Wilmington journal., 1871-06-30

with hquor, he committed an aggravated
assault on the woman, afterwards destroy
ing several hundred dollars worth o
crockery, besides the bar utensils.
In this instaIce at the request of b i
wife, he was arrested by the police, anc
was fined twenty-five dollars and COSTS
Having been released, he has been drink
ing without cessation ever since. As &c
what Ie / to the occurrence of yesterday
We have only the testimony of the living,
and will give IT, leaving our readers tO
! draw their own conclusions.
About 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon We
heard that a man, apparently wild with
rage. was forcibly entering houses. break
| ing IN doors, and jumping through win
| dows in that portion of the city east of
| East Boundary street, and that he had fred
several shots.
An hour later, willie endeavoriDg to fer.
rat out the particulars Of this report, we
heard that a man hal attempted to kill his
wife AID then had cat his own throat and
drowned himself. Farther research de-
yeloped the fact that this was the same
party who had figured in the eastern Fart
% the city. as report says. in search Of his
wife, Who had gone into house of ques~
:i0Datl3 character. Determined TO get the
f1ue state OF affairs as nearly as possible,
We visited the house, and learned from a
whit Domestic tEa5 Mira. Nickerson had
accompanied her yesterday afternoon on
visit to her house n the eastern part Ct the
city, where, st Mrs. Nickerson's request,
they sent out for beer, and were drink
ing it when she heard the reighbo9hood
aroused by Efhe report that man was al
tempting to gain forci5ie entry into the
house. The domestic says she at OIc3 in-
formed Mrs. NickefsOn that it must be her
husband, when they both started home
On reaching the house by way of the gate
On Bay lane the domestic proceeded ahead
into the house, Mrs. Nickerson ke;ng met
by Nickerson, who had also come up Bay
lane from the direction of Barnard street.
On confronting each other in the door,
both entering the kitchen, Nickerson-so
co.ored servant says-seemed to smile
ard sey, $50 you have come home, have
you ? She replied, Yes, and what OF
it 90 Nickerson then imme diately grasped
hsr and threw her upon the floor of the
kitchen, and drawing a sheath knife,
attempted to Kill her. The blade, which
seem to perform its work quick enough,
50 it vas thrown to the floor,
iha blade breaking in two. Nicker-
soa then seized O Ratchet and struck her
* blows in the head. crushing the skull.
He took hold Of the finger of his wife that
had her wedding ring on, and attempted
to sever it from the hand. In her strug
giles the blow did not come with it's intend
ed force, but sufficiently 50 as to leave the
finger dnn9ling from the hand. The
sc1elms Of Mrs. Nickerson coon attracted
The attention Of q policeman, Nickerson in
tie me ntime dragging her from the kitch-
ca TO the lane. Nickerson fed in the di-
rection Of the Exchange, and passing down
the hill. staggered tow ards the dock, from
whence he vas seen to jump on board the
Schooner Margaret Ann, pull off his coat,
and plunge into the river, giving his throat
desperate cut with some instrument as
he was falling.
TIE body was Immediately searched for
by those who had witnessed the act, and
in half an hour after it was brought to the
surface by Thomas V. Williams, fisher
man, with hook. The suicide was taken
out Cf the water and placed on the wharf,
where it was viewed by hundreds, the
news of the occurrence having spread like
wilo q G. Upon examination of the throat
it was found that. though there were two
severe gasheF, the jugular vein had not
been severed, and that his death had been
caused from drowning, t1e jury rendering
a verdict to that effect. Upon the fore
head and head of Nickerson was found an
iudentatioD, as if produced with blunt
instrument, which we afterwards learned
from the colored domestic, was caused by
chopping himself with the axe after it mad
flown off from the handle Had not the
axe become disepgaged, the colored girl
says Nickerson would have killed his wife
before he fed.
Officer Kaufman took charge of Mrs.
NickersoD, and assisted in taking her to
her room, when medical assistance was
procured. Although badly injured, and
suffering terribly, Mrs. Nickerson WAS
alive last night, and, by careful attention,
may recover. AS there was, seemingly,
no desire to have the body of the suicide
conveyed to lis former home, it was bu-
ried by the coroner after the inquest.
VEIlsndIs nam-Hsa Last Law Case
The Mcclellan murder trial, the case in
which the Hon. @. L. ValIandigham was
engaged as counsel at the time Of his
death, has created great interest in South
ern Ohio, on account of certain political
relations, and because it involved the ex-
posure of many prominent men of Hamil-
ton, Ohio, frequenters of faro den.-
On the night Of Dec. "a, Thomas Meyers,
a republican, was shot, as alleged, in a
gambling saloon. by one Of O party of five
men, who, according to the Indictment.
catered the place with intent to commit
the murder and according to a preooncert
ed conspiracy. The five men were Thomas
Mcclellan, now on trial, Jack Carver Dan
iel McGlynn, James Mcclellan and Ich.
Shelley, all democrats. Nj Follett made
long argument for the prosecution on
Friday. rhe following words, written by
the correspondent of the Cincinnati Ga
zette on Friday. read very strangely now
IS Mr.. Milliken will commence his ar9u-
ment on Saturday morning, Whether Mr..
Vallandigham will follom in the afternoon
depends upon circumstances"
Frank T,4s!;a's Tllustratad Nevsnanar has