The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1883-06-29
HOMICIDE ON WILLOW CREEK.
Henry NierlIng Shot and Killed by ms
Divorced Wife Mary j. Nieriing.

4
|
One of the most remarkable shooting III
fravs that ever occurred in the county, tool
place on Willow Creek, seine ten or tweS'
! miles from New Chicago, about seven o'cicci
n m. last Saturday, and resulted in the dealt
of Henry Nierling at ten o'clock A. m. the
next day. Sunday. The evening before he
died Nierlinp made the following statement
In Justice Court Flint Creek Township eei
Lodge County, NJ. 7.
TERRITORY OF Montana,
PLAINTIFF,
MARY J. NIERLTSG,
| Defendant
Statement under oath of Henry Nierling,
while suffering from the effects of pistol
shot wound: On June 90, 1888, John Magone
came to my house and asked me to make
some irrigating bitches for him tomorrow
While on the road to his place, about sixty
yards above Mrs. Meetings. house, near
some small bushes Mrs. Nierling raised up
from the bushes and called on me to stop
three or four times. ! told her / did not
| want to have any conversation with her.
| When she first raised out of the bushes 1
saw she had pistol in her hand and she
kept it pointed towards me. / asked her to
put her pistol away. She lowered the pistol
and thought was in danger. / did not
stop the team but kept driving on. After
passing her about fifteen yards looked back
and then she shot the pistol of. I drew, my
| pistol when she said she would kill me III !
| did not stop. After hearing the pistol shot L
| knew / vas shot and said nothing, but kept
| on the wagon and drove to Magones house.
| / had no talk or conversation with Mrs.
Nierling since ! returned from the States,
which was about three weeks ago, until this
morning. The shooting occurred this morn
ing, June %, 1888.
(Signedl HENRY NIERLING.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ed
day of June, 1888
II. NJ. FERGUSON,
Justice of the Peace.
This statement differs materially from that
of Mrs. Nierling, who in an interview &C
corded us in presence of her attorney says
she did not leave her door five feet that
Nierling drove in front of the house, got off
his wagon and came toward her with a pis-
toll, that she may have got her pistol and
fred it, but that If she did so it was accident
al and she does not recollect it.
To render the circumstances ineligible, 1t
is necessary to give little of the history of
the parties. Mrs. Nierling came from the
coast to the Dalles in 1858, when Colonel
Wright had his great Indian fight near there,
and finally she and her husband and son
moved up on the Pen d Oreille river. In 1867
her husband and son were drowned in the
river. In 1868 she married Henry Nierling,
although at that time she was forty-six years
of age and he was but twenty-three years of
age. She had considerable property at the
time. They resided for number of years
past near New Chicago, and it appears had a
quarrelsome life, she alleging great cruelty
at his hands, but somehow public sympathy
being largely with him. At one time she di-
vided property with him. A year ago last
winter she made complaint against him for
beating her and cruel treatment, and he was
sentenced to sixty days in Jail. Pending his
serving out the sentence she applied to the
court and procured a divorce from him.
lived in the same house with her. although
they did not live as man and wife. After
ward he built house about one mile below
hers OH the Willow creek road, and has since
lived there. Some three months ago Nier-
ling went to the States on q visit, and re-
turned about three weeks ago. Each has
since professed to be afraid of the other, aud
Nierling has habitually carried q pistol,
while sne says she has kept one in the house
in apprehension of him. No one saw the
shooting ARRAY. and it is the word of ono as
against the other where and how il occurred.
The ball was from "a navy revolver, entered
the right side just above the hip bone, and
was cut out near the skin to the left of the
navel. The ball extracted fit the chamber of
her pistol from which one shot had been
fired, and which was found by the constable
under her pillow. NierliDg was armed, but
no shots We're fired from his pistol.
The coroner's jury, consisting of George
W. Morse, Thomas A. Griffith, C. r. Stark,
j. Ryder, James b. Featherman, and r Conn, |
found that "the deceased, Henry Nierling, |
came to his death from pistol shot wound,
and said pistol being in the hands of Mary |
j. Nierling." On complaint of Louis j. |
Hendrickson, constable, a warrant was issued |
for her arrest, and he brought her to New |
Chicago, where she asked change of venue |
from Justice Ferguson's court to that of JUS |
tice f. +. Bill, Deer Lodge. She was then |
brought up before Justice Bill on coroner's |
warrant charging her with murder. Hiram |
Knowles, Esq, appeared for defendant. Dis
trict Attorney Pemberton being at Missoula |
there was no one to appear for the Territory
The witnesses examined for the Territory
were John Magone, B. +. Cairns, DIR. D. |
Lindsay, Louis J. Hendrickson, Il. NJ. Fergu-
son, and James Ii. Featherman. Defendants
attorney declined to call any witnesses for
the defense, and the case going to the court
defendant was held in 5000 bond to ausw err
to the next grand jury. 1t developed in the
evidence of Constable Hendrickson that she
said "she did not know whether she hit
Hank or not she did not aim at him, but
held the pistol out and IL went off when he
was running away" At another time she
said 'she wished he would die" 1t is al
most impossible to conceive of a woman of
her age under any circumstances deliberately
com uniting such crime, If in sound mind,
an d worse still that she shows no contrition
DAN CASTELLO,S NEW CIRCUS.
To Exhibit in Deer LOdqe Nextl