The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-09-08
HELD COURT UNDER A TREE.
A Primitive Method OF Administering JUS
tice In Rural Missouri.


A Primitive Method of Administering j us.
tice In Rural Missouri.
For its unique features and original legal
methods, George Miller's trial is probably
without an equal in the court history Of
Missouri. 1t seems that Miller, who is q
young man of good character, had been EN-.
plcyed in Main street restaurant until
illness compelled him to abandon his posi-
ton, though he was almost penniless. In
his dilemma he found friend in the per
son Of Edward j. Froisey, who offered tc
support him until his recovery if he would
take care of Froisey's little farm, on the
south side of the Blue river, near Troost
avenue.
This proposition Miller gratefully &C.
cepted and the next day was installed in
the Froisey household, where also lived
Froisey's aged mother.
All went we'll with Miller until one Sat
urday morning, when, as he stepped from
the back door, he observed an individual
unknown to him, just leaving the hen
house with a fat pullet under each arm.
He had been particularly cautioned by Mr..
Froisey to keep lookout for chicken
thieves, and he thought this an opportu-
my w blopAtll NdlOl anu earn pa
irons everlasting gratitude.
Hold on, there, young feller' he shout
ed. "Where you goin with them chickens"
The stranger looked tough as he replied,
Say, is dat any of your funeral?"
IF you don't drop them chickens, I'll
blow the roof of your head OFF, yelled
Miller, making a dash for the kitchen,
where a loaded revolver was lying.
But when he reappeared the stranger was
making rapid tracks for the gate, and he
did not fire on him. Half an hour later he
was considerably astonished when a con-
stable hove in sight and arrested him on a
charge of assault with intent to kill. Hav-
ing no choice in the matter, he went with
the constable.
Now the thinly settled and purely agri-
cultural region lying south of the Blue
boasts the presence of a duly elected justice
of the peace, IA well to do farmer, by name
D. p. Antony, and as legal proceedings in
ledge" Antony's court are by no means as
plentiful as the bullfrogs in his meadow
that official prepared to make the most of
the case.
He had no courtroom handy, but the
spreading branches of giant apple tree in
the orchard near by served the purpose adj
mirably, and here the court was established,
with the soft side of log for bench and
seats enough on the grass for the thousands
of spectators who might or might not
choose to attend.
Bring in the prisonerl' Numbered the
judge. And straightway the constable up
peared, dragging his victim unwillingly to
a seat at the other end of the log. Thecom-
plant was read in the constable's most
doleful tone, and the judge stroked his
whiskers and meditated. "Ahan quoth he;
this, / see, is serious case. We must
have jury" 1t was the prisoner's prerog-
alive to ask for jury if he wanted it, but
that made no difference. The constable
sailed forth and speedily returned with
"siX good men and true'-five farmers and
a workhouse guard, recruited from road
near by, where gang of county prisoners
were at work The six solemnly ranged
themselves in semicircle on the grass be-
fore the judge, and the trial ~ began.
Miller briefly told his story, and then the
stranger, whom he believed guilty of steal
ing Froisey's chickens, appeared on the
scene and told his story. He claimed that
he owned the chickens, they having wan
dered into Froisey's yard, and he was sim
ply recovering his property. That ended
the trial, and the jury thereupon filed into
the jury room-the cleared space beneath
an adjoining apple tree-where they were
speedily Joined by the judge and constable,
and together they arranged the verdict.
When they returned to the courtroom, Mil
Ter was informed that he had been convict
ed of threatening to kill" and that he had
been fined sos and costs, amounting in all
to $3.50. He could not pay, and so Judge
Antony tore leaf'out of notebook loaned
him by one of the jurors and made out his
commitment, ordering Marshal Stewart to
confine Miller in the county Jail until the
fine and costs were paid.
And then court was adjourned, the farm
ers returning to their wheatfields, the guard
to his prisoners, and Miller was taken away
by the constable, and within an hour the
doors of the county Jail opened to receive
him.-Kansas City journal.