The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-12-14


''GENTIEMEN-I Amanda Olsen write this to
relieve me OF a public explanation, which l
know Will be called upon TO do, and viii not
have the nerve II is hereby understood that
have shot Frank Hail my betrayer, 1for this
reason: Two years ago last June, was intro
duced to him by Mrs Hart, Lady neighbor,
whom had known since was mere child.
After the introduction was invited out buggy
riding with her, and the said Mr.. Hall was the
driver. did not know that they had plotted
any harm against me. l trusted her as friend
and him as gentleman, and she can not say
That ltlrted with or gave him any cause to in
crease his thoughts TO me. or did dream of
anything butfrlendship. But nevertheless she
became Jealous and told me not to come over
any more, for she was afraid that Mr.. Hall
might fall in love with me. and from that day to
this, have never been near her door. But that
made no difference, he met me coming from my
work, begged me to let him have conversation
with me- and 1 refused time and time again,
put he gave me no peaC G l asked the advice
OF my parents and they said there was no harm
In speaking to him, and it was the old story. L
refused hum. He then asked my parents If he
could visit at our house and they thought that
he was an honest man and said he could. He
came to see me few times and acted the gen
tle>4lan in every way. But he soon carried out
evil purposes TO me and blighted my life. With
ms smooth tongue he gained my promise to
keep quiet and would marry me, but he was
AFRAID that would not and he left the city and
had been away for ten months. Saturday
seeked an explanation from him. but
ne was so hard and cruel to me,
and only laughed when I spoke to him, and
though il was in a public place we were con
versing, he even there dared TO assault me, so
Ihat L had to push him over the chairs TO get
away from h m, and he told nae then that he
never had any intention TO marry me- Then l
sWore my vengeance. That is all.
AMANDA OLSON.
That letter was written by this girl under
the most terrific distress that il is possible
Tor woman to suffer. Can you say that
you have a deep and abiding conscious
ness, and that you have no reasonable
DOUBT as to the condition of the mind of
that girl when she wrote it. All, Gentle
men, when woman who gives to mankind
NE, thinks OF taking life, she has reached
the point of extreme desperation, par
tlcularly under the circumstances as de-
tailed in this case.
She wrote that letter Shehad no thought
of meeting Hall that afternoon. There is
not word to indicate that she had She
had
NOT LAID ANY PLANS TO MEET HIM.
She did not know that he was working
down town then. On the contrary, he had
not yet begun work. He was to go that
night, but she did not know it. After she
wrote that letter, she sat taere in her
chamber with the revolver. and she began
swapping it. Finally it broke. She slipped
away from home and came down town
She went to the gun store and had it
mended. She started on her way home
Had she been suspecting at that time that
she would meet that man, she would have
had that gun in her hand, but the gun was
IN her pocket She had no thought of meet
ing MIN. She was simply wrapped up in
the thoughts of her own misery.
Up the hill she walked, and as she walked
up that hill she saw that man with the
woman who mad introduced her TO him
coming down the street, confidential and
loving, on their way to Brigham street; dis
GUESSING, as Mrs. Hart says, "a business
matter" They were so intent upon their
discussion, that Mrs. Hart did not see
Jenny Bennett as she passed by her up the
hill. They came down the sidewalk. The
hedge Is five or six feet high there, and it
I encloseS the lot facing from Z street and
upon First street on the northwest corner
As she passed up the hill and saw Hail and
Mrs, Hart coming, she felt that she ecu d
not endure to meet them, so she turned
back with the thought that she would go
around the block and to her home and thus
avoid meeting that to her was fraught
with so much pain. She walked down to
the tree on the corner, and she stopped
there. Way she did, she can not tell. She
! had no reason for stopping. Sac does not
know what impelled her. She tells you
/ tat story upon her oath. L submit that
she has
NO REASON TO DECEIVE vol
with regard to this testimony, because her
case would be just as strong if she were to
tell you (and the prosecution this morning
suggested that IL would have been
stronger) that she knew why she
stopped there, and that she stopped
there for the purpose of killing Hall.
But re tells you her story, and / believe
IL, as [ believe that ! am standing before
you now. l believe that there is so little in
this life to her that she does not care what
becom of her. TEey walked down there.
! and she intended TO pass around the block,
but sue stopped there by the tree, between
the tree and this hedge. The treeis a little
/ inside from the line OF the walk as it comes
/ down from g street passing south and
/ from the tree TO The north hedge that runs
along the lot on First street it is eight feet
| Indicating on map. From the trea east tC
the edge of the walk on Q street it is ten
feet, and from the tree to the Travelled part
of this walk on G street it is seven feet.
! There are about three feet of it that are
not Travelled, it being Travelled, according t.
the testimony, uearer TO the hedge toan ii
is to the edge of the walk. Now. from a
! line at the center of the tree to a poiu.
| where person passing along south and
walking on the inside of the walk would
naturally pass, it is four feet So, as
THAT GIRL STOOD THERE,
inside of that tree, Mrs. Hart, who was
upon the inside of the walk, passed within
/ four feet of her. l direct attention to this,
as 1 also direct attention to these other
measurements, and you will see the i'm
! portance of it as proceed.
The girl, then, was so near, standing as
she was right by that tree that with a little
effort she could have reached out and
touched d person passing south along the in
side of that walk. She is in that position
and Jenny Bennett passes on her way home
The girl must have gone up the street and
returned about as she testified, because
Jenny Bennett, when sac passed along ur
the walk, saw her standing on the NORTH
side of that tree. Jenny Bennett ha,
known her for years. They bad alway,
spoken when they met, and yet Miss Ben
nett spoke to her that night, and the cir
simply looked at her with wide open
vacant stare, and she testified herself ina
she did not know whether Miss Bennett
spoke or not, that she had no recollection
You remember that, gentlemen. Miss Ben
nett passes on, and about fifteen feet from
the corner of the hedge she meets Hall ant
Mrs. Hart. Mrs. Hart has no recollection
of meeting Miss Bennett at that time.
cali attention TO this for the purpose o
showing how engrossed the mind of Mrs
! dafI must nave Oeen ab JnaJ Tune, and TOl
the purpose of calling attention to the fac
that it would be impossible for her unde
such circumstances to remember and cor
rectly detail that which took place
Miss Bennett walked lltJle farther IN
the street, anu passed along twenty five o
thirty feet or more, when she heard tn
shot fired she looked around and saw Mis-.
Olson going down the street. it seem
from the testimony of the girl that she, Al
well as Mrs. Hart was attracted by Mis-
Olson's eyes. Now, If there was no trutl
in this matter, if there was not somethin,
peculiar in that girls eyes that night, VIII
did Mrs. Hart say that those eyes werl
''devilish!" They must have had