h
V
11
e
r
RKEU,vKfittor ana rropriotor.
I WOULD RATHER BE SIGHT THAN lREBIDENT.--HK!iBT Clay
-0LUME7.
TS RMS: 3.00 PER -.AJC SSJ3I.
X'2.00 IX ADVAXCE.
NUMBER 18:
be
fH'JL-MUNDAY MURDER.
Commonwealtli vs. John
v(a,Tser ana uunici a user
..! I.
Cambria
to
04
si
r
3
1
El
x.C'urto Oyer and Terminer of C
KtyUon. Geo. Taylor r F. J.
CHARGE OP T-IIE' COTDRT. ' y
' fallen of the Jury : The prisori-
iave been arraignea, ana are upon
r : on TnilJrtmenfc wli'fih
j rrwi,
esthem witii the inuraer or rouy
1 on tuo. lu uaj V4 u uuwt ...
r!e township, In this county ; aud you
hbecn etupanneled and sworn jo try
important issue.
jo body of the deceased, a maiden
ahout seventy vear3 of ae, who had
i Ion" time resided upon and used and
rolled as her own, and had generally
Uied alone, a farm in Croyle township,
junci ju rne staDio uu iuu tciuiaca y
th day of June, by neighbors whose at
ionhad been directed to the placo in the
5er disclosed in the evidence ; and,
he orchard, a short distance from the
:e and stable, the body of Catharine
irl of about sixteen, the daugh-
Liv, a g
j 4 neighbor, and who was for the
staying with Miss Paul learning to
.:t. They were both dead. The skull
ick froui the front around the side of
D7
X
ill
iV
t
n:
hcA, was broken and in a fragthent-
taic, evidently caused by blows with
!ub, ct some blunt instrument, as
liutm testifies, which must, in his
lion, have caused death instantly; or,
fuse his vsctds, as'soon as if their heads
beea severed from their' bodies by
blow. Tiro club? were found, just
e, eareuly fashioned, of " the same
and tliesame kind of wood, one near
bjJy of 3Iiss Mundy, in the orchard,
; tie other in the house, v.her-s the
were found in disorder, and the
rn up, aud upon the floor. ' Miss
I'iuriug the long period sho bad.oc-
;t!ie property alone, had been sell-
::tcr and other "marketing," rais
ed occasionally Belling siock,'and
ijj for the neighbors: and is shewn
jre sold timber from the laud, acd to
received money in different sums,
!Q different occasions. The reasona
jpp.isition is, that she must have ae
rated a considerable amount of mo-
f: but none of her friends knew of her
loaned any, and there was none
IJ m tlxe house except 30 or $40 iu
ocket oi a ureas bau'iu up against
wall, ana a lew small pieces or gold
scattered whete the bed was torn up;
tne lloor.
i the light of these facts, it is clear
ad a doubt that aJiss Paul and Miss
.iv, were both murdered by some per
or persons; and tha, whoever did it.
bsaurderof the highest grade, of the
degree. 1 he unlawful killing of any
an being with malice aforethought
ss oi implied, is murder : and malice
fclied ia every act of unlawful killing!
v. ... i tuiigimuia, ciliict yjl LUKJ
or second degree. All murder per
iod by means of poisoD, or by lying
if, or by any other" kind of willfuL
wate, aud premeditated killing, or
:i is committed iu the perpetration or
-I'1 l-' jerpetrate any rape, arson.
-'ji r robbery, is murder of the
ifLTte. In all the cases epecified, and
Tery other case iu which the taking
other. fa6ts which fact prvo, or tend to
prove, the fact in controversy. The evU
dence here adduced and relied upon by
the Commonwealth is of the latter kind ;
or, entirely circumstantial. No one has
been brought here to testify who witness-
ea tne aeea. ino eye, nun me aii-Beeing
eye' of God, and of - the devoted victims,
beheld the horrid tragedy "; at least, no
witness beheld if," who can recognize and
point out the guilty actors. The little
girl," Mary Stibiliskie, there can be no
doubt, was, there-about the time; and,
when sho 'heard the scream, or strange
noise that alarmed her, and saw, in the
evening twilight, two men in dark cloth
ing ruuning towards, the barn, she, ; no
doubt, saw the perpetrators, in the .very
act of committing the crime; but she can
not identify them, or tell who they were.
