A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER,
Devoted to tha Interests of t'ae Tele of E1U Co
is rrni.tsur.ii r.vi:iiv TttntsiiAv,
JOHN T. MOOllE,
Oflke in iic Ciiri 21-:u
Tr.ic.in Or.o J'uTlitr nnd Eil'iy Onls per
nioiten. ir.uuiiibly in ndviimA,. Na devia
tion Item these (errrs.
Bates of Advcrtis:n.
Transient Adverlisemeineuts, vp.vk i re of
10 lines u- less, ',) limes nr less i2 (Ml
For encli suliseiimit. insertion 2-"
Administrate -s' nnd Kx'r.' milieus... 2 fit)
Aiiilitiirs'jiiiitiecs 2 fio
IHsscilutions, (",uii inn.' and Estrnys... 2 (HI
Lnciil and OMin.iry notices pel line.. K,
l'l rVstjiou.-il cards, 1 year.
o 00
vn.vni.v ai)V:i:ti!m;!i-.xts.
1 ("inure $ 7 00! column $20 00
- f'lnares 12 00 .', ci'.imn 00
;) Mnnt-es .0i):l coliitnn (Hi 00
J The above rales will lie strict !y udliercd
to in nil advertising lVum ,.ia.
Nov. 28, 18'17. ,-V,n-N'
Editor nnd I'nmrielor.
TIM IS OF HOLDING CUl'iiT.
Second Monday in January,
Last Monday in April.
Firct Mruday in Augn -f.
First Mouday in November.
From the Clcivli .-'A Kcpuidicin
Jirnst ,?3i!:tr.
Below will be found an account of
the execution of this unfortunate woman,
with whese attest, trial and conviction
our readers tire u!i Familiar.
The advocates ul e.i;i!:l p nishnienf,
for the first time iti the .h .n v td" our
country, on Wednesday, the Bj'tii, fi!1.
ishod one o( tin i jobs' upon one id the
frailest ot their race a woman al
though the opportunity had presented
iioolt four or fi.-o rmes 'before. Aecor.
ding to our reeuik'ctiou, six i-iur.jers
have been committed in ibis county
within the past twenty yaw, l'rotlu-r
rhut brother; again, bro:h-?r id; it broth,
cr; husband shoi wife; mother destroy,
cd child; tuM-'il. r shot neighbor; rvid
wife poisoned ha-ban!. Ac-cordiug l-j
law, all should have u lie red death :"yot
but one ha.s paid thr.t penalty. No oth
er law on our statute book is so inl-w.i-
l.ly ovoeiitod, or I.iIm so far shurt id' its
object. ere we an advocate of ci.f-i-tal
ptinishmont this leiie ol batbarism
we would be ashamed of the manner
in which the law and the lights of com
munity have been outraged in this
county But en ju-J on this feature .1
thesu'j et lor the " piv.-cut. The facts
to which wo allude arc known to nil a
woman hung, one conviction and spi
cule, uud four escapes, is the result.
There is not much in thi.-t, we think,
either to terrify or protect society two
vital points claimed by the advocate ol
capital punishirent.
Til!-, n.i i.r.ov--.
The gallows was erected within the
walls of the jail yard, by Mr. Gem-go
Thorn, and iu design and construction
was a magnificent piece of workman
ship. We in our time have seeti at
least four of these ornaments ol barba
rians or hall'civilizcd beings, they might
" 'HftfttrtKped our notice ; but when e. in
structed in the midst of church steeples,
they always attracted our attention very
much; heixc wo can say that for work,
mausliip an I design this " relic of bar
barism " far exceeds anything ot the
kind we hav. ever seen.
