New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-09-11
AN ALIBI.

|
ately plan q crime works every point
and detail to one common center
an alibi. The law has common sense
enough in this one particular to pre-
sumo that a man who is in Boston,
for instance, when murder is COM
mitted in Cincinnati could not have
fired the shot or struck the blow.
Therefore, let one accused Of crime
prove to the jury that he was at
some other point at certain critical
hour, and he must be declared inno-
cent. This knowledge makes the
alibi a favorite defense. If not clear
ly proved, it always raises doubts
and affords opportunity for argu-
ment. On the other hand, however,
when an alibi is fairly beaten by the
prosecution, then circumstantiale evil
dence becomes the death trap of the
accused, and he has no show.
One of the best laid alibis I ever
ran up against in my career as a de-
tective, and one of the easiest to
work out after got the end of the
thread in hand, was put forward in
a case in Iowa about twenty years
ago. The situation was this: In a
small village in the western part of
the State lived Miss Clarinda
Moore, spinster about forty
five years of age. She was
worth fifty thousand dollars,
and she had adopted boy
named Byron Fergus. At the date
of which I am writing this boy was
no longer boy, but young man
of twenty-three. He was employed
as a clerk in a dry-goods house, and
boarded and lodged at home. He
was adopted at the age Of twelve,
and on the day he reached his ma
jority Miss Moore made a will leav-
ing him everything. This fact was
known to all in the village. Fergus
was model young man. No one
could point out single bad habit.
He was trusted and respected by all,
and had he been accused ofthe slight
est dishonesty no one would have
believed the charge.
In a smaller village six miles away
Fergus had an aunt who was a
widow and lived alone, with the ex-
ception of having the company of
servant girl. He was in the habit
of going over there about once in
two months and remaining over
Sunday. On these trips he drove a
horse and buggy belonging to the
village cooper. The horse h ad a
peculiar habit which will be described
later OH. One Saturday evening of
a July day Fergus drove away on
one of these trips. There were two
or three women at the gate in COM
pany with Miss Moore when he drove
away. The only thing out of the
usual run was the remark that
Byron looked rather pale and seemed
a bit nervous, but probably this
would never have been thought of
but for what came to pass.
At eleven O'Clock Tint night there
was q thunderstorm, and an insur-
ance agent who was ON the road be-
tween the two villages, with horse
and buggy, drove into a fence corner
and sheltered himself as well as posi-
BILE with the waterproofs. In the
midst OF the storm a horse and bug
gy came along. The dryer was SO.
enveloped by waterproots that the
agent could not tell whether he was
old or young, large or small, black
or white. At that spot the road had
been graded up and was very soft.
The stranger was urging the horse
to trot, but the beast found the mud
too deep, and could only proceed at
a walk. AS the strange horse came
/ oppogite there was a long. vivid
| flash of lightning, and the agent saw
that the animal had his head turned
to the right and his tongue out.
/ this was the peculiar habit of the
cooper's horse when on q walk.
When trotting he held up his head
1 and kept his tongue back. The agent
identified the horse to his perfect sat
isfaction, and called out to the driv-
er, asking who he was. Instead of
Ihalting or replying the man struck
the horse sharply with the whip and
was out of sight in moment.
That's old shepperd (the cooperJ,
and he's afraid lam a highwavman. 2
laughed the agent, and, the rain now
beginning to cease, he made ready to
resume hisjourney.
Miss Moore was an early riser, and
moreover never missed church ser.
vices. As the day was fine and she.
was not.seen at church, two or three
OF her friends called at the house on