The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-01-23

came around the corner, ana tnlr0
shot as be entered the Post Office
When he arrested Mutt the latter
said : Here, take it, and take me to
Jail as quickly as you can" After
starting to Jail Pegg said: "Jim, you
have killed Dukes and think anoth.
er man." 81 am sorry for the other
man." said Mutt, "but Dukes l could
not help" He gave Pegg another
revolver, a self-cocking and very
large one.
Ex-Coroner Sturgeon said: "When
l arrived the body OF Dukes was
lying in the Post Office with three
bullet holes in the back. One ball
lodged in the heart" He extracted
three balls from the body, which
were produced and shown to the
jurymen. Witness said the bullets
no doubt produced death.
John Wyatt and Alfred Ansell
were also examined, but their testi-
nony did not materially differ from
that of the other witnesses. The
latter said that when Mutt was ar
rested he did not struggle, but quiet
ly went with the officers.
Henry Meyer testified to seeing
Mutt shoot Dukes. The testimony,
however, was substantially the same
as had been given by those preceding
him.
Henry Diffenderfer testified that
when Mutt was arrested he looked
wild with passion. He was colorless
and much excited.
George Seaton, Luke Frazier, Ar
thur Strickler, Samuel Gold and
Charles H. Bierrer supported the
other witnesses as to the manner of
the shooting.
John Messmore, a little pale-faced
boy, said he was years old. He
knew how to read, but did not go to
church. He said telling an untruth
would send him to the bad place,
He was sworn by the Judge himself.
He said he remembered the killing
of Dukes on the afternoon of the
day of the killing he was at Nuts
house, playing with Willie Mutt, a
boy of his own age. He saw and
heard seme shooting done; saw Jim
Mutt shooting at a board, with his
Uncle Steve. The board was against
the carriage-house door. They were
a short distance away. Some other
man the boy did not know was with
the uncle and Mutt. They had two
pistols. Both men used the same
pistol They shot four or five times
and hit the board shot at. After
toey got through shooting jim went
into the house and his Uncle Steve
went home. Just before leaving the
Uncle, Steve, told Jim not to fail.
This was all witness heard. The
boys story was told very straightly
and without a break. He was not
cross-eXamined.
George Grimes said he owned a
strawberry patch opposite Nuts
residence, and on the afternoon of
the day Mutt shot Dukes witness
heard shooting on the Mutt prop
erty.
Messrs. Playford and Swartzwelder
objected to this evidence, but the
Court thought it entirely compe
tent.
Witness said he saw James Mutt,
small boy and a man. James
and the man were examining some
thing.
Anderson Craft also heard shoot
ing at Nuts on the afternoon of the
killing of Dukes. Upon going to
Nuts spring for water witness
noticed some men and little boys
there.
Harvey Coburn' heard shooting in
the neighborhosd of Nuts stable,
and, upon looking up, saw two or
three men andla little boy. After the
men shot they would go forward
and examine the effects of the
shots.
Ex-Sheriff Hoover said he had a
conversation with Mutt in Jail the
night of the shooting. Mutt asked il
there was much excitement and il
anybody else was hurt. Witness
told him no other person was hurt
Mutt said be was glad of it, as he
would have been sorry if any other
person but Dukes had been injured.
Mutt continued: 1t had to be
done. | did it, and was prepared to
do it,
The Commonwealth here closed
its case, and upon request of counsel
for the defense the case will go over
until tomorrow Court was then
adjourned. The prosecution agreed
to hold the case over provided they
were permitted to produce four OF
} five more witnesses, who were not
present to-day.
During trial the prisoner INDUCED
in an occasional derisive smile as
certain witnesses testified regarding
young Nuts pistol practice just
prior to Dukes death. The cause
of the derision was the care taken
by the prosecution to prove that
there had been no attempt to con-
ceal Nuts intention to shoot Dukes
During the afternoon something
in the evidence of young men-some
of whom are James Nuts friends
touched his sister. and for some time
she cried quietly.
The defense claim to be well sat.
isfied with the case made out by the
prosecution. The proof of the kill
ing is regarded by them as more a
matter of form than anything else
and the circumstance surrounding
the killing they consider they have
in as favorable a light az they posi-
bly, could be. In allowing their
witnesses to tell how James Mutt
told the police officers that be shot
: Dukes because he could not help it
the Commonwealth is generally re-
garded as having made great blum
der. as they have shown the exist
ence of emotional Insanity and un'
. comfortable desire to kill. which will
be the line of the defense.
The target practice by Mutt on the
day Dukes was killed, which wa.
referred to by several witnesses TO-
l..