The prison .t was very much annoyed
and agitated while tho workman were
4tt'uR "P tho ptraeture, and gave the
Sheriff no p. ice until he informed her
what the "leunnieriDg and noise meant
in the jaiUy :rd." After some hesita
tion, he told her. She at once domain
ded privilege to see the ''fixin." lie
remarked tht-t she would gc-t to see it
boon enoui li, and started to leave,
whereupon she became excited and ex
claimed, fur (foil's sake, lot mo see it,"
The fcbcrill' withdrew, but soon returned
with a friend, and took her down into
the yard to see the " fixin." She stood
iu silence for soiue time gaziuir at the
structure, and then said, '-it looks nice."
and commenced shaking it to see
whether it is stout enouuh." She then
ascondod tho steps to the platform to
" try it," and requested the Sheriff to
show her '-how it works." lie ascend
cd to tho platlorm and explained it i op
orations; after which she pus; c l down
the'stcps, remarking, " I sjue.-s it w'.U
do," and voluntarily started for her cell,
as coolly as over she passed to her kitch.
en, with the additional remark to the
Sheriff, in a tone of pleasantry, that " I
am ready whenever you are.
In passing along the hall hho noticed
the coffin iu one of the cell.-, which
she demanded to see. The Sheriff told
her to go in and examine it. Af'er
giving it a minute inspection, the re.
marked that it was entirely too large, but
otherwise "it is very nice," mid passe-J to
her cell.
The Sheriff, Mr. I'aust taanfully dis
charged every duty devolving upon him
during these trying circumstances, llo
had this fvoman under his care and
keepiug for over sixteen mouths, and as
escapes from thi.i imitiilijii o i(7 had
been frequent heretofore, it took no
little time and attention to detain
her. Sho made scveial attempts to es
cape latterly, but was always delected in
time to frustrate her schemes. The la
bors of attending to this prisoner, it
must be recollected, were twice that of a
male, always being kept by herself and
hall the time waited upon by females.
But few pers ms, besides the twelve
jurors and the physicians, were admit
ted into '.he jaiiyatd. The execution
passed cIT very nuictly. Bat few citi
zens of th3 county came t town on that
7 fuw m mwiwwwwlw www Wmm
RID G WA r, PENNA. NO VEMIiER 23, 18G7.
JOHN P. MOORE, Editor Proprietor. VOLUME SEYEX NUMBER 38.
day, and those of the community atten
ded to their business. The prosenjo of
a cavalry company, from Lumber City
prevented tho curious from scaling the
surrounding buildings, besides a lit
tle snow made it uncomfortable and dan
gerous for such amusement.
Of the former liie nnd habits of this
woman, we know nothing ; hut as 'chan
ty covcreth a multitude of sins,' wo dare
not say to her children and tho world,
that "the was addicted to falsehood, vul.
parity, propane swearing, and possessed
a slavish appetite for strong drink." Tr'e
are not in possession of tho proof to es
tablish such facts, nor do wo deem it.
necessary to add additional reproach to
this unfortunate woman and her friends,
other than has been established in a !e.
gil way.
tlKtt FORMER LIFE AND CONFESSION.
Mis. Lena Miller was fas she told us
about -Id years old. She was born in
ilanover, Germany, llcrmaiden name
was Lena Faddeu. Her parents both
died when sho was very youns bavin"
no recollection of cither of them. She
whs nwed by liev halNbrother, who,
wben sbe was nine years old, put her out
to the service of stranger, who treated
her badly compelling her to work hard,
and giving her no edusatitti or religious
instruction. When about fifteen years
old, she sailed for America. Iler rea
son for this, us she states, was on account
of her desire to m irry a man who came
over with her, by the uamo of George
ihtrrett, she being under the marriage
able aae, and not possessing the rcqui.
site amount of property which the law
iu that conuliy requires. They landed
v -;cw York and went immediately to
Williamsburg, iu the vicinity of New
York, where th?y lived together as man
and wife, though without being really
Marne,i, for about a year. When sober,
Barrett was quiet, orderly and good-
hearted, but hs drank excessively, and.
as uotn worsen out, ho would draw both
her wages and Ins own, and spend their
money ur intoxicating liquors; nod
when drunk, he was very noisy and abu
sive. .She (dteu threatened to leave
bi n unless he behaved himself, and as he
a;.i L.yc mind in,., .,t. j:j ti.
