Saint Mary's beacon., 1895-07-25


mind, someone will be in his shoes
before long. Miss Burch also said
she had heard Mrs. Ferrall say Hal
was q "niee little young fellow"
A severe blizzard interrupted che
inquest, and it was not resumed till
February 25. Mr.. J. E. Joy said
Mr.. Ferrall hsd asked his wife il
there was strychnine in the dose oi
qrinine and she had denied that
there was. Mr.. Joy said he saw
Mrs. Ferrall put both arms on
Halls shoulders when he came home
and had also seen Hall kiss Mrs.
Ferrall several times. Halls rail-
road friends said he had read them
loving letters, which he claimed
were from Mrs. Ferrall. Matilda
Wade, q colored servant, said Mrs.
Ferrsll had expressed an opinion
her husband would not live long.
Others testified as damagingly to
Mrs. Ferrall. Her counsel were
present and asked to be allowed to
cross-examine, but were not given
that privilege. On March 1 the
Coroner's jury found the following
verdict:
"We, the jury, find that the de.
ceased, Frederick Ferrall, came to
his death from strychnine poison
administered by the hands Of his
wife, Belle Ferrall."
Papers were issued for the arrest
Of Mrs. Ferrall, but she had disap-
peared, The Sheriff could not find
her. A hunt Of four months fol-
lowed. She was located in Wash
ington and Philadelphia, but before
she could be arrested she was gone.
Once in Philadelphia the Chief Of
Police called and handed her one Of
her own photographs. She exam
ined it with apparent interest and
when asked if 1t were hers coolly
replied it was not. She spent her
time in Washington, Philadelphia,
Wilmington and New York.
Saturday evening, June 81, the
loungers around Smoot's Hotel, in
La Plata, were astounded to see
Mrs. Ferrall get of the O'Clock
train and walk over to the Court
house in company with her counsel.
A deputy sheriff was sent for and
she surrendered herself to stand
trial on the charge of numbering
her husband. She came back to
face all the damaging testimony of
the Coroner's inquest and as much
more as the industrious counsel for
the State could pile up. 1t was
simply explained she had stayed
away to avoid the long confinement
that would have followed her arrest.
Bail could not have been allowed.
V.
On Trial for Murder.
The Ferrall murder trial will be
remembered as long as the oldest
inhabitant lives in the village Of La
Plata, pronounced Luh- Playful by
natives. This village has lately
come to be the county seat, and is
regarded as promising town. Res
idents claim population Of $50,
but visitors think 200 q generous
estimate. Tall trees are scattered
over the town and in the midst of
them is built the town hall, La
Plata's glory and pride. 1t has
beea great centre of interest dur
ing the trial and it's large upper
room. with stage and wings, has
held large audiences.
There is another building in La
Plata that deserves mention. It ia,
Smoot's three-story hotel, where
judges, jury and everybody else
stops, who is detained by fortunate
chance in La Plata over night.
Wayfarers never forget Room No.
5 in Smoot's Hotel, in which new
men are generally put. Smoot, the
proprietor, is q quiet citizen, well
along in years, who attends mostly
to business, alternating between
running the hotel and tending bar.
Smoot, Jr., 10 more frolicsome. He
is one of the liveliest young men Of
the town. He wears q jockey cap,
10 messenger to the court and q
customer Of his fathers. There ID
another Smoot who rides q tall
wheeled bicycle adown the country
roads centering in the village in the
cool of the summer evenings.
Another person deserving brief
mention is the colored barber, who
shaves all comers within an inch OF
their lives. and devotes the proceeds