The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1878-04-20
The Smith Murder.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON, APRIL II.

When our reporter left the courthouse
about 4 p. M, Mr. sewers, the District At
torney, had just closed his opening address.
We this week give the important points in
the evidence taken. The first witness was
Frank Prince, who said he lived at Au-
denred and was mining engineer. A
| map OF the scene of the murder, drawn nv
himself, was shown him when he stated that
Smiths house was | ,4I4 feet from the com
| pany store.
rs George X. Smith sworn: said she
was the widow of the murdered man; in
1868, when he was shot, he was coal ope-
rator; he leased the Yorktown collieries in
March, and they were there until July the
day OF the evening of the murder my hus-
band. went to bed sick; | invited Mr.. Ul-
rich to come to the house, as | had heard of
the threats that were made; in the evening
l heard the latch of the gate open, and
pretty soon Mr.. Ulrich came back from the
door; before | had time to say "Come in"
the tall man said: 81 will give it to you;"
and he pulled pistol from his pocket, and
| said, "My God;" | ran to the library, and
my sister said, "lIe groans; he groans :" |
heard four shots; there was silence, when
my sister said, Sarah, there is a man living
on the floor in his night shirt, and believe
it is Mr.. Smith !" | ran toward him and
talked to him, but he was unconscious |
went up stairs and | discovered Mr. Ulrich
on the floor weltering in his blood he said,
"My God, give me water;" | said | could
not, as the water was outside; he said, "For
Gods sake give some water" and | then
said, 81 can not. can give you liquor !" |
persuaded my sisters to go out and give the
alarm they went in their stocking feet, and
in short time heard footsteps coming up
the walk, and | said, "My God, we are done
ior;" but the men proved to be friends one
was my brother and some of the other clerks
In the store; at the time there was in the
house my three children, two sisters, a child
of my married sister and Mr.. Ulrich
q. Can you describe those two men that
came in the house first? a. One was tall,
had on big coat, high cheek bones, and
sunken eyes; the other was smaller, and his
face was blackened as if he had come home
from the mines and had not washed his face.
Diagram of the inside of the house was
then shown the jury.
Q. When did he die? A. He died about
- o'clock that night. He laid in his blood
until the next day when the inquest was
held. He was Al years old.
Q. When Mr.. Ulrich came to the library
and said there were two men in disguise at
the door what did you do? A. | went up
stairs and | came down Mr.. Ulrich and |
went i'll the library when | saw the man
pull the pistol screamed and ran the next
day observed that the carpet was shriveled
with bullets my husband was buried at
Laurel Hill, Philadelphia; he was well
known throughout the region as he had
been a civil engineer in that part of the
county for sixteen years.
Q. Did you recognize any of them? A.
No, sir. only saw two men.
General Albright.-Take look at the
prisoner and tell us it, you recognize him. A.
lie was not one of the two men who came
into the house, but | have seen him some
where. His face is familiar.
o cross-eXaminatiOn.
George W. Ulrich sworn:-I was clerk in
the office, and also had charge of the York
town store the firms name was George X.
Smith & Co. they leased the mines from
the New York and Lehigh Coal Company.
Q. What was the condition of society
around Yorktown at that time. A. 1t was
in such a condition that man would not
feel safe in going out at night if he did not
want his head shot off; during the day of
the murder there was an awful confusion
people were running from one mines to an
other; | observed that good deal Of powder
and caps were being bought and | gave or
ders to stop the sale; all the men saw were
strangers; left the store when Smith and
his wife came home when | reached the
house Mrs. Smith shook hands with me
George Scott, inside boss. and Hipplewhite,
the breaker boss, were talking about the con-
tusiOn they We're standing near Smiths
house Smith and l went into the house
it was about $3.50 p. M. the drafts We're in
the store and | went for them the drafts
were list of the men drafted in Carbon
county in the meantime a man named Nc
Donnell said he wanted his draft and | gave
it TO him and gave him $40; Smith was sick
and he went up stairs and | went for the
money with Harry Troy Mrs. Smiths broth
er, and another man named Ticken Mrs.
Smith asked me to stay at the house all
night; | consented about the time | was
going to retire | heard a rap at the door |
took the man for Evan Jones, and | said,
Evan, wait until | put the dog away; in
the meantime the man came in the house
followed by tall man; | went into the room
where the men We're, with Mrs. Smith; one
man pulled out Colts revolver, and Mrs.
Smith ran away; the other man caught me
around the neck and commenced to beat me
on the head the tall man was going to
shoot me, and | knocked his arm up and
the pistol went OIL he attempted to shoot
me again and | again knocked his arm, and
the pistol went off, the powder flashing in
my iuce by this time about fifteen men, all
blackened and disguised, came in the room,
and they all gathered around me and com
menced to pull me and beat me; remem-
bered | had pistol in my breast pocket,and
pulled it and fired, and guess hit some
onej thought my time had come, and for
the moment thought of my family; man
aged to get away, and they fired at me one
ball went through my coat, and another took
effect in my leg; about this time Smith
came down, and thought saw him talking
TO the crowd; he was in the dining room,
and l was standing near the hall stairs his
back was toward me, but saw a man walk
up to him and shoot him through the head;
the room was so full Of powder smoke that
could hardly see; they mumbled something,
but | could not distinguish what they said
the whole crowd We're disguised if | ever
saw the two men who came in first / could
recognize them.
There was no cross-eXamination.
Amanda Hess, sister of Mrs. Smith sworn:
| remember the night of the murder, and
after describing the shooting of Smith, said
several shots were fired in the direction of
the room where she was sitting; one ball
went over her head ran ont and got under
the housej heard the men leaving; heard
H.. I