There is uo direct and positive evidence
of identity. : The evidence : adduced by
the Commonwealth for this purpose, is,
we repeat, entirely circumstantial: in
other words, the Commonwealth has under
takan to prove certain independent facts,
which facts, it is alleged, cannot be reasona
bly accounted for in any other waj than upon
the supposition, that the prisoners are the
two men seen by Mary Stibiliski, the men
who provided and used tJie two clubs, and
committed the crime" charged in the in
dictment. The evidence is. not. any the
less worthy of your serious and careful
consideration. Secrecy is almost iiuiver-
sally sought as a shelter from the penalty
due to atrocious crime.' Almost evary
deliberate murder, particularly of the
character here charged, is perpetrated, it
may be affirmed, in the belief, entertuiaed
at the time, that it wiU never be detected.
It was in that vie.w, there can bo no doubt,
or to hide. and cover up the gujlt Of a rob
bery, by sealing in death the lips of lljose
who might have exposed it, that this un
manly and revolting double muider was
committed. . It often happens, therefore,
that guilt and the guilty can only.' be
brought to light and to punishmeut, .by
the evidence of circumstances.- That,-indeed,
alone, would not be a: sufficient rea
son for resorting to it, and resting impor
tant conclusions upon it ; for no one should
be;convicted of any crime, not to say one
of the darkest in its guilt, and the most
dreadful in its consequences, except upon
sufficient and legal evidence. , But . the
law regards circumstantial evidence, when
the t'&zti from which inferences are drawn,
are plainly established, and are irreconci
lable with any other rational view of the
case than that which they are adduced to
f prove, as sulhcieut evidence. It is said
was j laicly "contemplated and in
Aich constitutes a willful, delibe
' SEJ premeditated killing, the tnurdpr
' lta FIRST nF.finvp.." And it ia thn
;cf tie jury, when they find a prison--'ty
of murder, to ascertain and find
;e verdict, the degree of it.
is clear beyond any doubt, we repeat,
Miss laui and Miss Mundy, were
t
btS
inj
III 11 Vi . 1 I . .
OTir -uiucreu : anu caua v clear ihiit
Jji , WM W UUJUU
fllve, in tie f.T.,,t:. ......
k nw ii ,vuliyu oi one criminal
-ose, aDa by the Eame 3encv . and. it
murder perDefrafP.J in i : '
Iff., - li . c-ymmis-
"ulx tuereiore, a mur
1 re?BSTMG- The two clubs,
utaeiosea on tne
nd. vtv Vfc caa Doaies wpre
ho T e"unceoi Mary Stibilis
ao When himt i
aedliH. "er cws, was
a.en in a i , , ue nouse and Eaw
I'ra , I c,lothlDS running towards
"i ana whosp
, 7 ot the mirder, would seem to
'I t ain it
. r uiw, mat two persons, at
,' Tr6 COncorncd in tha A
. "u'5. lhi mdirtman -,1
- -u a i rt 3
-onerawuh the innrdpr nf irT,.
I' unA i j iL4 x
, ' aQd, while the jury are to pass
-.wtuce, anu uetcrmine all
s of fact. in thn caQi. v,
,r about "ich there is any eontro-
v ground of controversy, is, did th3
commit the crime ? .are they
V'f tne UomrflOQ wealth to prove
y aBency, aud by -evidence
tat ir n reasonabIe doubt ; upon
j l " v . mvi
ire-
CT
C5
s tf
-3 fj
4
'PI
no Tea-
There are
evidence, by which any pro-
;:e Joubt of their guilt
4lfi'! r.l
'a &DV pfsf ;,.;i :i
j ut criminal,
tie
tabl'iBLed in a Cmirt nf .Ti,.
