The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-06-16
THAT DEERIyG WE'LL.
MIR. Mills Has Mrs. Sawyer Before
Judge Elder.

Well.
At the municipal court in Deering
yesterday, the case came up for trial of
Charles S. Mills of Lunt's Corner,
against Mrs. Aurelia Sawyer of the same
place. The dispute was over a well.
Judge Elder presided. Mr.. Geo. Libby
appeared for the complainant, and Mr..
George G. Hopkins for the respondent.
Mr.. Chas. S. Mills, was the first wit
ness for the complaint, and in response to
Mr.. Libby's questions, testified he lived
On the John Motley place at Lunt's Cor
ner, in the same house with his father,
who had bought the place about the
first of last May. Mrs. Sawyer, the de-
PENDANT, lives in the next house. Shortly
after they had moved in, Chas. Sawyer,
Mrs. Sawyer's son, asked him how he
liked the place. He replied that there
was one trouble with it, and that was
the well, which was covered simply
with large rock with hole in it, and
he was afraid that the children would
fall in. Therefore, he intended to
put curb around it. Don't you do
it," said Sawyer. II own that well.' 1t
was on the evening of June 1, soon after
supper, that Mills and his father were at
work placing the curb around the well,
Mrs. Sawyer having pushed it off several
days before, when somebody said: "Get
away from there. Then the blows. from
an ak in the hands of Mrs. Sawyer came
instantly right and left, and one of them
struck his hand, causing swelling
about as large as cent. His fathers
head was bent, and he thought it was
going to get hit. He said nothing, he
was so surprised, but simply got out of
the way. He didn't know whether the
blow on his hand was intentional, but
felt sure that he would have been struck
again if he hadn' got out of the way
Mrs. Sawyer had taken the curb away
because she claimed to own the well.
The curb was not very high. It had
been made to support windlass, so that
his wife could draw the water as she is a
very small woman.
John Mills was then called to the
stand and corroborated his sons state
ments, saying that the blows came
quick and spiteful.''
Mr.. Hopkins then stated the case for
the defense, claiming that Mrs. Sawyer
owned the well and claimed the right to
knock the curb away. Mr.. Libby OBJ
inafoH n1oi t1,o4
case of'assault upon Charles S. Mills.
Mr.. Hopkins said that the defense was a
justification of her action on the claim of
title to the well.
Mr.. Libby took exceptions on the
ground that the court could not decide
upon questions of title. 1t had nothing
to do with any question of ownership as
between John Mills and Mrs. Sawyer.
but was a case of assault upon Charles
Mills.
John Mills continued his testimony
saying that he had put the curb there for
the safety of the children and for greater
convenience in draining the water and
that it was better for Mrs. SAWYER as
well as himself.
Clara E. Mills was then called to the
stand and testified that she was sitting
on the doorsteps while her husband.
Chas. Mills, and his father, were at work
on the curb; that she saw Mrs.
Sawyer coming from her house and saw
her lift the ak over the curb and over
John Mills's head. She was so afraid that
he would be struck that she screamed.
The judge asked if she saw Mrs. Sawyer
strike towards either of the men and she
replied in the affirmative, saying thata
blow was directed towards John Mills's
head, and that he lodged it or he would
have been struck. While delivering
their testimony the three members of
the Mills family displayed considerable
heat and are evidently exasperated with
Mrs. Sawyer's decidedly vigorous OBJ
jections to their placing curb around
the well.
Mrs. Sawyer then took the stand. She
is large and determined looking wo-
man, at least go years of age. She testi-
fed that she had lived at Lunt's Corner
for 45 years; that she had always used
water from the well; that her husband,
who died year ago last winter, had
maintained and owned the well, though
she admitted it was on the premises Of
the Mills place and nearer their house
than her line. She said that it wasn't
three days after the Millses came, that
there was trouble about the well. She
told them that the well was hers and she
didn't 'want no curb on it'' She said
they were afraid that the children would
fall in; that there was cover over the
hole in the stone; that the well was
about nine feet deep. When the curb
was first placed there she had
pushed it off. On the evening
of June first she saw from
her window that the Millses were at work
on the curb. She went out into the
barn and got out the old ak and started
with the intention not only of destroying
the curb but Of driving the men away.
She took the axe, she said, for self pro
lection. She admitted that the men had
never assaulted her, but said they lad
talked saucy to her, though she had not
talked saucy to them. She had been
told by another party that she had legal
right to destroy the curb if she wished
TO stave it to pieces, smash it into
kindling wood.' This was said with
some warmth. She added that she twas
excited no more than now, nor half so
MUCH" denied striking Charles Mills on
the hand OF hearing any scream from
Mrs. Mills, complained that the curb was
too high, about as high as flour barrel,
and that she couid not lift a mil of 1y,a+aT