Bridgeton pioneer., 1891-07-09
away the house was much ouieter.

and said that frequent complaints
have been made to him concerning
the house OF the woman. On the 9th
OF June lie went to the house to quell
riot On the night of the 9th of
June, bottles were thrown from the
windows of the defendants house, and
a crowd was tumbling down the streets.
| Women Of very bad repute frequent
the house. One he termed as ''Wren's g
Nest, and another he said was the
wife Of John Knox, the convicted
murderer. The officer said that the
house kept by Mrs. Tilden was known
as "Yellow He'll" the house being
painted yellow. @ f. aa
The State having rested, Mrs. Til
den went upon the stand to tell her
own story. How different 1t was.
Nothing at all like the tale told by the
states witnesses. What terrible mis-
take somebody had made. Her little
home was quiet and orderly, and she
takes great pride in having none but
peaceable and moral people there.
Upon cross examination Mrs. Tilden
remarked that number of drunken
men came to her house, but for what
she did not know. She said that the
family that lived in the other part OF
the house was responsible for the dis
turbances.
The end was reached right here, and
after summing up, the court took the
matter in its hands.
Ida Cummings known very familiar
ly as Ruby Lips" throughout Vine
land where she has been living. James
Ware represented the defendant. Mrs.
Cummings husband sat near by the
defendant. He is little curly headed
mulatto, while Ida is white, and the
pair contrast strongly in appearance.
Hannah Smith, "a big colored woman,
came on the stand, and said that in
May last, Ida Cummings visited the
house of the defendant and took from
her house a lot of silk dress goods,
some stockings and. some undercloth-
ing. The dress goods were brought
back afterwards. The other articles
were not brought back.
Incidentally it may be RENE u nbered
that Mrs. Smith is a talker. She could
out talk the Prosecutor, the Counsel
for defense and the Court. Her
tongue appeared to be hung in the
middle and running at both ends. The
Prosecutor gave it up after awhile and
Mr.. Ware tried to handle the lady,
but he could not with any degree of
satisfaction, and the lady was excused.
During the cross examination, Mrs.
Smith said that Ida's husband wanted
to take her away before Court. 1t
was also demonstrated that Ida had
| taken seventy-five cents in money,
and before her arrest the defendant
had returned fifty cents of the money.
Minnie Smith, a daughter of the
preceding witness, testified that at the
time of the robbery she was in Bridge
ton, and afterward she visited Ida
Cummings, and asked for the dress
goods, and the defendant promised to
return the goods that afternoon. She
failed to do SO, and the witness again
visited Ida. A dav or two later, Ida
came to the Smith house and gave the
witness the dress. Saturday night, Ida
Cummings paid the witness so cents
for her mother. telling her that it was
part of the things stolen.
An old colored lady, probably some
seventy-five years of age, answered to
the name of Mrs. Albine Smith. To
her Ida Cummings admitted that she
had taken the dress goods and prom.
ised to return them.
Hester Williams, colored, heard Mrs.
Cummings tell Hannah Smith that she
| would bring back the dress If nothing
was said about it. Mrs. Cummings
also said that stealing was habit she
h ad and could not help it. Hester ad-
mitted at an cross.examination that
she had been arrested for throwing
pepper in a woman's eyes"
The state rested, and Mr.. Ware out
lined the defense briefly, and Ida Cum
miugs went upon the stand in her own
defense.
She told her story we'll, and it can
be said that it was a lengthy tale Her
defense was that there was a large
sized chunk of feeling between the
Smith and Cummings families, and the
charge was trumped up one, and she
denied in every particular the story
told by the witnesses for the prosecu-
tion. She testified that Mrs. Smith
had told her that she was to get 50 for
parting the witness and her husband.
Upon cross-examination Ida admit
ted that she had pleaded guilty to