Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1892-01-01
The Murder Case.

GeLeI .. DQEGu, lDt lidA AO " d5
derei in Griesbach q Shoup's boiler house,
on the Welsh farm, just below Petersville
on Wednesday morning of last week, by
being struck upon the head, was native
of Oakland twp, a son of Michael Dugan,
decd, and grandson of old Matthew Du-
gan, and his body was buried in North
Oakland Cemetery on Christmas day. He
was % years of age and unmarried.
James f. Mills, the man held for the
crime is a native of Orange county, n. 7.
and was in the employ of the. Christie
Bros. on same farm. He is about 80 years
OF age, lived in Millerstowny&rom 1876 to
1879; then went to idaho, where he has
brother living, and since his return, year
or so ago, has been working about the 100
foot field. His brother Frank lives in
Millerstown and was here last week seeing
what could be done in the case, and has
employed Messrs Forquer, McQuistion,
Thompson and McCandless to defend
James. Judge Fullerton of New York is
an uncle of the Mills boys and has been
communicated with. The other members
of the family are scattered all over the
country; the mother, widow, living at
Bloomfield. N. Y.
On Tuesday afternoon of last week the
two men hired a rig at Petetsyille and
drove to Renfrew, where they were seen
drinking together; they left there at 4
o'clock, but returned aud attended dance
in the Hall, aud did not again leave the
place till towards morning.
On their way back to the Welsh farm,
they seem to have quarreled, whether about
a woman as we have heard limited, or as to
who was the better man, which seems to
have been matter of standing dispute be-
tween them. Is not known, and they were
probably out of their buggy as their clothes
were covered with mud when they return
ed. They put up their rig and then went
to a boiler house on the Christie lease, and
were there about o'clock; Dugan tested
the water and in doing so awakened Hugh
Blair, who had charge of that boiler house,
and Blair says they stopped and talked
with him awhile, both seeming to be in
good humor and neither very drunk. The
two men left together and Blair went to
sleep again; but Mills returned soon after
aud complained to Blair that Dugan had
followed him to his boiler house and was
afraid to go to bed for fear he( Mills) would
kill him. Mills sat and talked to Blair for
some time complaining of Dugan and oc-
casionally tapping the floor with hammer
he had in his hand, and, according to
Blair, finally started up saying, Say,
Hugh, Pm going down and kill that son of
b" Blair had NO idea that Mills
meant what he said, and rolled over as
though to go asleep, and Mills talked
awhile longer and then left.
After leaving Biair's boiler house, Du-
gan went to his own Cor he may have first
followed Mills as Mills told Blair), tried
the water guage and then laid dowD on a
mattress ON the floor between two neigh
Dor boys named Dilliman, whom he had
left in charge of the hQiler house; and
went TO sleep never To awake. The elder
of the two boys awakened when he came
in, and was soon after again awakened by
pounding; saw a man leaving the boiler
house, Jumped up and went TO the door,
and saw Mills as he passed the gas jet
Ieaving the premises and carrying hsnt-
mer. The boy closed the door aud again
laid down, but discovered that Dugan's
head was covered with blood, and ran
home and gave the alarm. This was be-
fore daylight of W ednesday morning.
The news of the murder spread rapidly
and Sheriff Brown was sent for, and he
went there, and found Mills quietly sleep
ing in boiler house on the Christie lease,
and arrested him. Mills expressed sur
prise at his arrest, and said he had parted
with Dugan at the edge OF the woods.
Dugan presented a terrible appeara nee
as he lay on the mattress. The hammer
had pierced his skull in two
places-one just back of his left eye and
the other over his left ear. HIS
face was covered with blood and his
clothes with mud. Esq. Ripper OF Evans
City was present and he, by direction OF
the Sheriff took charge of the body and
prepared it for burial.
Esq. Weis of Petersville, that afternoon
empaneled jury com posed of Gus tries
bach, J. H. Duford, J. c. McCandless, E.
Daubenspeck VIM. Eamberton and VIM.
McKenna, and examined several witnesses
and among them tire two Dilliman
boys, the elder of whom positively identi-
fled Mills as being the man who left the
boiler house with hammer in his hand
The jurors examined the body aud re-
ported that Dugan came to his death in
the boiler house of Griesbach & Co.'S we'll
No. 5 on the Ii. Welsh iarm, about Am.
or later Of Dec. %. 1891 and recommended
the arrest Of James +. Mills.
Thursday afternoon the County Detec-
tive made formal information against
Mills, charging him with the murder. be-
fore Esq McAboy and Mills was taken be-
fore the Justice and asked if he wanted
hearing, to which he replied that it was
no use, and he was then committed for
trial.