one evening iu the house drunk," and
'.i J nrrcr hiuird of htm t-i'ncj. Sho
then went to l'ottsville, Pa , and work
ed two mouths ; theuee to Selinsgrove,
where she remained three months ; and
tben to Schwoiufordstown, where she
lived one year. From the latter place
she went to Lewistown, where she was
takeu stek with Typhoid tever, aud stay,
ed at the hotel of Mr. Mover lour
months ; thcueo to Better's Bauk, in
Centre county, wh;ro she lived with
Henry 1'cro, three years; and thence to
Bellefonte, where she worked one year
with Mr. Hen. Bennett. Here she met
-X'.vicr Miller, who was also working
for Mr. Beuuett. They were married
in Bellefouto and went immediately to
Snow Shoe, and after one year went to
i'rcnchville, Clearfield county, in the
neighborhood of which place they lived
until the time of the murder about fib.
teen years. The only incident worthy
of note, during tho time they lived
there, until the murder was the buruiiisr
of their "Shanty," with all its contents,
which hho herseli set fire to.
Her ;eiieral appcarauco was that of a
large, strong, well. developed woman.
Her faeo was rather masculine, her
mouth expressive of determination, with
dark skin, high cheek-bones, deep.sun.
ken eyes, of a brown color, and hair of
grayish tinge. Her mind was n remar
kable good one for her ndvantagss. Sha
spoke both German and Kuglish, al
though she could read but little and
that only in the German, yet, during
her iuipiisomneut, her improvement in
reading was marked and rapid. She
could converse well, and compreheud
clearly aud easily the instructions given
her ; especially the great truths of the
plan of lledemptiou. As to her dispo
sition, she was sullen and revengeful un.
der provocation, cunning and deceitful
in her purposes, stolid and indifferent
iu ahuoat every phaso of her circum
stances, until the last few days previous
to her execution. Her habits of life
were tho fitting preparative for her nion.
strous crime. Sho was addicted to
falsehood, vulgarity uud profauo swear-
ing, and possessed a slavish appetite for
strong drink. Nevertheless, she profes
sed a severe repentance lor her wicked
deed, as a great sin against God and
man ; aud wo eomnieed her to the niigh.
ty grace which was aide tosavo a peni
tent thief, aul to that blood which
cleanses from ul! sin.
With these remarks, wo give her
confession (substantially as sho related it
to us :
II KR CONFESSION.
J first thought of murdering my hus
band in the Summer of 18G"). I tried
first to poison him with Laurel leaves
uud the fillings of brass buckle. Then
with the quicksilver olf the lack cf a
looking glass. Then I gave him iu two
do-i.-s a bo'tle rf l.tu lantfu, which I f;ot
from Dr. rotter for the cramp. Then
some indigo. Then, one day, going af.
tor the cows, I killed a small, grecu,
grass snake, which I boiled and gave to
him in coffee. All these things wore
given either id tea or coffee, accordin
as one or the other was used at meals.
None of them had the least effect upon
him did not even madejhi n sick. The
time oc3tipi-;d in giving them all, was
about tour weeks. 1 then gave it up,
because I did not know of anything
which would kill him. But I thought
of it every day, nnd could not get it out
ol my mind, trying to think of some
thing '.o poison him with. At last 1
remembered that somo of the neighbors
had got something at tho store to poison
rats with. Tho next time L weut to Mr.
Cranston's store, which was in tho latter
part of June, (ISCiOA I asked for "rat
poison." The first lie gave me, upon
my asking him, ho said it would cot
kill a man but make him very sick. I
then asked him for something stronger,
and ho gave me tho arsenic and tolil me
how to use it. (Miller never told jie
to get any "rat poison." and uiv littln
gill swore to that because I told her to
do so.) 1 took it homo, but, in a day or
two, Miller weut to tho Home Shoe,
and was gone until Saturday, and I had
no opportunity to give it to him. He
came home on Saturday, at noon, (Juno
JOtlO and at supper I put a teaspoonful
in some rice and set it at his plate. Ho
took two or truce knifo.fulls, and then
got up from the table and went out ou
the porch, where he commenced to vom
it. Tho vomiting continued more or
less freequently until bed time, when
ho told mo ho felt better. The next
morning I gave Lira what you could
hold on tho point of a pen-knife, in his
n.-.rr.n 'Pi,:, ,i. i
i-.'u'.v. a ma maun hi 111 sick nam
men I give it to him again at night;
and so on, in about tho same quantity
two or three times a day the number
ot times oependtng ou whether there
were strangers at the house or not on,
til the 10th ot July, tho day Br. Litz
cauio first, when tho paper ran out : 1
J. j ? ! ... 'J
ii'in rjwen ntm all. Uu the 11 til of Ju.