j D Psitve a3 where a wit
t directly and positively to the
(! I' andi,r"lpfiVe or cir
' 89 where the witness pvoyes
I by 3Ir. Starkie,' a text-writer of high au
thority, that " circumstantial evidence is
allowed to prevail to the conviction of an
offeuder, not because it is necessary and
politic that it should be resorted to, but
because it is,' in its own nature, capable of
producing the highest degree.pl moral
certaiuty in its application," And so, the
judges of our Supreme Court have declar
ed, not. only that it is legal evidencej but
that it may exist in such am6unt,l.arid bo
of iuch a character, as to be stronger tfian
a given amount of direct testimony. And
this accords with' the consciousness arid
experience of every reflecting man. As
if to provide for a case where circumstan
tial is the only available evidence, God
hath so ordained, and so constituted the
human mind, that we thus reason to con
clusions upon which the judgment rests,
in matters of the highest personal con
cernment to ourselves. ' - '
The convincing force and persuasive
power of circumstances, consist in the
known and experienced; conucxion be
tween cause and, effect,, motive' and-' con
duct, and the known, "natural, felt, and
understood relation of things.' Every
thing uecessarilj leading to and connected
with a criminal act, all the circumstan
ces of time, place, motive, means, oppor
tunity,' and conduct, all join and harmo
nize together, as part and parcel of one
transaction. ' When brought together,
they join and fit, like parts of a complica
ted machine, or fragments of some broken
thing. No part will fit elsewhere than in
its own place; and, at the attempt to ac
count for it otherwise, or falsely, truth
usually asserts her prerogative, and expo
ses the attempted deception. Such is the
force and power, the beauty and harmony,
of truth. , And so, 'gentlemen, when all
the circumstances of time, place, motive,
means, opportunity and conduct coincide
with, the supposition that a party is guilty,
and cannot be accounted for on any other
reasonable supposition, their irresistible
tendency is, to convince the mind, eatisfy
the judgment, and fix belief.
"When the known and ascertained
facts," says .Mr. Starkie, "so coincide and
agree with the hypothesis that the dis
puted fact is true, as to' render the truth
of any other hypothesis, on the principles
of reason and experience, extremely re
mote and improbable and morally, though
not absolutely impossible, the hypothesis
is established as morally true." It is also
said by the same, authority that "the na
turo and degree of coincidence between
the circumstances and the hypothesis may
oftentimes be sufficient to exclude all
reasonable doubt, and thus generate full
conviction and belief, although it be not,
as in the former case, of an absolute and
demonstrative nature," ' It was said, also,
by the late 'distinguished Chief Justice
Uibson, that "the law enacts a conviction
prisoner's guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt;" and that "circumstantial evidence
is legal evidence," and "is sufficient for
the purpose when it i excludes disbelief :
that is, actual, and not technical disbelief;
for he who is to pajs upon, the question is
not at liberty to disbelieve as a juror, what
he Relieves as a man.: It tia enough: that'
his conscience is clear."' And' hence,
gentlemen, the legal test is, f'the sufficien
cy of the evidence to satisfy the judgment
and conscience of the jury." .-;:;!. :
It is to be observed and borne in mind,
on the other hand, that the facts from
which conclusions of guilt are sought to
be drawn, should be satisfactorily proven,
and, in a criminal case, to warrant a con
viction,1 should be sufficient to exclude
every other rational supposition, suggested
or supported by any evidence, but the
supposition that the accused ia guilty.
Such is the view which the law takes , of
circumstantial evidence ; such the : rules
and caution which it suggests to guide a
jury in passing upon it, and deducing im
portant conclusions from it. And, accor
dinS'y Jou gentlemen, regarding this
rule and caution, must judge of the truth
of the facto and circum&tances from which
conclusions are sought to be drawn ; de
termine, if you find them to be true,
whether there is any reasonable explana
tion ; and: what conclusions, if true, and
unexplained and unaccounted for, they
reasonably support. You must thus think,
scrutinize, and reason, at every step in the
investigation ; for ) your verdict, at last,
must be your judgment formed upon the
law and the evidence; and the. test estab
lished by the law, as It we have seen, b, the
sufficiency of the evidence to satisfy your
judgment and conscience. : r ;
We recur now to the inquiry, are these
prison ers-ihe guiUy men? and does the
evidence prove it : beyond a. reasonable
doubt? ' , ; :-,: : ' . '
The allegation, or theory, of the com
monwealth is, that these prisoners, who it
appears had been in the Western Peniten
tiary for some time , prior . to the 17th of
.May, when their term of. imprisonment
expired, and who had been companions
before and have been since, ; while in the
Penitentiary, obtained information from a
certain Philip Fulgert, ;also a convict
