower pirt of her forehead ; then I turning toward the attorney who wa j conducting the cross-examination, she j oaid: "this is the way the tall man woie f them the night of the murder." I-osiTlVE TIIEY ARK THE MEN. I T In answer to further questions, tht j witness said: I recognize the tall man j by his voice and by his tailness ; betalk ) ed with the handkerchief over his j mouth ; he talked to me at Rauch's; he j didn't have the handkerchief over hi j mouth there ; I recognize them by their j voices, by the way they were dressed, aud their sua ; I can't tell how much j taiier one was than the other; when 1 ! got back from Friedline's that nighi j there were not many people there, but a I good many came afterward ; I did not tell people that I could not recogniz. j them if I saw them again ; I said if 1 j would see the fellows I thought I would j know them ; I wasn't sure I would know J them at that time. J Mis? Stern went from the witnessstand leaving the impression upon the minds J of all w ho heard her testimony that she i had told a truthful story, j oNsrAin.E mini takes tiikstasd. John (). It tnch, the shrewd and active young constable who arrested the prison oners and to whose untiring efforts is due the credit fur ferritins out the strong j chain of testimony that has been woven around tLem, came forward aud was sworn. !! testified as follows: 1 am Constable of Jenner Borough ; David and Joseph Nicely live about three milesand a halfor four miles south of Ligonier, on the road leading to Botts ville, in Westmoreland County, this State ; I arrested them ; Hammer Cau (field Rnfus Shaffer, and Martin OConnor were with me; at the time of the arrest or these parties we made a search, but not not a very thorough search, for we hadn't time. We found the red handkerchief, ex hibited in Court here tj-day, on the per son of David Nicely, in my father's office; that handerchief has been in my pooes sion ever since; I found the handkerchief in the Squire's otljce after they were com mitted to jail ; I reached in Dave's right hip-pocket and pulled out the handker chief, and Miss Stern says : "There's the handkerchief;" the handkerchief was folded up ; I have it with me. (The wit ness here produces the handkerchief, be ing the same one shown, to Miss .Stern w hen on the stand.) The handkerchief when I found it had dinges in the corner, showing it had been tied. (Brown Derby hat show n ) I know this hat ; I fonn J it in Joseph Nicely' house on Monday, March 4th, the day he was arrested ; it has been in my pos session ever since; I had it locked np in my father's office; I recognize it by that break in the rim. Aftera brief cross-examination of the con-table by tieneral Coffroth he was dismissed from the witness stand, and the District Attorney announced that the Commonwealth would rest. Speaking to the State's Attorney the Court Said : "To what extent is this admission, as to the homicide to he taken ? There ia no admisaion that the homicide was com mitted by the men who were in that bo?. that night. The commonwealth had belter make out its case." Mr. Kooser. "V 8 have witness here, may it please the court, who saw the murder committed, but I hsd hoped to spare her the trying ordeal of going on the stand to-day. We believe the com monwealth ha nude out her case but we will now call MttS. NANCY I'M BERUFR. A Mr. Konner pronounced her name the widow of the murdered mn slowly arose from her seat and made her way to the witnessstand, where, standing with in a few feet of the two men whom she believed had foully murdered her aged husband and robbed him and her of the savings of a long life of hardship, toil anil trouble, she kissed the sacred book and solemnly accorded a vow to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, in answer to such questions as should be asked 'her. "I was at home in Jenner township on the the night of February 27th last, Ia the evening two men came into the Douse; I saw one of the men have a pis tol ; I saw him hold it toward I'mberger and demand his life or moi ey ; I heard four shots and I ran out int.i the kitchen and rang the bell ; I h eard one more shot and I'mber ,rr f.-ll hark into .J.iV7 t the kitchen dead ; : . 