The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1873-08-08

h2i cECryel some wood that wve!:
4 L cld some me1dIng on inside poke
] Of Oer,ee. vest; a., the vest be haI
mauded q L-ia in IL st the bottom
) p1cEet FT1s torn at the bottom ahJu
: the siz o. a i " cent piecs looked
as though Ii hat been worn ;Witnps
5 made tGe shape OF the pocket A. ID,
3 request &! t.s Prosecuting Attorney
= which 0-s submitted to the Cgurt)
Pocket waF on lett side; repaired tn,
bottom | made the pocket two or
three weeks bpfUre the murder DOM
e know What he used It Tor; he said n,
wanted u carry his pocket book in i.
! lie carried tlLle black pocket book
with black btTd never saw l. IN hi.
POCKET Showed sizs 20 the Jur,)
DOn. remember what Ha said whe!
he asked me 10 naSe Il. Patched IL The
day OF murder, either Just before sup
p per or dlnHer beIor5 hir. Bensmz
came home; ali Were present, and saw
II done, n large room al the east end
sister aGd ai!s. y. oOti present al
the time mendiEg was done. Their,
were two beds IN Uss At the time
sister and niece slept in the bed In toe
big room; BensiGg, Gartes and and
David sleps IN the Oed loom. y slep;
In this way twice, Tuesday and Wed
nesday preceding murder. Sister
came Tuesday; then commenced that
practice Ar DeEsing aad the boy
slept IN the middle. Bensiag slept By
me; Garjce in the back u the bed
Was up and down with tie baby all
night; did nIt uudress Is usual. PIE
vlouslY GarLee and Bensing slept 20
gether for the preceding eigat weeks.
Sir. Ben>ia was about the house but
little; was either ehOppilg or hauling
wood sometimes he staii IN the house.
Gartee and hin went away aui come
together; 90 nUt know what they
I dOne the day before the murder. We
sheiied corn from one O'Clock TO FIVE
on day Of murder. Gartee melted a
SPOON abou. week before the mur-
der, while 6ensing was dcing chores !;
melted az old pewter spoon on the
ire shovel took 1t from the salaratgs
box asked for it. | asked him what
he was going to do with it he said
To make a lead pencil said not to
take one from the salaratus box. BE
put il in the ire sAovel and melted it
and run il III spool did not see him
;Ua 1t, but saw II alter 1t was run it
was about rs large around az a lead
pencil don't know how he got it out
Of the spool. The spool was not quite
as large as spool shown; don't know
where spool came from never saw it
before. Did not see him run it, but
saw 1t IN the spool, and after it came
out. He cut ii in pieces, asked what
he did it for, and he said it was not
run right. lie put them in his pocket !;
never SAY them aiterBard till l saw
them here. lie cut them with a
butcher knife; saw him cut them; l
think with cur butcher knife; l think
he cut them about halt an inch long.
! | did net see him have any gun pow
der, only what he took from the cup
board. Tne gun powder was kept in
the large room. l vas about to throw
it away, when he said TO give it To him
and he would shoot me a mess oi
squirrels There was about two table
spOOnstGls OF II. Never had any pre-
vious conversation about it. He made
a sack from cloth, aud put it III it.
Gartee made the sack; he had
not been hunting 10 my knowledge !;
recognized sack shown as the one
made by GaTtee saw no gun caps III
/ his possession saw one mashed Oil the
iJor day or Two before the murder
could not tell mnch about it, as it was
mashed asked them all about it. We
eat supper that night between seven
and eight O'Clock, by candle ligEt--nOt
long alter dark. Sister and l got sup
per in kitchen, on south side; III q
lamp before we finished getting sup
per. GaTtee rot one sack OF corn from
the wagon he lad Just got through
Bznsing came in to warm, and stai1
in ten or fifteen minutes; Gartee, |
think, was in the kitchen /; think It
was cold. Bensing said nothing ex-
Cept that Il had been an ugly day he
came back aad sat 4 little while by
stove till supper was ready; Gartee
was sitting v ith him. Bensin0 and /,
sister, children and Gartee sat down to
supper. Gartee sat at the Fest side,
sister and ] at the West, and Bensing
at the North. Mrs W. was in bed.
Table wasset in thelarge room; Ben.
sing and Gartee talked about the folks
where Bensing had been they gave
him bis dinner; Gar,ee said he knew
them Garice talked Just ss usual
be got up FIRST aud started for town;
sat waiting for Bensing for some time.
Gartee put on his hat and coat, and
asked me for a letter which | had
written to my father the day before
my fathers name is Geo. p. Smith,
Napoleon, Henry county, Ohio Gar
tee wrote the letter; he wrote the
whole OF it did not write the
scratch or a pen. We were about
moving on to Wsgner's place. Gartee
! begged to write the letter / told
him what to write. l was going
going abou: ny work read 1t and
pu: IL in tne bureau | can wtite !;
suppose he wrote i to pass away the
time. Husband was al the house !;
asked him for four cents and he gave
me FIVE. This was at the table, the
evening of the murder. | told him he
need not 20 on account OF the letter,
as Nr Bensing would go Saturday.
Gartea did not act differently from
cther times. Bsnsing got up from the
table, taking the boy, sat by thestove
l went to put the cats out, and heard
a noise at the stable. Bensing looked
Tor lis hat; went out to where the
noise was, at lbe COW stable. ] heard
4 pistol shot, and heard him halloo !:
he came to the gate snd fell, and
when I picked him up, said some
wicked man had shot him. Sister aud
I I carried him into the house and put
i pillow under his head f; he did not
live FIVE minutes When the Uistol
vas fired I was standing by niece's
bed he had not been gone three min
utes ; heard q dull sOund could
hardly hear It. Went 10 SHy der's,
, down the Iane ; I f.ent cut first Nr.
! SuyGgr went TO Nr. Walters Mr.
I Bsn-ing died on THURSDAY August 27tn
N Findiay tospship Hancock county,
Ohio That afternoon, before supper,
saw something in Gartoes' pocket that
looked Ike a knife h. had no coat
on al the time never saw IL before.
, Mrs Hauyt came tLat afternoon,
abont three o clock we were shelilng
; corn she staii about halt an hour
: did not know whether ans chickens
we're missing or not. { Pistol was shown
: to the witness and she id Rot inden
: tify It. Sid the one she saw wa.
bright and shining. fhe bullet va.
shown and she thought II looked Ike
, the same he rEn in tie spool | did
not notice the clock at the time o
husbands death, Gartee was gone al
+; hrur, and when he returned Mr.. Sny
, der and Mr. Walters only we're there
He stayed ten or fifteen minutes. IL
? knocked at the door, r,opene and stop
+: ped in the door, and said "Wha
does this ulean?" He said 20 Mr
J. Snyder ''Tbis il awfGl.n He spok
J. about going tor friends, and Itold hiu
= 10 take the horses and wagon, an
r then they could come back with him