Richland beacon., 1873-04-05

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/ correspondent from raii"2:' Mon.
tcrrr -ouuty, California, Il he l7lh
att, gi~ea The following account Of L
terrible murder, and is consequences,
in that vicinity. lie says:
Intense excitement has been pro
dgccd here by thc coli-bloodcJ mar
der of Mrs. Nicholson, and the lynch:
ihg Of her assassin, Mat Tr?ey.-
, Mrs Nicholson was 4 bcauifu! wo,
man, tail, stylish, and ahou, thirty
wears 81 age. She was wei! eds. i'cl.
attractive IN society, and commanded
the respect Of all who hE"w her -
About two years since. hCr husband,
who is wagon maker hv trade,
bought a small farm from Tarpcv, up
IN which they have since resided
With the exception Of one or two dis
pUtes about the interest or deferred
. payments, 10 difficulty was had with
TarpCv up - the time of'tEe murder.
. \ short time before that occurred Mr..
3 Nicholson went 10 San Francisco to
work at his trade, leaving his wife
ana IA hired boy about l. wears cid TO
took after the farm. The assassin
Mat Tarpey, is well know here, and
has long hcen
TIE TERROR OF TWO COUNTIES.
lie has some education and more
assurance, which, together with great
energy and reckless brutality, have
enabled him to make himself chief
among gang of dcsperadOcs that
, have long infested Monterey and san
Ia CRUZ counties. His ostensible bus
mess was dealing in and breaking
horses, md he was also farmer in a
small way, but he really spent most
OF his time in Dragging and bully
ing about the streets and saloons Of
the various towns IN the counties
above named lie, however, amasscd
about $4,000 in properly by jockey
ing and gambling He was kind to
his family and generous to his friends,
but TO all others was cruel and brutal.
He has killed, or aided in killing, sew
eral half breeds and a numier Of
grcasers. On one occasion he kept
the body of half breed hanging to
"A tree for days, threatening TO shoot
any one on he spot " no attempted to
cut il down lie has been known, sim
ply for amusement. 10 pick dog up hy
the nape of the neck, and after shoot
ing four or five balls through it, throw
the body on the ground and stamp it
with his feet. He always carried one
or two pistols, which he was ever
ready to use upon man. or beast. He
was u boisterous rufian, ready 10
drink swear or gamble upon The
slightest provocation. He enjoyed a
wide reputation as an active Republi-
can politician, and was some years
since tried for forging naturalization
papers. Wishing to disposscss the
the Nicholson's of the farm he had
sold them, and havin z q horror Of any
thing like legal process. he took adj
vantage of Mr. Nicholson's absence
to move an old frame house on 10 the
land, and then rent the house and
farm to german named PETERSON
But Mrs. Nicholson, acting under le-
ral advice, together with her hired
boy and man named O'Neill, took
possession of the house the first night
it stood upon her property. Tie
next day, when Peterson went to
move in, she called halt. Tie re-
turned to jacksonville, a distance Of
about six miles, informed Tarpey, who
armed himself with Henry rifle, "a
revolver, and double-barrclled shot
gun, and sought
TIE SCENE OF TUE Murder.
lie arrived during the night, and
calDped behind big log on his own
ground, just across the road from the
house. Here be scooped out hole,
that his body might BE- concealed, and
laid down to wait for daylight but
his FESTIVE disposition would not let
him sleep, so for fun he fred a half
dozen shots from his Henry rifle /.
through the house in quick succession. /
The three occupants left the house .
quite suddenly, without fully arrang-
ing their toilet, and took refuge in he
regular home of the NicholsonS. Tar /
pey then lay in wait until daylight.
Next morning Mrs. Nicholson said .
TO O'Neill, LET me go up to the 9th .
er house and see where Tarpev's bul- {
lets struck and get our thing, After
that | will go into town and see if we
cant punish him for firing into a house
that way" The two, with the boy,
started without arms Or the slightest
apprehension of danger When about
thirty yards from the house Tarpey
suddenly arose and stepped into the
roadway, gun in hand. Mrs. Nichol-
son gave a start and grasped Mr.
O'Neiil's arm, but recovering herself
She said. Good morning, Mr.. Tar
prv." The william. only reply was,
Now, you = I've got you; :"
lnd raising the shot gun,
he PULLED THE TRIGGER.
Tie cap snapped. Ghc Poor wo-
nan screamed, For Gods sake, M.
rarpev. take the whole thing, but do
not murder ne" But Tarpev took
lim again and the cap slapped. The
certified woman seized hold Of Me-.