ly after dinner, I went to the Store to'
frot .some vinegar to mix a mustard pla
had told nie. I could not get rid of
the thought that J must not give it up.
and so I bought another paper of the
same kind ot "rat poison ' as I got be
fore. I left the store about three o'clock
and got home about four. Miller was
mueh worse. I could hear the "death
rajtlcs," and knowing then that lie was
about to die, did not give him any
more.. 1 went and told some of tho
neighbors that they must come over,
that he was going to die that night,
lie did die the next day. I never opeD
ed the last paper of poison which I
bought, but put it iu the cupboard,
where it remained for three days after
tho funeral, I then took it and put it in
my pocket-book, and carried it two days,
wdien, one morniug, going over to Mrs.
Prctetts, I found it in my pocket, out
of the pocket-bock, with my tobacco,
aud fearing that I might poison myself
I threw it away, where I said 1 had
done it ; but as I was noticing especial
ly those who wero with me, and not
where I was throwing it, I could not
tell exactly tho spot. Besides, the
grouud was covered with laurel, and it
had rained in the meantime and as the
run (small stream) is there close to the
road, it may have fallen in that, bo that
it could not bo found. Tho powder
which was found on tho clock, was the
one left by Br. Litz, on the 12th, to bo
givcu him that night, but as he died bo
foro that, he uever got it. Tbe powder
they camo out iu tho kitchen to get,
and gavo him the night before ho died,
was a powder left by Dr. Litz on his
fust visit. 1 gave him all the medicine
the Doctor left, just as he told mo.
My motive for killing him was, be
cause ho treated me badly and abused
me so. lie made mo work hard out
doors on tho farm. lie would some
times get mad and knock mo down, and
the marks of abuse could often bo seeu
upon my body. I could not live with
him any longer, and I could not leave
him, because I could not bear to leave
my children, whom 1 loved dearly. As
soon, however, as I saw he was dead, I
was alarmed and sorry that I had done
it. I could not bear to look at him after
he was dead, and, after the funeral, was
restive going all about and afraid to
stay in tho house on account of 'spooks.'
I know and feel that 1 have commit
ted a great sin, and acknowledge my
punishment to be just; but I look to the
mercy ol God, and trust that bo will
forgive mo.
A negro, a loriuer slave of Jeff. Da
vis, has been, it is said, made a Missis
s'ppi Justice of tho Peace. Since bis
blushing honors were thrust upon him
he litis had a quarrel with a white mau,
named Law, whom ho knocked down.
This is called the radical way in which
a negro Justice "lays down the law" in
Mississippi.
From the Buffalo Express.
Important Project.
Ihr.JS. & ) , Enterprise taking on a
New Aspect Organization of thv
Cattaraugus County Railway Com
pant -A Chance for getting Cheap
wai into JStijalo Je.vl year, dx. rtv
A very important meeting in connec-
uonwiin me liuuaio and Washington
ltailway enterprise was held on tho loth
inst., at tho offioe of that Company, at
wuicu results were reached which prom
ised to give us cneancned coal consider
ably in advanoo of the completion ot tbe
!.& W.K. to its terminus at Emporium
1 lie meeting was for the purpose of a
coniercnce ot the JJiroctors, of tho B. !
W. 11. Company with a number of .?en
tlemcn from Pennsylvania, New York
city and v;attaraugus county, who retire.
sent me project or a raiiroa-i from Urcat
Valley, on the lino of the Er e Hallway,
to Maohias, to "oonnect the Lafayette
coal branch of the Erie with the Buffa
lo and Washington, substantially aoenni.
plishing tho old project of the Buflalo,
Bradford and Pittsburg ltailroad.
It will bo recollected that the Erin
liailway Company some timo ago took in
a portion oi tho abandoned B. B. it P.
ltailroad, and completed it to Carioltou
on tho Erie Lino, to Lafavetto in Mr.
