Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1868-11-21


| friends and stands about as much chance of
| HANGING as John II, Surratt Let modern De-
! mocracy call up JEFF Thompson as their next
witness. - = - .-.------ .''
THE SKINNER MURDER, at Independence
Cuyahoga county, some months since, is no
doubt fresh in the minds of many of our read
ers. The perpetrators have since been arrest
ed and are on trial al Cleveland. One of them,
McKinna, has turned States evidence and
makes full revelation of the daring and hor
| rible affair His testimony is annexed:
Iremember the killing of David Skinner and
know the parties they were myself, Lew Da-
Wis, Hutch Butterfield Tom Mulhall and Will
| liam Folliot. The first knowledge had OF
the contemplated robbery of Mr.. Skinner was
on Saturday, the 12th of September, In the at
ternoon l came over to the canal locks, went
into Cratty's saloon; Folliot was there playing
'.seven-up' with another man; when it was
! finished he got up and called me out while he
was speaking, | looked up the tow-path and
saw Tom Mulhall coming; when Tom came
/ up he asked me if / would go with him to the
i West Side and l said "no )" asked him what
he was going for. and he said, Ito get black
smith shop" he and Folliott started off togeth-
er and told me to wait at Crattys saloon until
they came back; waited about three quarters
of an hour; MulhaN and Folliott did not come
back and started to go home; met Mulhail
coming out OF Clements saloon he asked me
if I.could get pistol and | said yes, and he
told me to hurry up and meet him at the Ca
nal bridge l went and got the pistol and re-
| turned to Cratty's saloon; saw Mulhall near
by; went up to him and he askedme if had
! got the pistol; | said yes, and showed it to
him; he took it and put it in his coat pocket;
he and started up Canal street, and at Dutch
Jakc's saloon he gave me the pistol again we
then crossed the street and be told me to sit
! down on the railing while he went to see
where the rest of the fellows were; he passed
on to the Corner of Michigan and Seneca
Istreets; saw Davis Buttertfefd, Polliott and
lMulhall together on that corner; this was be-
tween three and four o'clock in the afternoon !;
| crossed the Seneca street bridge and went
across the fats; saw ButteEAeh and FOIlfott
sitting together at the foundry; L was ahead
of them and they hurried and overlook me !;
they walked past me and / followed on be-
hind soon after we reached the one mile post
Butterfield complained that the iron bar gall
ed his leg; did not then know what the iron
bar was for; Butterfeld said Ill bet no man
knows what this bar is for except the man
who uses it, we went down to the river & But
| terield pulled out a couple of newspapers; he
said they We're id abolition sheets and fit
for nothing else; he took the jimmy cut from
fFolliot put it on his shoulder and we started
again along the canal; Butterfield then COM
menced showing the wedges; he had two or
tthree.; he said II guess the wedges Lew Da-
Wis is making will be larger than these, We
want some two or three sizes larger than
these y Buttessekd also showed large dirk
knife and said 'there is something better
than pistol or revolver, ether" Butter
field and Folliott got to talking about safes
and Hutch said 81 have busted a good many
safes; we went on till we came within about
half mile of eight mile lock where we stop
ped to let a boat pass, !; we then went on q
| short distance when Davis and Mullhal came
up and Joined us about eight o'clock; ask
ed Nulihan what delayed them and he
said Il had to wait until Davis could
+ finish the wedges, and for him to- get a
revolver and some cartridges; we sat
down for the boat to pass the lock, and
FoIliott said to Davis, Lew, let's go up and
get the sledge )" they said they would wait for
us at the bridge; Folliott and l went to the
shop; we tried to get in by the window and
then 10 open the doors with the Jimmy; :" Fol
liott got mad and jammed the Jimmy" through
the window he got in, lit a match, found the
sledge and threw it out to me i put it under
my coat and we started back; we went on
down to the bridge and found Davis, Butter
field and Mulhall; Butterfeld and Mulhall
lifted the sledge and said it was too light; We
I got within three or four hundred yards of the
house. when Folliott said, This is the house.
get ready to go in, boys !" he commenced ty-
ing handkerchief around his face and But
terfield did the same, resting til s5fmmy against
his leg; Davis and MulhalI did the same Null
hall said to ME, bob, have you got handker-
chief? if you have, tie it around your face as
we are doing )" found one in my pocket and
put it around my face; Folliott said, Now,
boys if you can't get that money without hurt
into the yard and stopped in front of the house;
/ a light was shining through the front windows
and we looked and saw the people sitting in
the back part of the house /, Z saw two men
sitting IN there we looked. through the win
dow near the door Folliott said, ''Now we've
got a good chance as they're all together, let's
hurry up;" Folliott Mulhall and | started
around The left hand side of the house Davis
came few steps and went back to Butterfeh;
Mulhall asked Butterfeld if he was net going
| with them, and he said, mo, I'll stay here and
1 see that no one comes out i" Mulhall, Folliott
and went on, and Mulhall said, "Where the
hills Davis :" and he went back and brought
him around !; Mulhall set the sledge down by
the back door; Mulhall, Folliott Davis and l
were all together at the back door, and FoIl-
OFT said, "Are you all ready ?' Mulhall said
yes Folliott went in first, Mulhall second,
Davis third and fourth -Folliott took out
\ his revolver and presenting it at the men in
the room he said, "All keep your seats !" Fol-
lot went across the room after a woman who
commenced screaming and stepped into his
place; Davis then stood at my right hand and
Mulhall at my left; Davis was nearest the bed
on which Mr.. Skinner was lying; one of the
women rushed up in front Of US and Davis
pointed his revolver at her; the woman was
holding her hands above her head and Mr.
Skinner raised up on the bed to see what was
| going, on ;iDayis then turned his revolver
Mr. Slyipoar tod l.