taken from. Cambria couniy in. 1801, and
whose wife. before his marriage had lived
with Polly. Paul, ,'of the lonely and seclu
ded residence and of the circumstances of
Polly Paul ;. and that it was there, in the
Penitentiary, plotted and agreed that when
the prisoners should be released, they
would Kob, her though they should have
to commit murder iu doing it, and appro
priate a portion of the money they might
obtain for the purpose.of procuring a par
don for Fulgert, and releasing him from
prison: That they were released on the
17th of May; and that on the 25th of
May, John 13. Ilouser, one of the prison
ers, was in the neighborhood of Summer
hill,. Cambria county, a few miles from
the residence: , of the deceased,-moving
from one place to another, inquiring for
some widow, and acting iu a noticeably
singular manner, endeavoring, as the
oouusel of the. Commonwealth surmise
and allege, preparatory to the execution of
the alleged criminal purpose, to explore
the neighborhood, and iiud the residence
of the deceased : xThat a few days after
wards, or about the 28th or 20th of May,
the prisoners went together to the house
of a Mrs.; Miller in Allegheny city, where
they remained as boarders, until Monday
the 5th of June, when they both left to
gether, carrying with them a tin box con
taining their instruments as cuppers and
leechers, which they professed to bo, and
a largo, black oil. cloth sack: That,. on
Tuesday, the Cth of June, the. day before
the murder, Howser again made his ap
pearance in Cambria county, at the house
occupied by Susan Preall.'on the road from
Summerhill to or past Isaac Paul's, carry
ing a tin box similar to that produced here
.belonging to the "prisoners, and inquired
if they wanted any cupping or leeching
done, aod. afterwards went on", towards
Isaac Paul's, about three-fourths of. a mile
from Polly Paul's, where he. made partic
ular inquiries about, Polly Paul, whether
-she was alone, and whether she-was alone
at that time, and whether there Jwas any
man about her house, and whether he
would have to. pass . the saw-mill to go
there; and after inquiring whether they
had any cupping, leeching, or tooth-drawing
to do, went back the road he came,
towards Summerhill : That on Friday or
Saturday after the murder, or.On.thij )th
or 10th of June, the, prisoners returned
together, as they had left, to Mrs. Miller's
in ; Allegheny city when Howser's feet
were sore and swollen, and his appearance
and' conduct. that of a dejected and dis
tressed, man; that in a conversation heard
between them afterwards in Mrs. Miller's
house, in which they disputed, Ilouser
asked Buser to get the money they bad
and give : him his share, stating that he
wanted to leave him. and. go to his father;
to which Buser replied that iff he would
get the ; money-then, it might get them
both into-trouble That they had but
little . money when th ey left Allegheny
city,; and claimed to have money, although
they, did not exhibit any, after. their re
turn : That they left Allegheny city to
go . tf up , the iliailroad, - " towards , the
mountain ;' and that, while they .were
away the specific- crime planned, and pur-;
where there is legal evidence tQ phow'the 'ipoaed ia .thoprison .was committed by
... .... .. , - i . ; ........ , i .
someagency, andia tho manner purposed,
the purpose being to rob Polly Paul if
it should; be necessary, to murder her to
lo it, and " hpr
bed:: ,even. in which
uigert said " she kept her money,"
oemg jouna , torn up : And: that" they,
have .utterly failed to shew, where they
were, or what they-were doing, or to give
any occount of themselves, between Mon
day and Friday of tie week of the mur
der.:;:, T : ; -. ; r ...rr- r ,
These are the circumstances, alleg
ed, and . claimed to be proven, on the
part .or.:: the Commonwealth".- It is for
you, gentlemen, to determine whether the
testimony of the witnesses establishes the
facts'alleged ;:and what r conclusions, if
found to be true, they' fairly support. It
is denied, on behalf of the prUoners,: that
these allegations, or the most prominent
and important of them, are true, or estab
lished by1 the testimony in the case; and
denied, also, that if proved, or assumed
to- be true, they warrant the conclusion
claimed to result, from them ; or are suf
ficient to exclude every other reasonable
hypothesis, and prove the guilty agency
of the. prisoners, or. of either of them, in
the murder. . ; .
, To piove the alleged conspiracy and
plot in tho prison, tho Commonwealth
produced and examined William M'Crea
ry, a convict at the same time, in the
Western : Penitentiary. Philip Fulgert,
tho two prisoners, and this witness, were
all at the same lime in that prison ; and
the testimony of the witness purports to
be a disclosure of what was communicated
to him, or heard by him, within its walls.
It is, indeed, if true, a startling thought,
and oue which should excite public atten
tion, that the place provided' and tnain
tain6d' by the State for the, punishment
and reformation of felons, may, from de
fective construction, or any other cause,
become a place where ;rime is concocted !
But we have only; to do w:th the question
of fact as' it bears upon this issue.
- William M'Cieary testifies: .
