Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1867-12-11


with innocence, the guilt of the prisoner
Barbara ,Schnepf Sworn-Charles
Schnipf was my husband; aged IS years;
lived in town Of Watertown, Jefferson
county; lived on farm of 80 acres; had
cattle and horses and farming imp ements;
am the only wife he ever had; had chill
dren; prisoner is the eldest; two girls and
little boy. There was no general bad
feeling between my husband and Joseph:
husband would sometimes get angry but
would soon get over it, he enlisted about
a year after the war commenced, stad
year and a half and returned; Joseph was
a way for some time before husband went
to war. joseph once SNAPPED pistol at
husband; after he came home from the
from the war Husband and Joseph had
trouble one day returning from Water
town, Joseph came home first and said
hi father was drunk; wanted he should
drive very fast, refused to do 50 and came
home across the fields Husband came
home; [ went to meet him; he took me
by the throat; was drunk and angry; af-
terward heard a pistol snap; did not see
Joseph snap it; afterwards said to me,
"God, am not glad it did not go off :"
Husband and j oseph bad quarrels some
times. Never saw Joseph strike his faith
er. He said his father should not scod
him SO much; he was a man, too. Hus-
band always tod me when he had quar-
rel with Joseph. Remember the Sd day
of April. La the morning told me the
cow WIS sick; fixed up the fence to keep
the cattle out of the lot Had on pair
of soldier pants, a homemade shirt, dark
coIored vest, pants were ragged; had on
no necktie; an old light colored hat;
sheepskin boots; turned down at the heel
were not heavy; think they had nails in
heel; soldier buttons on pants, might have
been others; light blue suspenders; hus-
band and Joseph bought their suspenders
of j. Weaver, had buckles on them; were
not yellow; think they were white buck
les; dressed up generally when he went
to town; wore ragged clothes at home.
April Sd. He and Joseph were going
to the fields. Saw them take no tools
Went to clearing to split wood, nearly
half a miles distant to the east Was not
much of a hill between the field and clear
ing. Told me to call him if the cow
should be sick Saw the cow was about
to calve; girl wen out of house and call
ed loud for husband-a little after ten
o'clock called again in fifteen minutes
Father did not come, Joseph came run
ming. Asked where his pa was; said he
had gone to town. [ said he had no
clothes to go to town with. joseph said
he was going 10 borrow a coat-Would
not 90 home there was SO much mud
Would borrow Of Leeman or Edwin.
Was going to town after grass-seed, and
plaster. Said Meyer wanted two bushels
Of seed-wheat Would tell him he could
not have it. Meyer lived on the road to
W atertoWn. Said also he wanted some
plug tobacco, Did not believe thai, for
gave him one chew before he left the
house and he said he had one more.
Left his pocket-book containing So, be-
fore he left. Had good credit IL Water
town Joseph said if father had staid at
home they could have finished splitting
the wood it would not now be done;
said father looked at trees as he went
through woods and said this tree would
make that, another one something else,
and so on said his father told him to
burn the brush piles near the fence; if
they waited TIL it was dry it would burn
the fence father told him to take the
team and carry rotten stuff to the brush
piles and carry home load Of stoveWood !;
don't remember that anything else said !;
Joseph went and took care Of the COW ;
then went and took care Of the horses
staid to dinner; forenoon was warm; at
ter noon it sprinkled; the second girl and
the little boy John, went to the field af-
teruoon; with wagon; were gone till
about 3 O'Clock. The court then took a
recess until O'Clock.
2 o'cIock p M-Court reassembled, ex-
animation of Barbara Schnipf continued
w hen Joseph came back it sprinkled
little; told him to come quick, a sheep
was nearly dying-took care Of it, and
then Embarrassed the team. lie said his
father had told him to put fire to the
brush pile. [ told him he had better not,
it was wet day. He said his father
said so, and then he took a kettle with
some fire and went to the fields; it was
sprinkling little saw smoke ia the
field saw but one fire; told the girl to
call him at about o'cloc :, he had all the
chores to do alone. Have never seen or
heard Of my husband since. Joseph said
when his father cam home he should
go and learn trade, farming was hard
work. Charley Fuerman, he said, told
him he was going to Clyman to see a
horse, SO we did not expect him back for
two days. Friday | told the girls hus
bond must be back by dinner Was cross