Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-02-20


ness.
You know, of course, that Miss Moore
is dead, | carelessly replied.
''How-how should | know it, he ex-
claimed, turning very white.
well, she is dead poor thing.
''And do they charge me with il?
with what?'
Her murder >
II hadn't said she was murdered.
told you simply that she was dead. How
did you know she had been murdered?"
He saw the trap he had fallen into, and
he gasped, and stammered, and did his
best to smooth it over. | pretended not
to lay it up as a point against him, and
speedily arranged that he should return IN
my vehicle and leave the cooper rig
where it was. After the first shock he
braced up wonderfully, and his demeanor
on the way home was entirely that Of an
innocent man. He expressed great will
ingness to give all possible information,
but at the same time advanced and chung
to the theory that no one but tramp could
have been guilty of the crime. Upon
reaching home he displayed considerable
grief and emotion. In fact, he rather
Overdid it. The people were indignant
that he should be suspected, and he was
not put under restraint. Indeed, no war
rant had been issued for him.
Early the next morning, satisfied In my
own mind that Fergus was the murderer,
drove out to his aunt's. | found that he
arrived there at o'clock Saturday night.
Half an hour later he complained of head
ache and went to bed, saying he would be
down again by o'clock As he did not
keep his promise tie hired girl knocked on
his door at that hour but receiving no re-
ply was told not to disturb him. He was
not seen by the inmates of the house until
z clock Sunday morning. The girl was
up at ), and as she crossed the yard she
saw that his windaw was up, and some of
his clothing was hanging In the sun. At
the barn | found the coOpers buggy wash
ed clean. Fergus had done this Sunday
forenoon. He had not made a good job
on the horse, however, and | found plenty
of mud ON his feltlocks. As it was dusty
Saturday night when he was driven over,
this mud must have been picked up after
the storm found the harness stiff and
damp from being wet, and the cloth cush
ion of the buggy was still damp. Hunting
further, found the fresh tracks of horse
and buggy turning into the barnyard after
the rain The window of the room occu-
shed. At the lower edge of the roof stood
the roof | found mud On the carpet in
Fergus's room found more of it. He had
scraped and cleaned his boots and flung
the dirt In a stove, whence | got half a
pound.
All this l got without the aunt suspect
ing that | was after proofs | then return
ed to the scene of the murder. and after an
hours search discovered a place where a
horse had been hitched for some time. 1t
was in the rear Of the house, on an open
space, and under tree, and the horse had
paved on the ground and knawed the
bark of the tree. The footprints of man
could be family traced across the garden,
and | had no doubt that Fergus came and
went this way. On the fourth day after
the funeral | learned from the insurance
man what he had seen during the storm,
and then a warrant was issued and Fergus
was taken into custody. By this time the
tOwnspeOple had begun to think it a queer
case. Fergus had gone over the house and
declared that nothing had been taken. No
suspicious characters had been noticed in
the neighborhood. Jewelry and money
had been left lying on the bureau, showing
that the object could not have been plum
der. Did the woman have an enemy =?
No, not one, as far as we could learn. Who
could profit by her death? No one but
| Fergus. and yet this was one of the strong
points he brought forward. 1t was known
to a score of people that she had made her
will In his favor. Would not everything
be his at her death?
To clinch our case and make circum-
stantial evidence good we must show a
motive This seemed hopeless, but went
at the task, hoping evidence might help
me if Fergus was guilty | examined his
personal effects over and over again in
search of a hint but for two weeks after
he had been sent to jail discovered moth
ing. Then / got the clew where | ought
to have secured it before. In drawer in
his desk | found several advertisements
plainly in the interest of swindlers. One
of them read:
GA steady young man with $4,000 cash
capital can double it In one year in legiti-
mate enterprise. For particulars address
| Box 891, - etc.
Another read:
eff you have nerve and $1,000 In cash
we will make you millionaire in one year.
We permit the fullest investigation before
investment Write for particulars
A third just hit his case:
Are you young and ambitious man.
feeling that you could go ahead Improperly
backed and encouraged? Have you any
money? Can you get from 81 900 to So
900? If so, we will positively guarantee
you 800 in return for every dollar, and in
side of one year. T"
felt sure he had written some of these
parties, but as l could not find any letters
from them set out to hunt them up in
person. They were bold-faced swindlers,
and they bothered me some, but in the
end | got FIVE letters written by Fergus.
In one of them he stated that he would
soon have money to invest, and expressed
his satisfaction at the particulars of the
speculation as far as given him. The greed
of grain. then. was his incentive. The
woman, who had been mother and sister
to him, came of long lived race, and was
In good health, and month before, her
death was told by doctor In the hearing
of Fergus that she was likely to live to be
80 or 100 years old. Until her death the
young man could hope for little or moth
ing, as she was obliged to make the in
terest of her capital support her.
Murder or not, the boy was the legal
heir, and he employed the best legal talent
in the west to defend him. The lawyers
might take every dollar if they could but
clear him. 1t was a veritable fight for life
with all the money and most of the talent
on one side, but that web of circumstantial
evidence kept drawing closer and closer
and it could neither be broken nor ex-
planned away. Had Fergus been innocent
frank reply to each question would have
explained it. Being guilty, by evasions
only made matters worse. The jury was
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