"I was an inmate Of the Western Peni
tentiary for some time prior to tho 17th of
last May. 1 have seen John B. Houser
there, and never saw him auy where- else
I had been acquainted with Buser. After
he .was committed, he told me there he
came from Allegheny county. Buser was
confined or . put in the second cell from
me, and after he had been there some time
it "is customary when one- comes to put
. him in with an old one who has been there
some time to instruct him in shoemaking.
Buser was put in the adjoining cell, with
a man adjoining me. '. After he had been
there some timc,;prorjably a week, he rec
ognized me as a person that.' had stopped
on lis trading boat in 1855.- I had-not
seearhiin or heard of him afterwards.
We talked about different things. In the
meantime Philip Fuller was further up
the range or tier. He came down and
wasiput in a cell adjoining the one Buer
occapied. ,'After Buser became acquain
ted, with Philip Fulger he was a Ger
mai from' Cambria county;" at least he
told meiso Buser stated that he had got
some 'points which the witness here ex
plained to'- be places where there was
money, and that they he and his part
ner were going to make some, of .those
'points,'' and if they succeeded in making
any of thoie 'points,', they intended to put
up. some of the money for Fulger . to get
out of prison. We bad different conver
sations in regard to this; I don't know
how many. ; He told me there were sev
eral places : one was an' aunt of Fulgcr's
wif,'Buser told me; there was another
old lady that lived by herself, a weaver,
of the name of Paul; I think he called
her 'Mary Paul.' ' ; ; : ; t
"1 remained in that cell fifteen months,
ind part of the time Buser was in an ad
joining cell. At the end of 'that fifteen
months, I moved up that tier to the ad-
joiniag' cell to Philip- Fulger. Fulger
and Buser worked by spells in the sauie
cell, hob-nailing shoes, till Buser went
out.' Fulger remained in the cell. . About
four, probably six weeks in. the spring, -after
winter had crone by, before Baser
went out" t he witness here referred to ',
the difficulty of noting there the lapse, of
time; and, after stating that VVisoners
frequently got together, to jr Iheir hair
cut, or some:tUin. of th't kind,' and ex
plaining how communication was kept up
by meaps of, 'the steam pipes, he went on
to relate a conversation heard by him be
tween, Buser and Fulger in a cell at the
time referred to. ... '
,"I did not," he says, "hear the first. of
the conversation.- They were talking
when I came down.; vBuserwas sitting in
the middle of the cell ; thei one about
nine, the other about five feet from me,
including the thickness of the wall. .The
first.. I; heard,: Buser said," Philip, if I
make any of those points, you can depend
on us doing what I promised.' : He said
'you can be got out, and you will not have
longer to stay than August ; you. will be
got out by August,; Fulger , says, the
old woman's, the weaver's; you can get
that: there. will be;no one there to stop
you:. He remarked that he thought she
kept her money in her bed. He said 'I
think you will find her money in her bed.'
He. called her . 'the old.weayer.' ;i I think
he ( did not name, her ,then. .Buser said,
,' Johnny and I, will make sure. of that, if
we Lave; to mirder,her tOjgetit , That
was th principal part of the. conversation
with
1 remarked .'do vou think vOU m,,
I'- Tie Said 'oh. VCS. thprp ia a tIIo
g on "me Said I. -in Cambria V
tions with Fulger informed by the
Court that they would not be evidence.
The intention was to go as soon as they
got out; as soon as they could make ar
rangements. .. . ;
"There.was a man, a cooper by trade,
not by name, in the neighborhood, spokeu
of. This was jn the first conversation Bu
ser. talked about those points that might
be made." - . .
lie .then states a - conversation
Houser on one Sunday in March :
"I asked Ilouser if he was going to send
some 'weed' tobacco in after he went
out: He said be could not then ; he was
hard up.;. He would have to make a raise
nrst.
do that
waitin
lie did not speak ; nodded. I think I
made some remark that let him know that
T understood. r V
; "I never heard any . conversation be
tween Ilouser; nd Buser about Cambria
county, that I could . understand. Some
times they talked in German. . Twica r
can remember of them uting the word
lCa7nbria.' It was on Sunday each time."
"When re-called, he stated that he had
never resided in Cambiia county ; how he
heard of the ywirder, "n the latter part of
June, probably between the loth and
25ih," and that he coinmunicatjed the lacts
testified to here, the same day . to the War
den ; and that ."there was no promise of a
pardon or any other inducement held out
to him to testify in this case." To a ques
tion put by the Court, he said the first he
knew of being pardoned, "detective Ila-rue
told me on the way my pardon was here."