1 aw the man 'TS-vr' shoot; saw the VL2 ' il!"h an'1 heri NANCY UMBKKOER. the crack of the pistol ; heard one shot after I was in the kitchen ; he tumbled into the kitchen and was dead ; he fell by my side ; Mr. I'm berger was my husband. He had his two pocket books; Isaw him take them from the bureau drawer and put them into his vest pocket ; when he fell out into the kitchen they were gone; the bell rope was in the kitchen just aliove the stove; the men were not in the kitchen; the little man did the shooting; when Mr. Fmberger fell by my side I spoke to him, thinking maybe he was not dead; he made no answer; he was dead ; I then ran into the room and the men were gone ; the pocket books were not on his person w hen he fell out into the kitchen ; I saw his body after wards;! didn't examine the wounds; was too much scared ; I couldn't look at them ; he fell directly after the last shot, right besides me, and was dead." After Mrs. I'mberger left the stand Constable Ranch was called and testified to the fact that an inquest of which be w as one of the jury had been held, and as to the nature and character of the wounds found upon the person of the murdered man. The defense bad no iuestionstoask,and the commonwealth's attorney's announced their cast; closed. REMANDED TO JAIL. On a writ of Unhnix ctm, the proceed ings being entirely ex pirte, the defence could offer no testimony. " What does the Common wealth ask ?" queried Judge Bier, as the last witness left the stand. District Attorney Bie sjeker responded We ask that the de fendants be remanded for trial." "What has counsel for defendants to sty why the prisoners should not be re nanded?" asked the Judge. This last q-iestion brought Gen. Koontz to his feet, who argued first, that the evi dence adduced was not sufficient to war rant the court in holding the prisoners. Second, that if held, they wer entitled ti the constitutional right of release on bail. Mr. Koontz cited several authori ti.'S ti sustain his position. Gen. Coffroth followed his colleague, taking much the same position, and in sisted strenuously that the prisoners should at least be released on bail. lie Slid there was no fear of the prisoners Utempting to escape ; that if the prison I Mirswere ilirowu wioeopeu tney would not lesve unless by permission of the cou t He claimed that for weeks past the press of the county had been trying to impress upon the minds of men that these were the guilty parties, and that rhe excitement and feeling had baised the minds of witnesses. He concluded oy insisting that if the court could not see its way clear to discharge the prison ers, they at least should be released on biil which they were ready and willing to furnish to the amount of $50,000, if necessary. Mr. Kooser and the District Attorney both argued that the prisoners would have to be remanded without bail, and cited authorities to sustain their position. At the conclusion of the argument Judge Bier said : "If this evidence constitutes murder then it constitues murder of the first de gree. Under the evidence as submitted, we could not release these men, and we will have to remand them." The Judge then endorsed the writ re minding the prisoners to the custody of me cnerui. Carnival of Crime. The one topic of conversation through out the entire county at thia time was in relation to the inmates of the insecure oi l jail and would they be forthcoming when wanted by the court. In addition to the Nicely boys the jail contained the fa:n ms" M:C e 'ailtown gin " of rob bers seven gentle tnen and three ladies 'he leaders of the desperate gang wore afterwards convicted and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment in the Peni tentiary for robbing and brutally tortur ing Christian Yoder, a well known old AmLsh resident of Summit township. This crime was so diabolical that it de serves more than passing notice. On the evening of April 13, 1SSH, four masked men entered the limp of Mr Yoder just after the family consisting, of i . , , ... i oner, uih wne, nireu gin and hired man had finished eating supper, and while two of the villjans covered the family with revolvers, their confed erates produced ropes arid gags. When all of the family excepting Mr. Yoder, w ho was old am) feeble, had lieen bound and gagged, they commanded him to produce all the money lie had in the house. $!K) waa handed over hut this did not aaMsfy the w-retolies an I sluing t ie defenseless old man they carried him to his barn, tied a rope around his neck and throwing the other end over a beam in the opi-n mow above, hoisted the poor old farmer into the air, after oneof the gang had commanded "hang him np boys, he has lived long enough anyhow. " When the old man's respira tion became labored he was lowered to the barn floor and asked if he was ready to give up the balance of his money. Upon his denying that he had any inore he was again strung up. content with thia rueans of torture a hunch of hay was set on fire by one of the ruf fians and applied to the soles of the old man's feet. He was held suspended over the fire in the midst of a suffocating smoke w hile the cruel flames blistered his hands and scorohed his garments. Satisfied that he would reveal where his treasure was concealed by thia time the flame were extinguished. When lowered the second time he was