The daily gazette., 1882-12-28
rnE NsIrr FnAeEpy.
Rnmors CONCERNING the Dead Mans
Daughter said 20 be MISUNDERSTANDING
Against the Murderer.

NMm0FB CONCERNING tm9 D9Mu AAAn .
Daughter said 90 be MISUNDERSTANDING
Against the Murderer.
tPhiladeirhia Press.
UxroxrowS. Dec, 21.--The excitement
and indignation ever the murder of Captain
Mutt sii0we1ittle abatement, although four
days have. elapsed since the erisne was com
mitted. This morning Judge Wilson granted
q writ of hAbeas corpus for hearing az y
O'Clock on Friday morning, when II Will be
determined whether Dukes will be admitted
to bail III he can show the court that his plea
of seli-deiense is well based. If he can show
no measure of justification for the shooting
freedom will be denied him. II Is thought
that he will be released upon giving security.
Dukes still enjoys the freedom Of the sherth'e
house, and walks out into the sherihs yard
and sometimes over to the sherifrs once
In the Court House. There Is no doubt that
Dukes feels his situation keeply. He
. 20 restless and nervous that he is unable
to sit or lie still. His friends say his mental
state is pitiable, and he often expresses the
| wish that he was dead aud his victim alive.
| In conversation with friends OF the family
| today 1t was discovered that Miss Mutt Is
| ignorant yet of the manner In which her
| name has been coupled with the circum-
stances Of her fathers death and her friends
claim that the strongest evidence that can
be produced of her innocence and purity Is
that she has drawn no infeTences From the
killing OF her father by one who has aspersed
her good name and who has been In the
habit of visiting her. If there were any
truth in the stories about her (and theii
only source il the letters of Dukes), she
would have readily OWNED the cause of the
fatal encounter, and In the mental suffering
which she has been undergoing she would
scarcely have been able to exercise 'sufii
cieut self-will to restrain herself from self
accusation.
She 10 young and inexperienced and hei
power of selEcontrol is not great enough Il
have enabled her to govern her feelings dur
ipg the past three days and hide her secre
thoughts from those around her who knew
the gossip and have been narrowly watching
her. No breath Of scandal was ever blowr
} across her name before the tragedy OF Sun
day. The letters Of Dukes to her father ar
the foundation Of all the gossips affecting
her reputation, and upon Dukes Will devolv
the responsibility of proving the terribl
stories he has committed TO writing, tasl
which is now considered an impossihility
? Dukes attentions to Miss Mutt were neithe
secret nor clandestine unless 20 recently
His visits to the house were often In day
. light, and there are plenty OF people VII
r have seen him go there who knew him
4 be in the habit of visiting her, and VIII
presumed from his excellent reputatio
that his purposes were honorable. Tha
Miss Mutt Is in any other condition tina
. one in which virtuous girl should be,
r denied In the most emphatic terms by ladit
i who have been in the house since Monda,
Miss Nuts friends still refuse to publis
Dukes letters on the ground that nothin
would be gained by giving the details
. Dukes accusations, and that 1t would dl
y close TO the defense some points which u
. prosecution does not wish revealed until Il
:, day Of the trial. Dukes ought TO be ab
, to recollect, however, what he has writtel
: and, OF course, will prepare TO sustain II |
& far as he may be able. In this he has an a.
q vantage, as the friends of Mutt do not kno
A and cannot learn what he has written al
therefore will meet with difficulty In pr
= yiding for unforeseen obstacles.
o The substance Of Dukes letters, the pu
e lie already know, is that they charge MI
a Mutt with laxity of virtue. They treat
!, nothing else The details are so gross as
: create surprise that person could have
. little judgment, so little manhood and fee
ing as to commit them In writing and ser
il to the proud and high-spirited father, VIII
% he must have known, was passionately d
voted TO the child of whom he was Hrltin
" The letters are quite lengthy. One Is
and the other II pages long.
On Friday night Captain Mutt was
~ Plttsburg. He supped with number
80 friends whom he had met by invitatio
y He was so grave and quiet, contrary to |
'e usual sociability, that his friends remark
of 1t and thinking 1t due to the weight Of bu
to ness cares urged him to throw of his gloo
w and become his natural self. When supp
was over his friends went to the theatre Al
he retired to his room. The next evenin
H. Saturday evening, he took the train
al home. With him was a gentleman wi
be whom he had supped the night before. n
10 Mutt seemed to have rallied somewhat a
~ was looking forward with keen pleasure
II the meeting with his wife and children.
ad When he reached Uniontown Capt.
lid Mutt companion invited him to supper
m the Spottsylvania House, but he declin
-, saying he was too eager to get home.
~ evening at home was spept with his child
lot around him. After they had gone TO
bly, and were all asleep he, before retiring hi
our self, went around to all their rooms Q
"a, kissed each one Whether or not he
the dark shadow of impending calamity
heo only be conjeetured.