Kcan county, Pa., where it tans the coal
mines. Ihis branch of road it has had
in operation for a year or more, briimrn"
out coal which it has carried to Dun-
kirk, from whence a considerable sun.
ply has been shipped to this city (luring
tho past season. What is now sought
is to aecouippsh a practical extension of
that coal load to Buffalo, bv filiin the
id between tha pron jso 1 line of i!n
Buffalo & Washington and tho nearest
point on tho Erie. This was the object
..!. .. ... . . J
m me meeting held yesterday, the gen.
tletuen representing tho Catt
cotiDty enterprise coming here to confer
with tho B. & W. K Company upon the
subject. The following wero present :
Gen. T. L. Kane aud II, Yarnali, of
Kane, Pa. ; Dr. W,lt. Irvine, of Ii vine,
Pa.; Frederick Collins, Esq. an i II.
Clay, Esq., of Philadelphia; D. B. Ea
ton, Esq., Attorney of tho Erie liailway;
l'blKility JrrAmT Itifcb, iliCfYiK
D. Scott, Messrs. K. Harmon, 13. S
Stewart, S. King Skinner, S. McCoy,
John McMahoo and E. D. Northrup, of
Ellicottville ; Georg3 Brewer, Esq , of
Great Valley, and It. L, Whitcher, Esq ,
of Machias.
In tho full and free discussion which
took place it was shown that tho project
depended entirely upon the securing of
a third rail on the Buffalo and Well
ington liailway from Machias, to give a
six foot gauge into Buffalo, and that,
furthermore, a contemplated extension
by tho Erie Railway Company ol its
Carrolton and Lafayette bianch sonic
distance further south 'into the heart of
the coal regiou depended upou the same.
Strong assurances weie given that it
tho proposed connection with Buffalo
can bo formed, by tho building of the
Great Valley and Mashias lind, and by
tho laying of a third rail on tho B. &
W. thence to this city, the Erie Compa
ny will expend immediately not less
than 750,000 iu extending and criuip.
piug tha Lafayette road, to open one of
tho greatest sources or coal supply in
Pennsylvania to this market.
When a full dtsousston of the matter
had been had in opcu meeting, with the
gentlemen from abroad present the Di.
reotors ol the B. S W. liailway retired
and held a brief consultation, the result
of which was 6tated on their return by
jlr. Adams, the 1 resident ol the Com
pany, substantially as follows :
lhat tho B. & W. llanway Company
desires to have the proposed connection
made, and will do all in its power to fa.
cilitato it; that it Will, if possible, lay
tbe required third rail from flaebias to
Buffalo, aud that if it is not able to do
so it will permit any other Company to
lay tho rail, charging for the right of
transit fair and equitable rates, to be
determined iu case ot disagreement by
tho Companies concerned or by the Su
premo Court.
Tho gentlemen representing the
Great Valley and Machias project and
the Erie liailway expressed themselves
entirely satisfied with this assurance, as
being all they require to give a substan
tial foundation to their enterprise, and
the meeting broke up with a reeling on
all sides that tho marketing of Pcnn.
sylvauia coal iu Buffalo is a consumma
tion which may be roahzed in auotlica
season, instead ot Waiting tho complutuu
of the Buffalo and Washington Railway
to Emporium.
Ibis arrangement gives au entirely
new aspect to the B. & W. cntorprise,aiid
one the importance of which cannot bo
oves estimated. The people ol'Catarau-
gus couuty are evidently earnest in the
matter, of building tho connection from
Machias to Gieat Valley, and arc intbs
tied that they will meet tho B. & W. at
the former point at soon as its rail can
be laii dewu tha'. distauce, which Wc
bclinvo is something over forty lnilc.
If they cnino tip to what the project! rs
of the enterprise promise in their brbalf,
next Autumn may see (he road built,
and the B. & W., with the prospect of
substantial earnings from tbe coal traffic
as boou as it reaches Machias, ought, to
have no difficulty in gaining that point
at the samo lime.
Another prospect opens in tho panto
connection, "rent Valley is only a lew
miles east of Salamanca, whore tho At
lantic & Great Western liailway unites
with the Erie, and t ho proposed link
will furnish an easy opportunity for tha
former company to carry out its old in.
tention of establishing a connection with
Buffalo.