unconscious and when he revived he was lying on the kitchen floor. Standi over him were two of the gang one with a revolver pressed arainst his fv.ro. bead, and the other with a long dirk- knife pressed bard against his throat. " Tell us where vour money is I or we will kill yon for sure this time," said the man with the knife, but with lift half extinct and death staring him uueomf irt ibiy close iu the face, be reit erated that they had already secured ai? the money there was in the house. Then they asked that he write tbem orders on the different farmers of the ncighboor hood w ho were indebted to him, to be cashed at ones. This Mr. Yoder posi tively ref.ist?.! t do, saying he would die before he would write an order. I'.v this time the other memliers of the gang bad gathered together all the provisions they could rind about the house and a small quantity of whiskey and wine that they found in the cellar, assisted in tying the old man hand and foot, all took .their departure. A span of gray horses in which Mr. Yoder took the greatest pride and valued highly, were stolen from the barn, and it was sup posed that the gang took turn about rid ing in making their escape from the neighborhood. The following Monday morning two of the gaug were detected in a barn in Ad dison towrship and were captured but escaped from their captors, taking their horses and ridiug away in a most re markable and surprising manner. Kighteen resolute men headed by ex-sheriff Kyle of Meyers dale, visitel MjCLcllandtown, Fayette county' Sunday morning and captured the desperadoes ten in all and brought them to Somerset. Another Mountain Tragedy. TWO Vol Mi FARMERS CHAKtiEU W IT II HELP ISO THEIR STEP-MOTHER OCT OF THE WORLD. On the same day the MeClellandtown gang were lodged in jail, detective T. J. Ricking added two more inmates to that vile-smelling institution. They were George and David Shaulis, of Jefferson township, and were charged w ith having helped their father who was fo.ind hanging on a tree out of the world, and with having shot their step-mother. The jail contained 17 prisoners at this time, ail charged with serious crimes. And ! it was known to be but little more secure than a pig-stye, and w as as foul-smelling. Fears of a general jail delivery were ex pressed on all sides. The prisoners were believed to have powerful friends on the outside, and an attempted rescue was not unloosed for. A feeling of distrust was general throughout the county. All strangers were regarded with suspicion, and it was almost impossible to secure a night's lodging without first producing a certificate of good character. Armed guards patrolled the outside walls of tbe jail, while others kept vigilant watch over the prisoners in the cells. The re port ot a pistol shot at night had the effect of drawing nearly every male resi dent of Somerset into the streets. People were worked tip to a most unnatural pitch of excitement and fear, and only the untiring vigilance of Sheriff McMil len kept the inmates of the jail securely imprisoned. May Term of Court. JI STH'E MKTE1) Of r TO CP'.M I N Al-S. Never in the annals of Somerset coun ty court was such general and intense interest manifested in legal pro ceedings as that exhibited at May term, lSSi). The trial of the Nicely boys, the MeClellandtown gang, ami the Shaulis boys had all been set for this term, and a large number of witcesses bad been summoned. But the witnesses formed a very small portion of the great crowd that had assembled in town on Monday, ent from Westmoreland county, and eve ry district in Somerset county had at least tw enty representatives. Hotels and boarding houses were crowded to their utm'ist capacity, and many private hous es were thrown open for the entertain ment of the public. Each day long be fore the court bell had ceased ringing, tbe court room was packed with spectators, at least half of whom were compelled to stand throughout thesession. The curosi ty of the public wa not satisfied at view ing the prisoners in the court room, and regularly after adjournment hundreds rushed to the court yard and formed two solid columns frcm the court house to the j til, through which the prisoners were compelled to pass. Even the news of the stupendous calamity that v sited Johnstow n Fndav. reachinz here the same night, did not detract ma terially from the vast crowd, nor from the interest in the proceedings of the court. Monday and Tuesday were taken up with the trials of minor criminal cases. Tuesday afternoon the grand jury re turned a true bill against Charles J. Lew is, Jackson P. Sullivan, Marshall Suiii van, Decatur T.tsker and Clarence An drewsthe MeClellandtown gang. The District Attorney read the bill of indict ment, to which the prisoners entered a plea of "not guilty," when the court di rected that a j'iry be called. The trial consumed all of Wednesday and until 5 o'clock Thursday evening, when the case was given to the jury. Prior to the case being given to the jury the commonwealth entered a mil ITvf in the case of Dean, Hill, Thomas and Andrews. At S.:10 o'clock the same evening the jury returned a verdict of "guilty," and at 10 o'clock Friday morn ing Judge Baer sentenced Lewis, Tanker, ami the two Sullivans to ten years in, the western penitentiary. THE f MHI'Ki.Llt CASE. At 5 o'clock Thursday afternoon Sher iff McMillen and his deputies brought into court Joe and David Nicely. Their counsel, Messrs. Coffroth, Ruppel and ivooiiU, met them at the counsel table and gave them a cordial greeting. They were neatly and tastily dressed. Dave in a dark flannel shirt, w ith sack coat and low collar. Joe in bhtuk diagonal cut away coat, high vest and high standing collar ; his hair was closely clipped, his hoots highly polished, and a large watch chain ornamented his vest. Home discussion then took place in re gard to the number of challenges to which the defendants were entitled in case they were tried at the same time. The court said that they could only have twenty peremptory challenges, the same num ber that each would be entitled to if they were tried separately. Coiisel for defense made a formal motion for a sev erance, which the court granted. AanH,XED. The District Attorney read the indict ment to Joseph Nicely and at it com pletion put the question in the usual form, "to this indictment how do you plead guilty or not guilty 7" The an swer came promptly and distinctly," not guilty." Tbe indictment was tan read to David Nicely, who also plead " not guilty." The District Attorney then elected to try David Nicely first ; to this the defense objected, claiming that as Joseph Nicely was named first he should be tried first. The court decided that the District Attorney had the right to elect which case he would try first The defense took an exception which was overruled, and a bill sealed. At six ! o'clock the court adjourned. I SELECTfNc; THE Jt'Bl. The w ork of selecting the j'iry in tl ' I'mberger murder case commenced or Thursday evening and lusted up until about .1 o'clock Friday afternoon. Fifty seven jurors were ca'.ed before thtftwelv were finally selected. The Jury. 1. F. PUR AIM D. MILLER. 2. JOSIAII NEWMAN. :. JACOB L. MANGl'S. 4. FRED. F. WALKER. 5. JulIX W. BECK, i. JulIX H. IllTE. 7. W. W. DAVH. 8. D. J. WOLFFRSBERGER. 9. JEREMIAH HENRY. 10. T. W. BLACK. 11. C. W. WEIGLE. 12. A. J. S EM BOWER. TRIED T'MirritKR. Counsel for the defense asked leave to withdraw the motion for a severance, w hich was granted, and defendants or dered to be tried together. The jury was then sworn. At 3 p. m. the district attorney, F. V. Biesecker, arose to open the case to the jury. He detailed the circumstances of the killing as given; and asked for a ver diet in accordance witu the evidence. The first witness called was Henry Rauch, Esq., who had made apian of the I'mberger dwelling and was simply called to prove it to be a correct representation. He explained it to the jury. AS EYE-WITNESS DE RIHES THE VfRDK.R. Miss Ella Stern, who waa living at the house of Herman I'mlierger at the time the murder was committed, was called and testified to the circumstances sub stantially as she did at the W! cori'i hearing. TLe witness pointed out ttie defendants and identified the hat, hand kerchief and overalls worn by them on the night the murder waa committed. She was subjected to a long and tedious crofs-exanimation, but stuck to the story she told the morning following the mur der, and counsel were unable to make her contradict any of the statements made at that tiint. Mrs. Nancy I'mberger was next called, and related the story of her husband's death and described accurately every thing that had occurred in her home on the night of February 27th. POSITIVE IDENTIFICATION. "Never in the forty-seven years that I have practiced law have I in any case, civil or criminal, seen or heard a better w itness in any court than that little girl," whispered '"Cncle John'' Cessna to a Herald reporter, as little Nannie Horner, the ten-year-old grand-daughter of the murdered man, w ho witnessed the mur der of her infirm, gray-haired grand father, left the witness stand. Her tes- iimony was near, siraignuorwarn ami to the point, and her identification of the "short'' man and "long,'' was most posi tive. Never was a witness in any case e' er tried iu a Somerset county court subject ed to a more rigid, thorough, ingenious cross-examination than was she at the hands of General Coffroth, the senior counsel for the defense : but his failure to elicit the slightest contradiction or vari