Wc have: -thus, because, of. its impor
tance, brought to your recol'.ectiou the en
tire testimony of thjs witness, as we noted
it down, except only some explanatory and
unimportant statements, . which we. .were
not careful, to preserve.; It is a most im
portant and material part of the evidence
of the Commonwealth ; since, if true, and
believed, it reveals a motive and a pur
pose,, on the part of. the prisoners, to com
mit the crime charged in the iudictmeut.
It should receive, therefore, the, most
careful scrutiny'and examination.
After , this witness had been called to
the stand,1 acd sworn to testify in the
cause, it was elicited from him, in answer
to a question, asked without objection by
the'. prisoners'Veonnsel, that he . had '-'recently
got ouf of the. penitentiary;" that
he had been. tried in W'asbiugtou county,
and" had been "convicted on a charge of
burglary ;" and that he h;:d been in before
on the same charge,' and that he "was
convicted and pardoned on the first charge
on the ground that he was not guilty of.
tne onence. it was here objected by the
prisouers counsel that he was hot a com
petent witness. A pardon, by the Gover
nor was then 'produced and read. ' It" was
still ! objected "that the pardon produced
for the last conviction "did not remove the
disability occasioned by the first." It was
apparent, however, that the first term of
imprisonment must have been, iu some
way, terminated ; and it wr.s our. impres
sion; moreover, that the pardon was as well
proved as the conviction, if it would be
correct to say that cither was properly or
sufficiently proven ; and that, shewn as it
was, that conviction could only affect his
credibility, and could, not be allowed en
tirely to exclude' his testimony a3 incom
petent. He was allowed,, therefore,' to
testify ; aud, upon the prayer of the coun
sel of. the prisoners, a bill of exceptions
was sealed. The examination which we
have since given the question, has satisfied
us that we were right. If, however, we
erred in this ruling, we rejoice to know
that the. prisoners are not without a reme
dy. - We now instruct you that he is a
competent witness, ar.d hi j testimony to
be regarded by you as legal and proper
evidence, if, iu view, of the attitude he
occupies, and of everything urged against
him calculated to affect his credit, you
believe it. He. stands beforo you uj.on
his" own admission, twice convicted 'of a
felony; Enough the admission, with're-sVe-Vc
to one of the convictions, is qualified
oy a denial of his guilt. His character
for truth and veracity, on. the other' hand,
has Jnot , beer, directly assailed ; and the
counsel of the prisouers declined to sub
ject his statements to the test of a cross
examination. You witnessed his manner
of testifying, and will scrutinize carefully
the subject matter of his testimony. It is
argued -against it that the confinement in
the peniteutiavy is "separate and solitary ;"
and that he could not, consequently, have
heard what he has undertaken to detail;
and that neither the Warden, nor any
other witness, has been called to corrobo
rate him, by showing that he could. On
the other hand, you have been reminded
that while ' the Warden joiued in asking
his pardon,-no witness has been called to
contradict him, by showing that he could
not; arid you have been asked to inquire
how he could have invented the story.
All wo have to say to you, is, he is a com
petent witness : do you believe his testi
mony ? ' ' ' .
. To shew the alleged conduct of the pris
oners in Allegheny city, shortly before
and 'after the murder, and the. time aud
'mauner of" their leaving and return, the
Commonwealth has called and examined
. as witnesses ' Elizabeth Graham, Martha
.Barnes, and John o. 'Johnston.
Elizabeth Graham testifies: ' -
Iwithj Buser.,,.! had frequent, coayersa-1 ; 1 WSifo : in Allegheny city, Third
. 2 -. . , - r . - - - . ji'i i
Ward. I am acouainrnrl with tU..
prisoners. I was boarding at Mrs. Mil
ler's, aud they came there about the 28th
or .29th of last May. Thev stayed till
tho 3rd day of June. The 3rd of June
they cupped me. They were together. at
that time. ,.Ou the next day, -on Sunday
Mr. Barnes, the nest door neighbor, ot
his hand cut. Taey cresscd his hand.
Buser said if thev didn't go away on Mon
day they would dress- it again. He went
early on Monday moruing and dressed his
hand. He borrowed one dollar of me ;
said he wanted to. go -to the drug store!
and get some medicine. Ile.toldme he
had some.nioney, put he wauted that to
pay (or a ticket to ride a piece on the ears.
