Omaha daily bee., 1889-10-28
ACQUITIAl OF JEFF LONG,
A Jury DECLARES Him Innocent of
the Bascomb Murder.
APPLAUSE qoveR THE VERDICT.
History ofhthc Crime For Which Ho
Was prisu-fsurning of tho
Fairbary Creamery,-Ne-
-f5raska News.


which occupied the court all of last week,
was concluded to-day by a verdict of not
guilty. The applause which followed the
rendering OF the verdict was quickly sup
pressed by the Judge. .,
The Long case has attracted conside rable
attention and comment here and elsewhere
from the fact that IL has been conducted
with much bitterness and apparent animosity
on the part OF the prosecution, ana carried,
many think, beyond bounds After it be-
came apparent thata convection was improb-
able to say tho least the defense, at every
regular and adjourned torn of court since
Long was first indicted, three years and
seven months ago. have been ready for and
have demanded trial. Long has been refused
bail even as late as January last, when
the jury stood IL to for acquittal, aud has
been confined in Jail since March 30, 1886,
most of the time in the old log Jail with its
two rooms, both damp and filthy. The costs
of the case>already run well up into the thou
SANDS.
On the morning of April Q, 1885, 1t was dis
covered that the dwelling house of Richard
Bascomb, four miles northeast OF North
Platte, had burned down during the night,
and the remains of Bascomb and his wife
were found IN the ruins. The excitement
was intense, and local detectives, aided by
the G. A. X. society, of which Bascomb was
member, set to work to discover the perpe-
traitors of the horrible deed. 1t casting about
for motive it was ascersained that one Eu-
gene Meyers, a near neighbor, had contested
a government claim in possession of Bas-
comb and that there was bad blood between
them, and it was the general opinion that, ii
the oeed was done by parties in this neigh
borhood, Meyers was the guilty party. This
Meyers had younger brother, Ernest, who
was working for Long at the time of the
murder. Late in the fall following tine mur-
der Ernest disappeared and has never been
heard from since. In the spring
of 1886. when the trail behind Eugene
Meyers became rather warm, he began to
talk, and finally came out and said that
Ernest had told him that at the instigation
of Long and for certain sum of money, he
(ErnesD had killed the old couple ard set
fire TO the house. Upon which, March 80,
Long was arrested and on April =. two in
dictments were trought> against him by the
grand jury, then in session. and charging
one Ernest Meyers to kill and murder the
said Emily Bascomb," and the other with
"kiling and numbering said Richard Bas-
comb" 'Ai
In the absence of a motion on Longs part,
Meyers was also afterwards indicted and
tried for the lninrder. Not being able to
find Ernest Meyers, it is supposed that he
was made way with and, there being no
evidence of a positive nature against him, he
was acquitted. y
found the following regular terms of the
district court Of E4incoln county have been
held, besides several adjourned terms, viz
March term, 1885; October term, 1856; May
term, 1887; November term. 1887; April
term, 1888; October term, 1883, and May
term, 1880 AT the October term, 1885,
n trial was had and Long was convicted
But the case, beitfg taken before the supreme
court, it was reversed because of errors on
the part of the prosecution and court. Since
| that term the case has been carried over,
| through term after term against the re-
peated protests and demands of the defend
ant and his counsel. At the April, 1855. term
two other indictments were presented
against Long similar in terms, except that in
the one Richard was substituted for Emily
and in the other Emily was substituted for
Richard, evidently to evade the law, which
demands trial within certain time. At
the next term of court three of the indict-
ments were dismissed, at the request of the
prosecution, but no trial was had AT an
| adjourned term of that court. however, held
December 26, 1883, second trial was finally
given the defendant. and the case given to
the jury January 3. 1889.
After the jury had been out several days
his honor, Notwithstanding the fact that the
jury stood IL to for acquittal, and without
the consent of the defendant, discharged
| them and the ease went over to the May
term. That term of court commenced May
6 last and was in session until May 81 the
| only criminal business during that time
| being the trial of two persons for the larceny
| of a couple of saddles. Defendants counsel
| demanded trial, and finding the court dis
| posed to carry it over, filed motion and
| application for bail in consideration of the
fact that defendant had lain in Jail more
| than three years and had petitoned and de-
| manded trial at every regular and adjourned
| term of court since first lncarcerated, March
| 80 1886. Judge Hamer refused the
| application ana adjourned court until
| July 20 last. Court convened
| again July 80 last, and although a special
| venire of ninetysix men, gathered from all
| parts of the county, were here to serve as
| jurors, his honor, at the request Of the prose
| cution, and upon affidavit that they desired
| and expected to be able to procure the eyi,
| dence of one Iiedeman, now living IN Col
| orano, again adjourned court until October
| 81. This man Tiedeman, be it known, worked
for Long at the time of the murder, and wa:
| arrested as accessory on genera
| principles, but finally discharged, though
held in Jail as witness until after the first
| trial of Long. He is an ex-convict and q
| hard citizen, and it is not thought likely by
| anyone except his honor that he will show
| up at the trial