The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1874-02-05

lard was at our house"
Sit, down, sir" said. the judge, and,
appealing to the attorney for the COM
momwealth, who had introduced the
witness, he told him that he thought it
unreasonable that the time of the court
should be consumed by the testimony
of such a simpleton, and that he would
not hear him further.
"May it please your honor" replied
the attorney, 81 regard the evidence of
this witness as very important, and hope
that in justice to the commonwealth,
you will allow him to proceed.
"Stand up" said the Judge. "Now,
sir, tell what you know of the assault
and nothing else, and if you go on as
you have done, to say anything about
your wife or your cousin Sally billiard,
I will send you to Jail for contempt of
court. Begin, sir, and say nothing
of what occurred before you reached
Capt. Rice's."
ooh, yes" was the inevitable reply.
"Well, you see, as was telling an we,
there was treat gin over to Capt.
Rice's, and cousin Sally billiard was at
our house"
Sheriff." said the judge" take
that witness to jail"
Here the commemorative attorney
again interfered, and assured the court
that he expected to prove by that wit
ness a most important fact in connec-
tion with the assault. and one of which
no other person who had been sum-
moned knew anything nothing less, in
short, than threat by the accused that
he intended to beat the injured mans
brains out when they should meet at
Capt. Rices treat. 81 think, sir, 1"
continued the attorney, "if you will al
low the witness 10 proceed in his own
homely way, that he will come to the
point in short time"
81 think it mighty strange" said the
witness, "that you made me come here
to tell you what know about the fight,
and won't let me tell you, neither"
After further consultation between
the court and the commonwealth's at
torney, the former relaxed its ruling,
and once more ordered the witness to
go on, and to confne himself strictly to
what occurred after he reached Capt.
Rice's.
"Oh yes," replied the witness.
"Well you see, as | was a telling an
ye"-and going through the "thrice
told tale" that his cousin Sally billiard
was at his house that she and his wife
wanted to go to the treat that his wife
asked him to let "my man Nose" go,
to help her over the log; that his cous-
in Sally billiard off with her shoes and
stockings, up with her petticoat and
waded across the creek, he proceeded
with" Well, you see, we all got over
the creek and went straight along, that
is as straight as the path would take us,
and got there, as nigh as I could judge,
about half-after one o'clock in the after
noon don't you think that was about
the time, Mr.. Sturdivant Which /
Judge it was about that time of day, or
tharabouts, cause my old horse Ball
he won't move step to the plow after
he thinks twelve o'clock has come and
I had Just had time to take him to wa
ter and feed him, and then to put on
my tother clothes, when we sot off
to Capt. Rice's; and think lit tux us
nigh about hour an a half or thara-
bouts, arter old Ball stopped, to fly up,
and git thar. Well, you see, we had
not been thar, hour or tharabouts,
when I seed Mr.. Brown go off, and he
gifts him rock and walks up to Mr..
Jones and knocks him on the back of
the head. He hit him tolable hard
lick, for the rock was tolable heavy,
and Mr.. Jones hollers out, He is kill
ing me- Which about this time the
sheriff, who happened to be thar col
Letting the taxes, comes up and says
he, 'Mr. Brown, what are you doing
with that rock? Come along with
me; I'll take you to the magistrate
Well. with that, you see, he takes him
to Mr.. Mallory, and he says that it was
bad case of salt and batter, and that
Brown must go to Jail and stay thar
whole court"
I" Did you say that you saw Brown
strike Jones on the back part of his
head with a rock ?" inquired the attor-
ney for the commonwealth.
"Well, You see, did that" was the
reply,
"Dil you ever hear Brown say that
he intended to beat Jones' brains ont,
when they should meet at Capt. Rice's
treat ?"
"Well, you see, did that thar too, 1"
said the witness.
| "Where was Brown when he made
this threat and when did he make it?'
asked the attorney.
"Well, you see, it mought have been
l.; 10
yard, it was thar or tharabouts, Tn n
thinking"
"When was it Brown made this
threat?"
(Which you see it mought have been
some time last spring; but then agin it
mought not have been ontwell towards
the fall of the year. | don't remem-
Der adzactly which" was the reply.
Here the Judge addressed the witness
with, "Are you certain that you saw
the prisoner strike Jones with rock p
ooh, yes" was the answer.
"Wcll, sir, how heavy was the rock p
(Which it was about the size of a
piece of chalk or tharabouts," was the
intelligent reply.
"And of what size is that?" inquired
the judge.
"Well, you see," responded the wit
ness, "it might abeen about the size of
a common marble or tharabouts."
81 that all you know about the mat
ter ?" asked the judge.
"Oh, no, was the reply, (Which |
never seed Brown strike nary mother
lick, though hearn lawyer who was
at Mr.. Rice's, or tharabouts, when the
salt and batter tux place, that he rally
believed Brown would have hit agin
arter the sheriff tux holt of him, if he
had not been in durus vile;' which ]
knowed he was no whar but in Mr..
Rice's yard. or tharabouts, all the
time, and that's about all I knows of it. y