News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-09-28
THE JOYCE MURDERS.
WHAT WITNESSES FOR THE
PROSECUTION SAY.
Ten Men Arrested for the Terrible
Crime The Evidence Against
Them

Crihe- Inc Evidence Agalns
Them.
The Dublin correspondent of the Lon
don Daily NeaOs gives the following
account of the evidence given at thu
inquest in the case of the murder of thu
Joyce family, near Cong, ireland -
1t is said that the village where thu
murders occurred had the reputation o
being one of the best in the district, bu
that on the opposite or north side OF thu
valley, into which runs the northern
spur of Tough Mask, were to be found
class of men of the very worst descrip
ton. This latter district is known al
Derrypark, and is on the borders of the
County of Mayo. 1t was the scene o
the last stage in what has become known
as the Carraroe process-serving cam
paign in January, 1880. The men IL
custody charged with the murder all OF
nearly all belong to the Derrypark dis
trict. The men who have come for
ward as witnesses. and to whom the
knowledge of the affair came in the
most providential manner, belong to the
Maamtrasna side of the valley. The
story which these men-three in num-
Der, the evidence of fourth witness
being Enthusiastically corroborative =
tell is to the following effect:-The first
witness, who lives about four miles from
the scene of the murder, was awakened
about midnight by the barking of dogs.
He looked out because, as he subse.
quently stated, he thought there was
bad work going on or likely to go on.
On looking out he saw six men coming
from the Derrypark side. He ran round
to the side of his own house, where, al.
though concealed himself, he was able to
see the men who passed. He lay down
flat among the potato stalks in his OWL
garden, and unobserved was able to dis.
tirguish the men who passed. They
were not more than three or four feet
from him. Fearing that it was his
brothers house that they were going tc
attack. which was only a short distance
of, he ran down through a potato
field and reached his brothers house
before the men. He reused his brother
and his brothers son, and then resumed
his watching pursuit, never losing sight
for more than a few minutes of the
gang. The three men then followed oil
a safe distance, but still in view; crouch
ing along the fields in such a way that
while they themselves ran no risk Of
being discovered, they could yet keep
in view the men whom they were watch
ing.
When the latter reached the house Of
man named Casey, about three miles
from the scene of the murder, they en-
tered the house and remained short
time. Meanwhile their pursuers took
up their places beside Casey's dwelling.
In few minutes they came out, not six
men but ten. Leaving Casey's house
they proceeded across the fields in a
zigzag direction, as the map of the route
taken by Sub Inspector Phillips shows,
Tor the purpose evidently of avoiding
houses for they did not in
the whole of the remainder of the jour-
ney come at any time within two hun
dred yards of any house save one, and
that one was not inhabited. Meanwhile
the three men who were pursuing them
kept at safe distance, but never lost
sight of the gang, and at one part of the
way they were able, from behind ditch,
TO see the whole of them pass within a
few yards.
At this point, about q quarter of
mile in direct line from the scene of
the tragedy, the intending murderers
branched of again. To avoid passing
close to any houses they made detour
which nearly doubled the distance, but
the witnesses by this time probably
guessing the object of their vengeance,
went straight toward Joyce's house,
which they reached before the others.
They concealed themselves behind the
hedge which is only few yards from
Joyce's dwelling, and which forms as it
were one of the boundaries of his farm
yard, and remained there until the
murderous gang came up. They heard
the shooting, the bludgeoning and the
which followed. Being I'M
armed and being three against ten they
made no attempt to interfere, but almost
and before the murderers
came out of the house, they left the
scene, anxious to escape with their lives
and rejoicing, no doubt, that while they
had not been in a position to prevent
the massacre, they were in position to
bring the miscreants to their deserved
doom.
The ten men who have been arrested
a1e described by the people of the dis
trict as "the biggest devils in the coun-
try" They are small farmers, who the
people say have long been the terror of
the neighborhood. The Information of
these witnesses was taken before the
magistrate in the presence of
the accused. The witnesses gave their
evidence with the greatest frmness and
without hesitation. ALI of them have
known most of the prisoners for many
years, and one of the witnesses has known
some of them for thirty-five years. The
night was not moonlight one, but was
not dark, and the witnesses state that
they are perfectly able to recognize the
prisoners and to identify them in the
most positive manner, as in the investi-
CATION which has taken place they have
done.
The witnesses are all staying at the
MOTEL at Cong under the protection of
the police, but if the feeling of the peo-
pie is to be gathered from what occurred
they have as their bodyguard the people
Of the entire district. They were brought
into Cong, and proceeded with the resi-.
dent magistrates and police to the scene
Of the murder. They pointed out to
them the route taken by the murderers
and the route taken by themselves.
They showed the places at which they
had seen the men passing, and the po-
lice found tracks of footsteps, and of
where the pursuing force had lain in
and the marks in the potato
field and up against the ditch, where
marks of slipping are visible, corrobor-
ated in a most wonderful manner the
tale they had previously told, as did
also the marks and tracks found on the
route which they had described as hay