Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-10-08


tunes from praying on his mind. Witness
thought in summer of 'S1, prisoners men
| tai condition was most apparent; about
| the time he had "love trouble. When
| prisoner came back from the University
| OF Virginia be talked wildly and at random
about his experience there. Witness
visited prisoner home and the antics of
pleasure Coyner used were more like
those Of dog who is glad to sea his mas
| ter. Prisoners mother looked at him
| with pity and several times remarked,
| "Poor boy; we had better kept him at the
plow." His conversation was idioJic in
some respects. Witness told prisoner
Prisoner walked around the room throw
ing his arms up and explaining that be was
| obliged to do it, that he never could sleep.
In Harvesting witness horse when he left,
prisoner behaved like lunatic. Left the
house perfectly convinced that Coyner was
a lunatic. That was in 1872. Afterwards
met prisoner in Staunton in the same if
not worse condition, Met him in Staun-
ton after he returned from the Vest
Talked wildly of millions Of worlds"
shining on him, che doctrine Of circum-
stances" and compared himself to "a mag
| marked him" and so forth. In several
conversations he repeated the same riga
marole. About that time, Montezuma
| Brown talked to witness about COyner.
said he was the terror of the neighborhood
and spoke. himself, as if he was in dread
of him. About that time, too, Coyner told
witness be couldn't control himself, that
this brain burned and his spirit raved,"
and that there was blood clotted on
his brain. Said also that there was
something the matter with his brain
that ''his nose cracked" Prisoner
asked Curry If he, Curry, didn't "feel
like killing him. that be felt like killing
Curry. ''but there was something in his
i eye that struck his passions dumb" y
Visited prisoner 10 Jail, he talked and cried
about the killing (which he said was to
prevent Brown killing him) and wound up
by asking witness if he ''could crack his
nose" In Jail the day after the killing
Coyner said to Commonwealth 3 Attorney
| that he had tried 10 see him the day before
!, the killing, and if he had ''the thing would
not have happened" Prisoner in Jail
night after murder evinced no apprehen-
sion of the gravity of what he had done,
or apprehensions about what might hap
| pen to him.
| ~ Arthur Wilso4e.-Had known pris-
| oner at Augusta Male Academy, three
sessions; at last session thought his mind
was unbalanced. Saw him in Chesapeake
& Ohio depot the day he left for the West.
| Was convinced he was insane; during
whole conversation at depot didn't hear
him make rational remark. His talk
was disconnected and incoherent. Saw
him when he came back. several times;
he would fly off in conversation on these
occaeons, but not as bad as at the depot.
Chds. L. Yancey.-Knew the prisoner
since 1881. Thought he was insane from
his wild, incoherent talk. Slept. with him
the night before he went West. Coyner
was talking ''foolishness" pretty much
all night. and got up several times. Wit
ness staid awake for safety and as soon
next morning as he could. left. Didn't
see how anybody could be with Coyner
much and not know he was crazy. I'm
derstood Coyner to allude, as one of his
troubles, to the fact that he had killed
man while at Washington & Lee Univer-
sisy. Coyner, also, that night alluded to
the fact that his sister was in the insane
Asylum, another at home also of unsound
mind, and an uncle or two deranged. He
spoke of the insanity in his family as a
blight on him..
Geo. L. Coiner.-Is a very distant rela-
tive of the prisoner. Wassat prisoners
house in September of last year. His
talk was wild and his manner excited,
jumping from one subject to another.
Thought he was crazy and got away as
soon as he could. Saw prisoner on Fair
Grounds about 20 minutes before the kill
ing of Brown. The appearance of his eyes
then was about the same as on my visit in
September.
VIM. Pdrrish.-knew the prisoner
slightly for seven years. About four years
ago had a conversation with him which
convinced him that he was crazy. Wit
ness had worked with lunatics at the
Asylum for two years and knew one pretty
well when he saw him.
Cyrus Field, (coL)-Knew prisoner
for Is years. Engaged to SOW seed
for him last fall. Instead of following the
drill, Coyner went off another way SOW
ing. Did this twice. Called his attention
to it and he said "his machine was out of
whack," touching his head. Said the
"whole universal world and stars and moon
were down on him. and his head was
out of order. AT night, pointed to yellow
dog and said that was the only friend
he had on earth. Stopped witness from
work next day in the field, two hours, to
talk about Mississippi river, Japanese, and
all that sort of thing. That day he said
be was going to take the world and throw
it in the ground and make an earthquake.
While witness was working there, Coyner
came to town and had fifteen ladders
made. On the day of the killing Coyner
said he was going to stay at home and was
not coming to Staunton that day. He was
at home wringing and twisting and saying,
'sCyrus, by G., Brown shot at me last |
night and the whole world is on me. y
His sister Fanny came in and Coyner
struck her and knocked her over table. |
Witness demonstrated and prisoner re-
Piled, &c d. her. want to kill her,
Shortly after that he gave witness note
To take to MOnteZuma Brown Witness
took 1t, only saw Mrs. Baker who said she
would see him about it. Carried the re
DIV back and Coyner then wrote another |