Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1875-02-24
cLEARFIELD, PA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY a. 1876



DDis yercs jis like de ole plantation
times,p grumblcd one of the darlSies,
aOlc massa he got all do money, and
dc cullercd man he DO all dc work.
oHoldupyournght hands, repeated
the Justice. YiN''s
The negroes eyed him as If mcditat.
ing mutiny 4g
NHoldupyour right hands, thunder.
ed his honor. N
SWORN IN--TnE INQUEST.
The colorcd men csitated. Then
one black hand was Slowly raised in
the air. The othersliollowed it like
the dumb blackbirds at shooting
gallery. The Justice repeated the
oath, but his carcrslremaincd dumb.
"Say we do" he shouted.
awe do" echoed the trembling
negroes. W
"Lowcr your hands" commanded
the Justice, and the 2iaclSbirds dropped
from their perchesE The jnry then
squatted upon the firzc about the dead
man. They were cowcd, but hot con
WINGED that everything was right.
"Gentlemen" spoke the Justice after
all had squatted, 'you are now sworn
TO perform the functions of the law.
The law is explicit in its definition OF
the duties of Coroners jury. The
law prescribes that testimony shall be
taken. In this case that is q mere
matter ofform, for you yourselves were
witnesses Of the death of this man.
The law, however, requires that you
shall carefully weigh the evidence, as
certain how the man died, who he was,
and so on. This you will do by virtue
of your oaths as jurors"
The witnesses were then produced.
Theirevidence wasvery clear. Ephraim
had gone into the water with the III
tcntion of making IN honest dollar by
diving for Parson Blacks tools. While
his companions watched him from the
bank Of the stream, he sank, and was
not seen again until his body was crap
pied and drawn ashore. The jury
eagerly listened to all that was said, but
asked no questions. They were evil
IDENTIFY afraid of the Justice, and looked
upon the whole thing as sort of
Voudou ceremony. His honor sum
med up by saying gentlemen, you
will now retire, and after carefully
weighing the testimony return with a
verdict"
THE JOLLY MocRING BIRDS
The jury withdrew to scrub. Their
voices were soon heard above the music
of the moolsing birds who had gather
cd in the trees about them. The negroes
were having hot dispute, and the
birds seemed to be enjoying the scene.
In few minutes one of the colored
men returned He told the Justice
that the jury had sent him for the
testimony.
"Pshaww exclaimed Sutton. "I
haven't got the testimony. You heard
the evidence, and have got all there is
Of it. There is no more testimony"
The black man shook his head, and
rejoined his fellows in the scrnb. With
in three minutes, however, he reap
peared.
"Ef de jury don't got dc testimony,
how de debbil de jury done gwine to
weigh it2' he asked.
"Weigh it in your minds screamed
tho alnnnst frantic Jf;e=.ssy-..yon nearu
all the evidence, and IT'S your place to
decide upon it, not mine"
Back went the dumbfounded jury
man. The mocking birds pitched in
with renewed energy, but the voices
of the disputing jurors wore still heard
above their shrill whistling. At last
the noise partly died away, and the
jury were seen picking their way
through the palmetto scrub. They
approached his Honor and asked per
mission to examine the body He as
sented, and Ephraim was thoroughly
overhauled. They felt of his pulse,
put their ears to his heart, turned an
old jack knife and several nickcls out
Of his pocket, and looked in his mouth
"Done gone" said the juryman with
the fish-line belt, and all again returned
to the scrub.
THE FIRST VERDICT
They were gone but few seconds.
On their return Justice Sutton pulled
a blank book and pencil from his poclS
ct, and prepared to record the YER
dict.
"Wcll, gentlemen" he said, "have
you found q verdict in this case ?"
eyes, sab, was the reply.
"What is w asked his honor, wet
ting the end of his pencil.
"De wardict am dat de culled man
am dead, an dat he had no business
out dab on de watah."
"Good God r. exclaimed Sutton. ais
that all p
"Dat am de wardicl, was the an
swer
Now, look here" Sutton broke out.
"For Gods sake, what's the matter
with your Haven't you got com
mon sense2 Any cursed fool knows
the man is dead. He was out in the
water was caught by cramps. and
drowned. It's as plain as the nose on
your face. The law makes it your du-
ty TO ascertain the cause OF his death.
You haven't even found out his name.
Go back and bring in common sense
verdict, or III fine evcry mothers son
of you. The man was caught by