The cost of laying tho required third
rail on the Buffalo uud Wa-hing'on
liailway to Machias is estimated at about
1-10,000. Apparently this extra
expenditure might be deterred by
laying the present track on the fix foot,
guage, us far as Machias. spreading tho
few miles of track already down. Tha
road docs not reotiiro its own proper
gnugo until it reaches Glean, and tha
third rail, it would seem, mi-dit be laid
after tho completion to Machias. Wo
understand that an informal offer has
been made by the representatives of tho
Erij road to loan rolling stuck for tem
porary use if this course should be adop
ted nnd the six foot track constructed
first.
ORGANIZATION OF TIIE CATTAH Al'll US
HAIL WAY COMPANY.
Last evening the gentlemen ciiLrved
in tho project of the road from (i rent
alley to Machias held a nice! ins at
the 1'ifft Hottsa and organized their en.
terpriso under tho name of " The Cat-
iraugus Hallway Company." The lob
owing directors were elected :
Alexander S. Liven, New Yolk.
John S. Eldrid go, New Yor k.
I. B. Eaton, New York.
Gen.Thos. L Kane, M'Kane Co, Pa.
A. G. liico, Ellicottville.
Eieaaer Harmon, Ellicoliville.
A. I.). Seolt, Kiitcottville.
John C. Buvero-.itix, Utiea.
George Brewer, Great. Valiy.
Kufiu L. Whitcher, Machias.
Branson C. Kumscy, Buffalo.
Myron P. Bush, Buffalo.
11 jury A. Richmond, Buffalo.
The. ( ITieo of the roinpauv is to bo
located for the present iu this city, lis
meeting for the election of officers will
bo held here, probably, next Dionth,
when the necessary terms of law have
been coin;, lied with,
-VVir Slims.
New Zealand is to have a Uuiv
tv.
A. T. Stewart employs two llnus-
The silks for the coilunir-s in n new
play to be brought out iu New Yoik
cost $30,000.
A wealthy pawnbroker in St. Louis
has been sentenced to two years' impris
onment for receiving stolon goods.
A Dublin barber has invented a
machine for cutting hair. It is a terri.
ble affair, with revolving knives.
The sorghum crop of 1S07 is said
to boa failure complied to that of pre.
vious years. Cause, too much rai.i.
A steamer loaded with grain was
buined nt Jersey City, N. Y., some
weeks ago. Loss 30,000.
A locomotive exploded at Bingham
ton ou tho 10th instant, killing tbe lire,
man and engineer.
The oldest person in tho Ui.itcd
States is 117 years old, is a negro woman,
and resides iu Londonderry, N. II.
In Madison, Florida, a boy of four
teen was joined iu wedlock, recently, to
a crafty old widow with five childreu.
The New Orleans police have dis.
covered that a large amount cd bogus
coin has been rccived in that city to be
passed upon ignoraut negroes.
Sixty five years ago a lady planted
her ridiug whip, a slip of grapevine, at
Moutccito, California. Now it covers a
space, of 4050 icct.
In the manufacture of steel pens
at Birmingham 2,o00 persons are em
ployed. The j early product is over
725000000 pcus, consuming about 5,000
tons of steel.
Howard Jciikius, tho propiietor
of tho Planter's House at l'latto City,
Missouri, discharged a negro from his
service. Tho uext day the negro killed
Mr. Jenkins.
Mr. Win. Dougherty died nt Mom
phis on the 5th instant. He was tho
architect of the State House of Sout h
Carolina and of the Washiugtou Monu
ment, aud planned the extension of tho
United States Treasury buildiug.
The famous American clown, Air.
grcatt, called the " Manfly," committed
suicide lately at Bcilin, iu pieseuce ol
two thousand spectators, by firing a pis
tol in bis mouth at the moment be was
hanging by his lect to the ceiling of tho
theater.
An exchange says: In the house
owned by Mrs. Lincolu, at Springfield,
Illinois, in a glass frame, is set a piece
cf Laura Kceuc's dress which she wore
on the evening of the President's ussas.
sination. It bears a portion of the deep,
dark, crimson stain which bho received
as sho supported the martyr's bead in
her arms w hen she hastened from the
box where he fell.
" Love thy neighbor aa thyself."