ation from her examination in chief was most signal. She recounted the story of the two strangers coming to the lonely farmhouse on the fatal February night ; of their representing that they were Bed ford county officials on the hunt for stol en goods, and of their search of Mr. I'm berger's house ; told how the unsuspect ing old farmer had shown them from worn to room ; how, becoming suspicious of the strangers, he had placed Lis pock et books, containing a liietimes Iiar.l eamed savings, in bis inside vest ock?t ; their return to the family room, w hen the "little" man whipped out a revolver and, pjinting it at Mr. I'mberger, demanded HIS MONEY OR MIS LIFE. She then told of the struggle and the firing of the fatal shot. Pointing to Joe Nicely, the w itness said : "There is the short man;" and, pointing to Dave "there is the long man." She described minutely how both men were dressed. She was shown an over coat that as found at the house of David Nicely at the time of his arrest, and iden tified it as the coat worn by the "long man" on the night of the murder by a I.ITTI.K HIiOtt X PATCH on the side. "I have not seen that coat before since the night the man had it on at our house. I know these are the men by their size, eyes, noses, voices, and mo tions," said the witness. She said the "little man" wore a brown Derby hat, with a piei-e out of the rim, and was pos itive that the hat shown her (the one Joseph Nicely was wearing when arrest ed) was the one w orn by the "little man" thatjiight. General Coffroth cross examined the little lady for several hours, but was un able to shake her testimony ; in fact, he drew forth some of the most damaging statements made by witness, especially in regard to the overcoats one of which had been in the Sheriff's custody since the murder and which no one had been permitted to examine until it was brought into court. Holding it up before the witness, General Coffroth asked, "bow do you know this is the coat?" "It has a brown patch on it," was tbe tjuick re sponse. "But there is no patch here," said the attorney. "The cat has two sides," said the witness ; "turn it around there ia the patch," and her bright little eyea sparkled. The witness had noticed the coat particularly the night of the murder, and her identification of it was most complete. TKAIKINt) THE MfRDEHEItS. A nuinlier of witnesses testified to tracking the murderers through the snow the morning following the murder. One of the tracks was made by guui and the other by leather boot and were followed to a point on the pike above Ligonier. Four or five witnesses tfstitkM to hav ing seen Dave and Joe Nicely traveling on the road towards Somerset county on ie afternoon of Feb. 27th, and one wit ness remembered that Dave had gun, boots on, while others described bat, cap and overcoats worn by the Nieelys. Other witnesses testified to having seen two strange men one tall and one short -in the neighborhood of I'mber gers on the evening of the murder. THE hl li et book. William Thoiuaa, a liveryman from Loonier, testified that he waa driving a carriage, containing the officers and the Nioely boys from Ligonier to Jenner town on March .,th, the day after the ar rests were ma le, when Dave Nicely and he were alone in the carriage at Laugh linstown Dave handed bim a pocket book and requested him to give it to Watson Menoher, which he afterwards did. W'ataon Menoher, w ho is married to a sister of the Nicely boys, testified to re ceiving the pocket-book with $1(10 in it. He took the money out and gave the pocket-book to A. A. Nicely, and after wards gave the money to his father-in-law. CONSTABLE .loiljf r. RAtGH. The next witness called was Constable Jonh O. Ranch, who made the arrests, and from the time of the murder down o the orth every pj. 'lie effort to deort he rriiniii.i's .ird 'iriiig lh-m to ; 'ice. I arrested Dave Nil eiy lirM ; he first thins that I found thnt w ,s iden t i ti e d Wj- a imir of brow n over alls: Here t h e itness t.K k tie satchels and I ut . V. iles mo I h f 'lind produced i "I- tils ; I found oni in house ; the s-eotid tl.u ' I f, ict !y s house waa pllr,,(- here they are ; I nurk- time : ttie next t hin. I (..- "in , red handkerchiefs nere iney are ; l icnow tl, '.ey n. I found as I have ha I t '"' ID jr.. session ever since ; tin I got hold of ti, found it in David Ni, 4 Ty .... tne lighter of the tw oven ott i.sj.;,f as it We next w-nt to .!,.',, .Niceiy went :tn me We w noiise anil j.h- s wife tol I ; f.l,.,.L .,. ;i t. ,.i. 1 h uv ..,,, n-i.iin,t r.i:oit the shop we met him a:, l under arrest ; we went i I T 1 . . tl, ami i sept .loe in one r,.,,,, others searched the Loii. ,r ,;rj found there was this hr,n y , , it on Joe's head when I arr-i this pocketbook was foini j f. o-'-ceiitre-thu cart rid.'