The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1882-04-13

to the house of a negro, whom he
had in the meantime called out, put
the negro on the horse and direc
ted him to ride for the doctor. The
negro had gone fifty or seventy-five
yards, when j. X. Trigg call out
that Goodrum was dead, and re
quested that the negro be sent fol
the neighborhood constable, which
was done. H. w. Trigg, then
turned back, and when near his sta
BILE, and about twenty yards from
his gate, the defendant called to him
from his house to know what was
the matter, to which he replied
that Goodrum had shot himself
| The defendant made no further in
qulry, and neither went to Trigg' S
house nor to the store. All the
neighbors, for two or three miles
around, came to the store during the
night. A watch was kept to pre-
vent any person from going to the
rear of the store, where the assas
sin had stood.
Early the next morning, before it
was fairly light, Dwyer, Trigg, the
constable and others, during the
morning, examined the grounds.
They found the place where the
person stood who shot the gun The
weeds were freshly broken down,
and the ground indented by his
feet. BY tracing backwards, it was
found that the footsteps could be
followed over the fence around the
store, thence slightly Giverging from
that fence to the road, and across
the road into the defendants sor
ghum patch, and thence southwark
TO the patch from his house to the
store. In other words, the person
who shot the gun had gone from the
path into the defendants field and
sorghum patch, thence across the
road into Triggs field and potato
patch, and over the fence at the
point at which he stood when he
fired. It was furthur found, that
in going from this spot the person
had started nearly north, crossing
the store fence, thence north east
wardly, through the patch and
cornfield, to the road ut n point
about so or 60 yards north of the
store, then across the road, angling
northwardly, r into the sorghum
patch, tn cnce to the corn-field east,
thence with the corn rows, changing
the row twice on account of weeds
to the path from the defendants
house to within 40 yards of the
house. The tracks were the same
both going and coming, were meas
ured, and were such as would be
made by a number z shoe. In go
ing from the place where the shoot
ing occurred, the tracks were those
of man in rapid walk, or to use
the words of the witnesses, "beyond
the ordinary pace" Some of those
present went to defendants house,
and calling him out, asked him if
he had heard any person go by
that night. After a slight hesita-
tion he replied in the negative.
They then said to him that the foot
steps had been tracked to within
forty yards of his -hnnse- He then
said that he believed he did hear
his wife say that she heard two or
three persons pass last night, and
the dogs run and bark. The de-
fendant asked if they had exam
ined for tracks about his barn, but
did not offer to aid them. The
way to the barn led off from the
path to the store. The parties eX
amined, and did not find the tracks
en- this way.
The defendant was taken into
custody for the murder about II
o'clock that day, being Sunday, and
was examined by the committing
magistrates on the next day. At
some time, exactly when it does ap-
pear, defendant walked out with
some of the witnesses to examine
some of the tracks in the field, and
was noticed to walk on his toes.
He said he had gravel in his shoes,
and stopped two or three times to
take the gravel out, but continued
to walk on his toes, without making
full tracks. The proof is that he
wears eabout a number seven shoe"
The defendant said that at the
time the shot was fred he was in
his kitchen, a few steps from his
house, making poultice to dress
blister on his wife, who was sick;
that his wife called him two or
three times, but he did not go; that
she then called her two little nieces,
who were sleeping in her room, but
could not wake them; that she then
called him again, and he went to
her; that she asked him if he had
heard the gun. She asked what it
meant, and he went out and called
to H. w. Trigg, as stated by Trigg.
The argument on his behalf is,
that he was in the kitchen at the
time the gun was fired, and, at any
rate, that he could not have shot
the gun and called to II. w. Trigg
from his house within the time he
did. The distance direct between
defendants home and the store is
about 200 yards. The distance
from the spot where the gun was
fired, following the retreating steps
in the course pursued to defen-
dant's house is about 300 yards. 1t
could be walked leisurely in six or
seven minutes. 1t was actually run,
as an experiment, by person with
stick in his hand in one minute
and a half II. w. Trigg says he
talked with his wife a minute and a
half before he started for his horse.
The distance then travelled by him
before defendant called to him, was
from 250to 300 yards. He thinks
it was five minute from the time
of the shot until defendant calldd
him. 1t was obvious that the queB
tion of time presents no difficulty.
The proof shows that on the
morning of the murder, about ten
or eleven o'clock, the defendant Dor
rowed n double -barreled shotgun
from neighbor, saying that it was
10 kill a squirrel for his wife. He