The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-04-29
THE PATTENBURG MURDERS
The Rioters Placed on Trial at bennington. NJ
J-Particulars Of the Fatal ARRAY
The Case for the Prosecution.

After many delays the trial of the Pattenbure.
rioters fairly commenced yesterday morning al
Pennington, N. J. The present term OF the Court
Is a special one, and the interest 10 excltes was
proved from the fact that at early hour crowds
Of country people began to flock into the town
where the Court House Is situated. By ten O'Clock.
at which time the Court opened the court room
was crowded to excess, and there was dea1
silence when David College, one OF the Prisoners
was brought in for trial. 1t was first supposed
that the seven men who had been indicted for
murder would have been put on trial together, buc
the prosecution decided otherwise, and the
prisoners are to be tried individually.
The Court was presided over by Chief Justlcst
Beasley, who has been recently appointed by Gov<
ernor Parker member OF the commission whichd
is to revise the constitution OF the State Of News
Jersey He Is o spare, wiry-loOking man, with q
keen, Intelligent face. The three Associate Judges
whose chief business is to sit still, look wise and
say nothing sat beside the Chief Justice. Their
names are Voorhees, Holcombe and Van Fleet.
For the prisoners there appeared Mr.. r. Kuhl, the
Hon. John S. Bird, q Congressman VINO voted
against the back pay steal, and Mr. voorhees,. Mr.
Chamberlain, District Attorney, and Mr.. Allen, q
porty-looklng gentleman, watched the interests OF
the State.
The circumstances Of the riot have been mar.
rated in the HERALD before, and It Is not necessary
now to do more than briefly allude to Them Th0
ARRAY occurred on September %, 1872, between thea
negro and Irish laborers employed In the construc
ton Of railroad tunnel, the village of Patten.
burg. 1t was commenced on the Saturday night
and continued on the following morning, and the
bloody consequence was that three negroes, Ben
EASTWOOD Denis Powell and Oscar Bruce, and an
Irishlnan, Thomas Coll killed. or all tho
parties implicated In the riot only about dozen
arrested
The prisoner who was placed at the bar this
morning-Uavld Colleges q pale, wan looking
individual with light, fair hair, blue eyes and Q
sickly looking imperial on his chin. He does not
seem to nave resolution enough In his mind or
strength enough in his b0dy TO encounter good
sized cat, and from the TACT that he is an American
METHODIST IN RELIGION,
1t is difficult to imagine how he could have come to
be Implicated IN sucn riot. he was respectably
the evidence. After the Court was opened the jury
list was called, and, in what would be in New York
city an incredibly short time, jury was
procured to try the prisoner. The jurors are not
remarkably Intelligent looking body or men, and
tened to the evidence was more careless than
graceful.
the prisoner was made by Mr.. Chamberlain. 1t
had the merit of brevity, and it stated the facts of
the riot in tolerably comprehensive manner. The
DR. r. @. LUDLOW,
who testified that he had, in company with Dr. G.
X. sullivan, proceeded TO the graveyard and as
sisted in eXhumng the bodies OF the three negroes;
the wounds, which had been mainly made by
clubs, were infinitely described and the cause Of
DIR. GEORGE r. SULLIVAN,
of Pennington, was next called His evidence was
q confederation oil that given by DR.. Ludlow.
The Court then took q recess.
witness called. He merely testified to having been
sent by an undertaken to the Carter farm and hav-
ing seen the dead bodies OF the negroes.
JOHN A. KELLY
testified that he resided at Pattenburg, near the
railroad tunnel, on the night OF the riot he was
awakened about two O'Clock on Sunday morning
by the man with whom he boarded, who told him
there was an unusual commOtion on the road; on
getting up he saw a crowd Of negroes running
from the direction OF their shanties, which were on
fire; alter this he went into Barney McFadden's
saa an N heard fa s Con- an
search Tor the body he saw 1t lying on the railroad,
and ABOUT SIX O'Clock great crowd Of Irishmen
clubs; alter standing around the body. Tor
some time they proceeded in the direction or the
the dead bodies OF the negroes the Carter farm,
and was present when the inquest was held. The
witness was crosse xamlned at length, but ad-
hered to his original statement.
DAVID W. sTIREs,
WIS next called. lie testified that he resided az
Pattenburg, and knew the prisoner, David College;
College resided IN the village at the time when Tho
riot occurred; saw COLLEGE on the morning OF the
22d OF September at his house, 1t was about six
O'Clock in the morning when saw him; there was
body OF men near the house, scattered along
the road; the men made College get up
out OF bed and go with them; College
men were armed with weapons or various kinds:
College got up and went or in the direction which
lege's house about fifteen minutes; they were
quiet and civil; don't know how many men were
present; the greater portion OF them passed Col
lege's and went In the direction OF Cayle's boarding
house; when College came out OF his house to me
said to him, Are you going downgv he said he
S% s crown haa sSs
time left, and told him there was no
see The fun any way he then Went alter tine the
crowd; saw him alter he returned, about seven
mere 1 wsrs o some aa Dozen win
him then talked with him on Monday; he said
he had gone down the previous morning with the
crowd as far as the Stockton farm; he said he did
not see the man killed, but he heard the man say
'they had finished ohe;" told him he should not
have gone, and he said, "God knows did not want
0ross-examlned-I only knew Mr.. College for
few weeks previous to the riot he remained at
home alter the riot until arrested by the sheriff;
was milking cows at the time the crowd came on;
l In, had MIXED one and was milking the
went on my wood pe while eGns on the wood
the crowd, came up and asked me for gun; told
him had none; College said to me that the crowd
had threatened to pull his heart out and burn his
buildings II he would not come on with them.
WILLIAM BUCKLEY,
sworn, testified that he resided on the Carter arm
at the time OF the riot; saw body OF men coming
towards the farm on the morning OF the sd or
September; there were about o hundred In the
crowd; they looked as II they had come out OF tho
woods in the direction Of the negro shanties;
saw the coored men run and the white
men pursue them; they ran up the railroad
line; heard the report Of gun; Chess
ter DNley and myself we're in the field;
we saw the men again at the barn when we came
close to the house; one man told me to open the
wagon house, that there were negroes there; 1
told him to open it himself, and he drew knife
out Of his coat; then opened the wagon house
Qaughter) David College was with the men; |
knew him because bad seen him once before at
church; the men looked around the wagon house
and then came back; went into the farm house
them saw q dead body lie at the doorway; re-
NAMED In the house about fifteen minutes; l saw
some c0lored men around that morning whose
names did not know; l found one in the hem
house and there were two others In the barn.
The jury were given in charge Of the c0nstableS
at quarter past four, and the Court was all