St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-09-12
The Chisolm Murder.
TERRIBLE PICTURE OF RIOT AND

BLOOD.
The trial of Henry J. Gully for the
murder of COrnelia ChisOlm April ~,
1877, opened at DeKalb, Mis-, Mon
day with 20 witnesses, 81 for the state
and 80 for the defense, who were put
under the rule and excluded from the
court room. Mrs. Chisolm testified An
excited crowd of men entered Dekalb
Oh the evening of April %, 1877, and it
was largely increased on the following
morning. Sinclair, then sheriff, arrest
ed my husband on the morning of the
Doth. He asked to be placed under
guard mt his own house and besOught
an instant investigation of the charges
against him. Armed men kept coming
around the house, and Sinclair con-
versed with them and then talked to
Judge Chisolm. My husband said to
one of the crowd, 'You cOwardly
scoundrels, you will kill me before eve
ming, but before you do it will make
some of you bite the dust" Sinclair
came to my husband at about IL O'Clock
and said, "They say you must go to
jail.n Mcclellan, myself, my sons, Clay,
Johnnie and Willie and my daughter
Cornelia, accompanied my husband to
Jail. We were clinging to him to shield
his body. Mr.. Moseley and Mr.. Over
street went inside the Jail with the
party, and the door was locked behind
them. The family went up stairs, and
the door was locked on the inside. |
was sent home by my husband on an
errand. l heard firing as l came back
toward the Jail and saw the old man
Mcclellan fall pierced by several buck
shot behind the Jail. l rushed inside
the Jail and found the stairway crowd
ed with men. ROsser was at the top of
the stairs and William Gully was try
ing to break the lock of the upper door
with axes. My daughter COrnelia, son
Johnnie and Mr.. Overstreet were hold
ing the door on the inside. My daugh
ter's face was bleeding. ROsser said to
my daughter, "Damn your soul, will
blow your brains out if you don't get
out of the way" Rosser fired the first
shot through the broken lock, which
severed my sons hand from his arm.
The door was here broken open, and
my little boy fell. shot through the
heart. Some one inside fired, and Ros-
ser fell dead. Two men caught him by
the heels and dragged him down stairs.
My husband was bewildeIed at the
death of Johnnie. l and my son Clay
carried the dead body down stairs.
Cornelia and her father came down
stairs. Henry j. Gully came up and
raised his gun. closed the grated door
at the bottom of the stairway. MY
daughter clasped my husband around
the neck. Gully fired through the
CRATES in the door. My daughter scIe-m-
ed, 81 am shot" Judge Chisolm opened
the door, and as he stepped out Henry
Gully came out of the adjoining room
with another gun and fired again at
him, and he fell. Clay and | assisted
my husband home. Ny daughter was
bleeding in the face. Her eyes were
blackened by blow, and she was shot
in the wrist, the ankle and in the heel.
She was shot by Henry Gully. She
died on the 18th of May, from the eff
fects of her wOunds.n Mrs. ChisOlm
produced COrnelia's bracelet, which was
broken and driven into her arm, also
five buck-shot taken out of her body.
Cross examined, she stated that she
begged Rosser, by the God that made
| him, the mother who hone him and the
--:fv whom he IovsL l.. ..aiaGal
with the blood of Chimes and Mcclellan.
He replied, 'John Gully had wife,
and he would shoot any woman who
stood between himself and Chisolm.n
The defense asked the question, "Did
you not know that Corpelia died from
the effect of an operation ?" Witness
SAID she did not. When asked if Sheriff
Sinclair was not overpowered by the
MOB, she said she couldn't tell whether
| the sheriff commanded the mob or the
mob commanded the sheriff In relat-
ing the story of the death of her son
Johnnie Mrs. ChisOlm tainted.
DR.. Chamberlain, who waited on Cor
nelIa ChisOlm, testified that she died
from the effects of her wounds. that
one OF the bones of her leg and two of
the bones of her arm were broken by
buck shot, that she was wounded in
the face by some blunt instrument. and
life. "i
Charles Rosenbaum testified that he
came TO town with Gilmer, in the Gus
tody or Deputy Sheriff Britton, follow
ed to town by eight armed men. He
saw many Others in town with guns.
As we walked toward the jail, said he.
we saw Virgil Gully shoot Gilmer in
the back. Gilmer hollered ''Oh Lordy.
I'm killed." and ran down an alley,
where he was followed and dispatched |
by the shotgun OF. Virgil Gully. Ros-
enbaum corOborated the statement of
Mrs. ChlsOlm as to the scenes i'm the
jail. AT the alarm of fire witness ran
out OF the jail and did not see the shoot
ing OF Chlsolm and daughter.
y. ). Morris is making a most viror
Gus prosecution.