The Cecil Whig., 1881-11-05


SPOT WHERE THE BODY WAS FOUND
sumed in impanneling the jury than was
! anticipated, it being accomplished by half
past four. Mr.. Crothers, prosecuting at
torney, then made the opening address on
part of the State. He explained to the jury
the different degrees of murder and the pun
iShment of the same, defining circumstan-
tial evidence, and stated at some length the
evidence to he produced upon part of the
State and asked the jury to render n YER
diet i'll accordance with the law and evil
ience.
{ Hon. Alexander Evans followed in behalf
I of the prisoner in Il short address upon cir
cumstantial evidence and explanatory of
their line of defense; after which the evil
dence upon part of the State WAS heard.
THE TESTIMONY.
I Mrs. WOmas CiOuch was the first witness
sworn, and testified as follows: | was ac-
Quainted with Nicholas Nu.lcker, deceased:
! have known him for twenty years: reside
| near where he used To live in Elk Neck: last
saw him alive on Monday September 9TH,
between and > o'clock T.. NJ. He came to
my house and engaged me to cook dinner
for him on the following day (Tues,lay)
! when he intended 10 threSh he left my
house ut :; o'clock and Went towards his
home he promised to return in the evening
and bring me some potatoes, but he never
did; he was in a wagon and said he had
been to North East. This witness was not
cross examined by the defence.
-4Hdr"~ Hickman depoSed as follows: |
reside i'll Elk Neck, below Hari's Meeting
House; have lived there since March 2jth
last: knew Nicholas Nulcker i'll his life
time. my farm joins the one owned by him;
his house is about quarter of Il mile from
mine and nearer tothe Elk River: the near
est point on my farm to his house is at the
; orchard and is about 30 yards away: last saw
. Nu'lcker alive on Monday, Sept 9TH he
tween 1 ana ) O'clock; he came to my house:
was not ut home when he came, but got
back before he left he had MY team that
day: when he LETT he went in the direction
of his home; my peach orchard is nearer
the river and about Il quarter of mile from
Nnlcker'S house: ] have been to his house,
ArrantS, the prisoner, lived there with his
family: the house is old and dilapdatcd
one, IL story and u half high, with one room
below and one above, with an addition of
shed room TO the first floor: the stable is
nearer the Turkey Point road than the
house: they are about Twenty-Five wards
apart; the former about four hundred yards
from the road: | was witness before the
| jury of inquest. Npcker had on when at
{ my house :, black felt hat; | afterwards saw
this hat in his room after the murder:
Went over the trail made by dragging the
I body towards the river: il started at the
hay rick near the stable: saw il on WedneS-
day morning following the murder, at
| o'clock: this was when it was first discover
ed; the trail ran across the orchard, then
down the fence across the field to the
| swamp, through the swamp to another field
and over this to llery's lane; | was with
the party when the body was found; Absa-
lom Hyland and Others We're there and
brought the body ashore; | recognized it
Nulcker as soon as | saw it; he had on
pants, shirt, vest, &c.: II rope and chain
We're around his neck, and an anchor was
attached to the chain; the weather at the
time was very warm: there had been no
raiu for some time before nor was there any
for some time afterwards.
By the dcrence. The hat Mr.. Nulcker had
on when saw him last: was Il black felt,
like this: hat shown, narrow rim, black
soft hat have seen many like il: can't
swear that the hat | saw on his head and
the one | saw at his house We're the same,
hut think they We're one and the same hat.
The track Of the drag began at the hay rick:
don't know when it was made, nor how
many nor whom nor whether any body
had seen it before | did it stopped about
halfway up Ullery's lane the trail ran in
the direction of sun rising from the house:
it is Il halt-mile from where the trail ended
to where the bod Y was found: the body was
swollen, but could easily recognize it: \.
Hyland, &. Hart, Amos Collins, Alexander
Hart, and others went over the trail with
me; one window in Nulclier'S house looks
towards the orchard; don't think there is
any rise in the ground between Nu'lcker'S
house and the trail: it is from twenty y-tive
to thirty yards from beginning of trail to
where it strikes my fence: il then goes down
the fence; where the trail left the fence it
was ont of view of the house; the swamp
is about fifteen yards wide the timber in
the woods is Young and full of underbruSh;
after the trail left the wood it took an east
erly course; the ground there is up and
down hill: il is Il steep hill from the woods
10 llery's lane: it is Il new lane, not used
much; it had been wheat stubbe and was
grown over with clover and rag weed; the
mark of drag ceased one hundred yards
from the gate: the body was found in Elk
River, about one hundred yards above the
mouth OF the lane leading to the shore;
don't know the names of those who first
discovered it,
By the state. Mr.. Nulcker had straw
hat, IL slouch hat, and the black soft hat
mentioned. all were ul1leTent' lTuth WAS
growing in the field south of the house: the
ground was soft the trail kept close to the
fence: IL large tree stands in front of window
of house: if it We're not for 1t il person on
the trail could be seen from the window
further down than where the trail strikes
my fence, but the tree cuts OFF the view.
Hurry Warrants, colored, sworn: | live
on Mr. Hickman'S farm in the Neck: was
there on Monday, Sept. 9TH: saw NWlcker
tI,r l,,- I,.l,n
corn: he passed through the lot where
was. het ween / and ) o'clock, goingj in the
direction of his bo1ne the lot is on the river
side of the road: No'lcker was on foot.
4lernnder Hof sworn: Reside in Elk
Neck, near Hart'S Meeting House: know
Wm. j. Arrants, the prisoner; saw him on
Monday evening, Sept. 9TH, about sunset;
he was in n wagon going down past my
house in the direction of his home; have
not seen him since until to-day; | was not
on the Jury of inquest; | was over part OF
the trail made by the body from the edge of
the corn field to its end: did not see the
part mp towards the stable; my house is on
the Elkton and Turkey Point road, quarter
of il mile from the house OF Nulcker: can
see the roof OF his buildings from my house:
his house is quarter of a mile from the
, river road.
,John ". Falls, sworn: | am Il surveyor.
and was employed by the States Attorney
To make plot of the vicinity of the muir
der; this is the plot made by me. Plot en-
iihited The witness then explained the
plot to the jury, pointing ont various points
of interest and giving distances. The sur
: vey was made on the second saturday after
Monday. the 9TH of September, the day of
the murder: nearly all signs of the body
trail was then ohliterated, and its location
was pointed out to me by AhSalom Hyland;
a small portion of the trail in the apple
orchard WAS still visible: | could not tell
what had caused this trail; | reside at Col
lrge Green.
ibsolom Hyidn@, sworn: Reside in Elk
Neck: am familiar with the trail made by
dragging the body of the murdered man to-
wards Elk River from his stable yard; first
saw it on Tuesday, Sept. 9th, III the even
ing; Mr., Crouch called for Inc that day 10
5 90 ont To help hunt for NnlGker, who WAS
missing; we hunted through the fields and
woods without result; finally towards sun
down | saw mark in the orchard which
looked like the mark likely to be made 10y
: dragging bedy ever tue ground ! follow