Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1895-12-25

True said he had found an umbrella
that was on Tuesday morning after the
murder. He and had remained at the
| house, Monday night, and had gone. to
the barn to feed up. He went on the hav
NOW to pitch of some bay and found the
umbrella. l think we carried it to the
honse. believe Mr Frost took it; posi-
| bly, it was MIR. Mcdowell; but think it
Was Mr.. Frost. Don't think it was ever
| returned to me- Certainly it isn't in nv
possession now.
l left Monmouth Center, Saturday Of
| ternoon at about o'clcck. Mr.. True and
myself started out right away after din
ner. Mr.. True had in mind the buying
OF horse from Mr.. Getchell, who lived in
the west part of Monmouth. Should
think the distance to Mr. Getchells house
was about five miles. Should say we
| were there from half TO three quarters
OF an hour. On our return we called at
another place and looked at a horse
stopped perhaps 10 minutes. We reached
Monmouth Center, l should say, at about
3. 80 in the afternoon. Mr.. True went into
Dudley's store. We then drove to the post
office, where 1 got out. Mr. True put
the horse under shed. We remained
| there l should think for about an hour
waiting for the rain to hold up Then
Mr. True got his team and We drove
home
AT this point the court adjourned until
2 o'clock in the afternoon.
Afternoon.
The examination OF Mr.. Albert Sawyer
was continued.
He said that in searching the house,
Tuesday, he found some of the notes and
part of the small change. Resumed,
the second Wednesday, when they found
some change in the back kitchen. Some
said 1t was no use to search farther. His
brother wanted him to make mora thor
ough search, so on Friday the search was
resumed and continued through Satur
day, when, toward night, they found in
the shed back Of an old screen, the pack
age containing bonds, bank books and
papers. Found no revolver about the
premises. Counsel for defence declined
to cross examine
Ethan Little of Monmouth, was
called Lives about a third of mile from
| the Sawyer homestead.
On the day Sawyer was found, called
at the house, about noon. Knocked twice,
| then heard a horse whinny. 1t occurred
to him that Sawyer was sick Opened
barn and saw that the cattle hadn't been
cleaned out, which confirmed his sus-
picions. Then he looked in a window OF
house. Could see no one. Shouted and
got no reply. Thought Mr. Sawyer must
be sick or dead. Went to Rideout's and
got him. They started to break into the
house and found door unfastened Bed
clothing looked disarranged and the fur
ntturc seemed disturbed and things
looked as if there had been search
Then they looked through the barn and
motif finding him there, looked over the
house again. Then they went to dinner.
After dinner Rideout and witness went
to look over the scatfolds in the barn and
were Joined by others. Heard Judkins
say. Guess we've found him. And when
witness got to the place they We're just
taking the forkful of hay from off the
body, which was lying on its face.
Didn't move the body until the coroner
came The dead mans pockets were
searched and nothing was found in them.
Didn't notice any handkerchief about the
the premises on the previous Saturday
Looked for tracks the day the body was
found and could find none about the
premises Thought from appearance of
cate and tieup, that Monday, that the
cattle had been without food and water for
80 or 4S hours. Didn't remember of see
ing either of the Thompson brothers at
the inquest.
Cross examined - Ee and Rideout
searched the house together Didn't see
any muddy tracks on the floors. There
was so much dust on the floors upstairs
that if they had thought to look they
could have seen tracks had there been
any Here the witness was closely cross
questioned as TO the appearance of the bed
clothes. The clothes were off both beds
down stairs and piled Unfortunately
inn the middle of the floor. Sawyer APP
peared to have been rather careless about
the house, from what witness saw that
day The impression, however, be got at
the time was that some one had searched
the beds. He and the coroner noticed that
a false door which was nailed in the wall
had been pried partly over with chisei.
The coroner compared the scars on the
woodwork about the door and the chisel
and they thought 1t a little peculiar that
Mr. Sawyer, knowing the nature of the
door, should have ever tried to pry it
open. That Saturday afternoon, people
might have gone by his house and he not
see them.
Redirect-The barn doors were shut
and fastened. As Sawyer lay dead, one
of his hands was under him and across his
breast in the position he was in the habit
of carrying it when walking about. Some
of his blood was seen on the opposite side
Of the stall from where be lay. The fine
chaff under his head was saturated with
blood.
Re-cross-The blood spots on the stall
partition Were up breast high and were
dry. This partition WASH e the one nearest
his head He had evidently scratched in
| the cbaff about the body,
Ansel A. Judkins was called. Lives
near the Augustus Sawyer house. Stated
that Sawycrs house WASH in plain view
| from any other house on that road, Wit
ness told how he discovered the body He
called the others with him and he took IA
pitchf,rk to remove the mound of hay
| ,or xrh;ch hn Thought the body Law.