They wanted to go to the country. , IIoul
ser was present at that time. That after
noon thev both left ; about 2 or 3 o'clock
in the afternoon. They took a carpet
sack and a tin box. It was a brown tin
box. It was such a looking one as that.
One produced in court. Never had the
box- in my hands. It was a black'oil
cloth carpet sack.
- "They came back on the next Satur
day in the alteruoon ; Houser's feet were
very sore. They. wore both blistered and
swelled. He stayed :n the house for over
a week after that. He said his feet wore
too sore ;. he couldn't get out. Buser wa3
out ; ho brought sour-kraut several times.
He cupped his feet with one hand.
: " They followed cupping, and bleeding,
and leeching, while they , were there.
They had no money before they left. Dan
said they had money now, but it wouldn't
ilo lor tli iii to. 6 t that. I was laving ia
the room on a lounge ;' I was sick ; and
the two were in the room. They had a
few words; got to quarreiiug in the room.
Hcuer told Buser he wanted him to go
aud get that mouey they had, and give
him his share. Houser said he wanted
to go to his father; he would leave Buser.
Buser said, putting his finger to his eye,
'do you see anything green V Buser said
it wouldn't do for him to go aud get that
money ; it might get them both into trou
ble. I didn't hear any more.
" Ilouser appeared to mc after he came '
back like a man that was distressed ia
mind.- He would get up from the kitchen
and go into the room, and lay down. Ha
was not jolly and jokev, like he, had been
before' ,: . . , "
This is .her testimony in chief. Iu
what she said "in-'her. cross-examination,
which, as you will recollet, was 'mainly
"directed to other thiogs, urged Hero
against her credibility, there is nothing
which varies her statements respecting
the prisouers.. You heard her cross-ex- -aruination,
and have' heard the comments -of
the prisoners' counsel upon that part
of her lesfityony. .
Martha Barnes testifies that she "seen
these 'two. men -when they .first came to
Mrs. Miller's, aud thiuks it was iu. May
or June." . . ,
. " I thick," sl.e says, " it was on tho
3rd of June they cupped Mrs. Graham ;
it was on Saturday. I seen them on Sun
day. . On 'Suuday ' my ' husband got hia
haud'eut. On Sunday Busr came arid
dressed it by candle lip,Iit. Then camo
the next luoruiug and took a plaster off,
and dressed it. He dressed is oa Mon
day; then they were round, there. He
dressed it twice. He said' they" had to go
away of they r;cuid attend to it more. .1
can't tell'how long it was till they came
back agiiin. "Mrs. . Miller moved away,
and lluser . bought furniture to . go to
house keeping, if is wife gave him tho"
money; so she said. She cried about rs
afterwards. Mrs. fJraham was cupped on
Saturday; Mrs. filler moved the next
Saturday. Mr. Graham came home from
the army, and they got married.' I' be
lieve that to be the very same box."
On cross-examiuation, she stated that
" Buser moved into the house : on Satur
day, and the furniture 'was bought a day
or. two before.' It was on. Monday he was
there and dressed iriy husband's hand.
He seen and dressed it twice ; ou Monday
aud Sunday evening. I think he was
round there afterwards; didn't pay much
attention." She stated further, that
" they were both there, and said they ha,d
to go away." "
John S. Johnston testifies:
"I am not much acquainted with the
prisoners ; I have saw them. I saw Hou
ser first in 18G2 in the Western Peniten
tiary. Explains how. I have saw them
both. 1 have seen them sincb the 17th
of May. I saw these men at Mrs. Mil
ler's house. I didn't know Buser: he had
a large mustache. I did know them when
they were' living at the house of "Mrs.
Miller. They went under the occupation
of what they called cuppers and leechers.
I recollect the time they cupped Mrs.
Graham. It was on the 3rd of June, 18G5.
They left Mrs. Miller's house Monday
about dinner time; I saw them about 11
o'clock, not afterwards, that day. They
returned Friday following; Friday they
returned, no nlitter what day of the "month
it was. '
".They had no money when, they left,
or but very little; all that seen them
have didn't amount to a xlollar. They
may have had more. I d'.daV know di
rectly what their circumstances were after
they returned. Daniel Buser asked me
what 1 would take for the house. I told
him 1,600 in greenbacks. He said fhac
was more than his pile would reach. e
eaid he would give me 5500 in hand, fhg
o
ill
' ' ' ,'''''