The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1894-01-25

blown off, and rushing hurriedly from
the closet he went to the side door of the
house. The curtain of the window in
Mrs. Meyers chamber does not reach the
lower sash by about three inches and the
curtain of the window in the kitchen,
nearly directly beneath the chamber
window, was rolled nearly to the top.
There were lights in both the chambers
OF Mrs. Meyer and the kitchen, and in
this kitchen Mrs. Prawda was busily en-
gagged in her domestic duties at the time
house and reached the door leading into
the shed he found his wife, who had left
her work in the kitchen, hearing the
noise, and had come to this same shed
door. He asked her what was the
matter inside and she asked him what
was the matter outside. He next says he
heard sound from upstairs, and believ-
ing it to be Mrs. Meyer he went through
the dining room into the hallway, lamp
in hand, and proceeded up stairs, he had
only gone two or three steps when the
light went out, and he called to his wife
to bring another lamp; this she did. and
on reaching the head of the stairs, that
light also went out, whereupon he sent
his wife for matches, forgetting in his
excitement the fact that he had matches
upon his person. The third attempt to
enter Mrs. Meyers apartments with
lamp proved successful and both he and
his wife entered the kitchen of Mrs. Myer
about the same time. when his wife ran
by him and on the threshold of the door
opening from the kitchen into the cham
Der occupied by the old lady, discovered
her leaning against the PARTITION. She
went to her assistance and was told by
her mother that the lamp had exploded
right i'll her face. A momentary dis
cussion ensued as to what course should
next be pursued, but finally the respoG-
dent proceeded to the house of A BRAN G.
Geroux, reliable citizen of Cumber-
land, who lives short distance this side
of Prawda's house, and on the opposite
side of the road, to send him for the
doctor. He told the mem ers of this
family that the old lady was shot or the
lamp had exploded, and before leaving
she had been shot right through the win
dow. He left Geroux Harvesting his
horse to go for the doctor, and returned
to his house. Nearly thirty minutes of
time go by between the moment when
he left Geroux's house and the time he
meets the next person who will testify.
What happened in that thirty minutes
no living man may ever know. 1t was
enough time, and more than enough to
go quite distance, (ne knew doctor
was there unless away
Hide His Gun,
SO as to get it away from the buildings
and return to the house. Men can go
long way and do many things when
impelled by the harrassing thoughts of
fear, detection and punishment.
Some minutes later John Welsh, the
driver of an express team which runs be-
tween Portland and Yarmouth, met and
l.
of Prawda's house. Welsh will state to
the jury that he saw Prawda in front of
the house just after passing the cross
road which runs from the middle road
to what is known as the Foreside road,
and on reaching the house and noticing
it's condition before he was directly in
front of it, was asked by Prawda if he
would not come into the house, Prawda
telling him that the old lady was shot or
a lamp had exploded. Welsh declined
to do this, and made certain inquiries of
Prawda, the answers to which inquiries
he ascertained were not correct before
leaving the premises. Welsh proceeded
on his way, walking his horses, as the
going was hard. and had nearly reached
the house of one John Carter, consider
| able distance from Prawda's house in
the direction of Yarmouth, when he was
passed by Prawda on horseback. On his
way to Carriers, Prawda had to pass over
brook half way between h is house and
Carter's, which has a muddy bottom
and is considerable of a stream. Directly
after this, Geroux and the doctor passed
Welshs team as they were driving to.
ward Prawda's house. Prawda was in
| formed by the Carriers and by Walsh that
| the DOCTORS team had gone by, and har-
Messing his horse into Carter's wagon,
returned to his home.
| The people of Yarmouth are somewhat
| divided in sentiment as to time, part of
| them running on local time and part by
! standard Time. but we are able, through
! the testimony of the inhabitants of the
Geroux house, to conclusively show the
| Jury that it was five minutes of eight
| local time, or twenty-five minutes Of
eight, standard time, when Prawda
reached Geroux's house and that it was
ten minutes of nine, local time, or half
| past eight standard time, when after
| securing the physician, Mr.. Geroux re-
turned to his own home. In a southerly
direction from Prawda' S house is situated
| the house of a man named Almon II.
| Strout, who was at home on the night of
| the 2Sth OF November, and in a room OF
| his house adjacent to the Prawda dwell
| ing. He aud two members of his family
heard the report of gun distinctly, in
the neighborhood of o'clock, local time.
and, owing to the fact that his clock was
| fast, half past seven, standard time.
DR.. Howard G. Hanson of Yarmouth, was
| the first physician to reach the house
and found from hurried examination
| that he had a dangerous case on his
hands and at once sent for another
| physician to administer ether. This
| physician, DR.. Burbank Of Yarmouth,
appeared later, and together they made
| an examination and dressed and
| bandaged the wound. 1t appeared upon
| examination that the bullet had entered
the chamber window at a point just
| above the lower sash, striking Mrs.
Meyer in the left angle of her mouth,
| passing through the left cheek, thence
through the right jaw which was badly
shattered and broken and leaving her
person at a point on the right cheek
three-fourths of an inch above tne point
of entrance on the left side Of the face.
I The muscles and tissues of the mouth
were badly torn, and portion of the
tongue was gone The bullet then
passed through two spruce boards with
an air space Of four inches between them,
these boards being each seven-eighths Of
an inch in thickness. and thence it pene
trated to a distance of nearly a quarter
of an inch another wooden PARTITION, and
| then bounded on the floor. 1t was found