Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-03-26
A MURDER TRIAL.
The Supposed Assassins Of Conduc
tor FraEIrr on Trial.

Special.
TYLER, TEX, March 2j.-After a
weeks trial the case of the State
against Knight, charged with the
murder of Conductor Erazler. was sub.
mitted to the jury tonight. Col.
Hogg closed the argument for the
state in very fine speech. Great in
terest is felt here in the result.
The case OF the state Of Texas VS..
John Knight has been on trial in our
district court since last Thursday.
and has created great interest among
the citizens Of Smith and Rusk coun.
ties. over two hundred witnesses
have been in attendance, and our court
house has been crowded with specta-
tors. The crime for which Knight, in
connection with his brother-in-law,
John Price, are indicted, was the
shooting OF Conductor Frazier and
Brakeman Powers on the Inlernation-
al and Great Northern south-bound
passenger train on the night of Janu-
airy 18th, near OVerton and
near the dividing line of Rusk and
Smith counties. From the effects of
his wounds then received Mr. Frazier
died in about ten hours, just before
the arrival OF bis wife, for whom q
special trein had been dispatched
The brakeman, Powers, was taken to
Overton, where he remained for TWEEN
ty.four hours, and was then taken to
the railroad hospital Mt Fort Worth,
and though very badly wounded 80
that his life was for a long time
despAired of, he has recovered euffi-
sNtn . INvN 20, fNr go A 1
! case. For nearly q week after the
killing the general impression was
that the murderers were tramps or
other parties stealing ride, and AS q
heavy snow fell during the afternoon
and night OF the 10Th, thus prevent.
ing the tracking Of them by blood
hounds, and as no traces could SEEM
ingly be obtained, the public had given
up all hopes OF solving the mystery
surrounding their identity,
On Sunday morning, January 2Gth,
the quiet little village of Overton was
thrown into great excitement at the
arrest, by Sheriff Cllnkscales of Smith
county and Thomas Furlopg, de-
tective, of John Price, a blacksmith
and well-known citizen Of Over.
ton, and his brother.in- law, John
RulkhA NhalENd WIN hllh r..
These two men had been in and about
Overton az usual since the murder and
the citizens there had no Suspicion OF
their connection with the crime, but IL
has since come to light that they had
been identified by the baggagemaster
and porter of Frazier's train.
Az soon as arrested they were taken
by SPECIAL train 10 Fort Worth to the
hnqFitul aud saInnA1 aNFul,u.ly I,I d.
room with twenty-five or thirty men.
They were both picked out and FULLY
identified hy the wounded brakeman,
Powers. On the morning after the
murder, while Powers was lying on
cot in the hotel, John
Price came into the room and as
soon IA Powers raw him he told
the crowd, "that there was the man
who shot him." but no one paid any
attention to him, thinking his mind
was wandering.
On the trial Powers testified that
soon after leaving Oveuon on the
morning of tho Goth at about o'clock,
the porter came to him and told him
that two men got on the train at
Overton and were on the platform
between the mail and express cars.
he ut once went with the porte \
through tho baggage ana express cars,
! unlocked the door and went out on
the plat orm and saw two men stand
cloee together on the farther side of the
platform. He spoke TO them and
asked them where they were going,
but they gave him no answer. He
then noticed that they both had
hankerohiefs tied over their heads.
He took hold OF the smaller OF them
and told him he must get Off, and lust
then the porter caught him by the
arm in an excited manner and pulled
him into the door OF the car and then
informed him that, the two men had
both drawn their pistols. He then
went hack into the ladies' car ana In
formed the conductor OF what had oc
Cured. The conductor got a revolver
and together they went back where
the men were, but rs soon "a they
stepped out OF the car the men com.
menced firing at them aud he tPowers)
ran back INTO the car. After he got
inside the car one of the bullets came
through the door and struck him
In the side and knocked him down.
The conductor fired nc his nssailants
two or three times, but was finally 80
badly wounded that he fell of the
| train.
The colored porter, Hamp Riley, tes-
titles 10 almost the same facts, and
also identified the defendants.
| Tho tt,aNWte - tl,a a ~ Il a.,