.- w , Joe's house ; there found these are i;; ..i v r. on him when I arre-bd 1 lii'ii : the pants he had on th him ; here is an overcoat t! : ( - ln-tv . then? : w e also found a , a revolver at Joe Ni.-eiv's: not in trim f.,r shooting "" ' " " -Mi-en so later to look for the p.,. j;..,; there when it js found. ', was shown witness an I . j,; .. by a number of marks th.it .. to thv jury ; , did not n .r;,,. r,.' the overcoat ; t.'ie coat wm in ti ,. condition when I gave it to the . as it is now ; it was iu the tion w hen 1 gave it to him vl it. ('i--o.i,u,','.,: i;, r,,lt , Nicely carefully ; did n.,t jt v,:, J. pass book ; saw no money at ,;!) got the pocket book at old UlM ' Mrs. Nicely gave it to me : Bim. hat in my p.se:-s;,,n si rue the .,v arrest ; nevtr knew there wa.. overcoat until I heard Nji,r,ic i! S;iy so on witnessstand. Rifus Shailor. Hammer Ci,, Joseph Ambrose and IIouui i- ( assisted Ranch make tile HIT-.; search all testifi-d to sul-ta!iija; v same tory as told by lUm h. Witnesses re called and tc that Joseph N it eiy ow ned a centre revolver. Other w itnessess.-n-r of Cnibergers testified, tiiat the . book exhibited was the property m irdered man's. The last witness called on the commonwealth was a neighbor. Nieelys, Noah Serena who swore at kiinmtl's on th 2"th of Febr. Dave Nicely w.n there: said he i.";! help me on Tuesday : could not be for a few dav Their Case. THE 1 i;i KK IS AN AM!;!. Shortly after . nurt convened Tlin mornint-, June -ith. Vhl. ;,... Esij., opened the case f,.r the .Wk His opening was highly complim-a:- THE 1 11 ri l MAN on TIIE sTWti. Joseph Nicely, sworn : I.iv in I. nier township, Westmoreland o,: about three and one half mile from i. . nier; am a man of family; have children ; my wife is living ; am t:,.--nine years old ; was living at h..me . February ; live alxmt one-half mile fr my father and about oiie-ijiwrttT f mile from my brother Dave: farm and labor; on the 27th of February at home alsmt noon ; leteen 12 at) o'elciek there Wits a load of da' br l; there by Gilbert Ross; he tU alwmt an hour ; I staid at home an' j.. after this; betae-n :l and 4 o'clock -to see Aaron .Marks a!sut I'.itit.:.; house ; got home alxmt i o'clock : was not ready un.l went to fitlur Dan ( .ettiiiL' on the. way ; took sn";r father's ; father, mother and t.i ..-' ' w ere there ; -tar-tod home about 7oVU pa.ed Dave's Louse an 1 s i v turn a; ! window ; soon after I got tiorue wnit ' bed. The witness a.-eountel f.T ! whercaViiits ti e next day an I ur.'..! : was placed under arrest. VVItu -shown the brown hat the bit !.-'! color of mine ; if it is my hat it i- Ay.. ed : then was a wire rim armn l i y h.' ami there was no piece out of it : had got loose and I uot my :V;. it up ; iK.iight two pistols in ir:;-' ' sometime last fail one for nivse.faiil ' for father; needed pistol for s!i'-:"-hoes; (sfinu boots shown to witni" identified as h si ; one sole was I " about 5 weeks before I was arreste.1, i one about 10 days In-fore 1 was am-: should say the distance frmi tow n to Ligonier was a!"it V' miks ; I live I'.., miles from I.iif did not go up the mountain on tbe of February ; did not know anyt:..r: about the murder until I was t..l i ' 1 n cross-examination tbe witn" unable to accnur.t for Lis l..-real u's any other days, excepting tin n'r tioned during the proceeding yrf he had bought a dark lantern f r-1' his house for fid.ing: never iwl : signal light; my brother I'ave ".t"' soles on the Uk ts ; they were P"t ; " '' after the 27th of February. Gilbert Rom testified to swtn prisoner at home on the aftt-tn""n 27th of February. Fixed the tii.y !'.tJ! entry in bis memorandum lm.k. Aaron Mark's swore that be lu-i "" Joe Nicely on the road near bis !t"""J " the same day. Fixed tbe prayer-meeting that was held tbat v i lli come out on cross-exau.ir.atn'n this wi'iiestt h id been arrest. I f iug sheep; that the case was "!; mised by paying for them and tt.at J Nicely had furnished Liiu w.i a' Py' f I-orenza Nit eiy, a 1" jr-;d '"a ' Joe's was next called. Father "' on tLe afternoon of Feb. 27' h !a-f- there when I came from schooi I r" to prayer-meeting tha ni'- : f-i'l ''" in lied when I got back about ! o"'" talked to him; saw him at break-- next morning. Harriet Nicely, Joe's wife, tet;ii J''-1 her husband was hom on the afVrn . and night of Feb. 2'i:h and eorroh his testimony is to the oc. iircem - day. She di.l not think the hit her on the sa:id was her hu-banJ - hat had no piece out of the rtm Mm. ElizaU-th Nicely Am wife .f i"J JiJ fr"' Anthony Nicely : am 'i2 year mother of the two dcfeiida'.ts see Dave on the 27th of February: Joe that evening at our house - J' know exactly what time it :
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