Mexico weekly ledger., 1895-12-19

demand. 1t was written in cipher and
attorney Ball tried to tangle him up
on the cipher, but he read it forward,
backward and from the middle.
Cole said he made a note of the con-
v%ersation when he heard it, because
he thought it was unusual between
two people who held the high position
in society that DR.. Hearne and Mrs.
Stillwell did, and he thought such a
conversation would surely lead to
something worse, so he preserved it.
He put it in CIPHER SO that if he should
lose, it nobody else would be able to
read it..
SIGNIFICANT WORDS QUOTED.
George E. Herring, a workman who
had been employed by the Standard
Oil Company at Hannibal for fifteen
years, was the next witness and his tes-
timony vas a blow to the defense. He
said that on the afternoon before the
murder he started to go into DIR.
Hearne's Office to get him to attend to
| his boy who was sick with measles,
| when the door vas opened by Mrs.
Stillwell, who paused On the doorstep
and said to DIR. Hearne, who stood just
inside: "Doctor, is everything all
right for to-night?"
"Yes, everything is fixed" replied
| DIR. Hearne.
Herring said that he had lived on
the corner between DIR. Hearne's
office and the Stillwen residence and
had often seer Mrs. Stillwell in the
DOCTORS Office.
j. F. Davidson, of Hannibal, who
has represented his district three
terms in the State legislature, was the
last witness of the day. The rear of
his home was separated by a fifteen
foot alley from the real of the Stillwell
home, and he knew them and DR..
| Hearne intimately. He had cen Mrs.
Stillwell go often by the back way
into DIR. Hearne's Office, which vas a
rod distant, up the alley. He was sat
isfied from their actions that DR..
| Hearne and Mrs. Stillwell were in
fatuated with each other-they acted
like moon struck lovers, always spoon
ing. Three years before the murder
witness was riding from st. Louis on
a train with DIR. Hearne, and the lat
ter referred pointedly to their init
macy. Mrs. Stillwell had visited his
house often, and always spoke with
~jocular and extravagant praise of DR..
Hearne. One Sunday Mr.. Stillwell
and his wife paid a visit to Mr.. David
sons farm, and a game of croquet was
proposed. Mr.. Stillwell said that he
could not play because he was too old.
"That is the misfortune of having an
old man for a husband" said Mrs.
Stillwell.
HEARNE LAID 1T TO 'iNIGGERS."
The night of the murder, Mr.. David
son declared, he went to the house,
and, after looking the scene over,
while the crowd of searchers was
standing in the back yard, he said to
them: sit is evident to me hat this
murder was never committed for the
sake of robbery" DR.. Hearne was in
the crowd, and he said: "Why, it is
plainly evident that it vas done by a
burglar. Some niger did it. The
niggers in this town are too smart.
Some of them will have to be hung"
Others in the crowd that night
said that they believed the murder
was not done by a burglar, but DIR.
Hearne persisted that 1t was.
LOST HER sELF-CoNTRoL.
BOWLING GREEN, Mo-, Dec. 10
John E. Stillwell to-day testified that
be was present at the Munger card
party on the night of the MUIR
der. He played cards at the table
with Stillwell and his wife. Mrs.
Stillwell was very morose and absent
minded, SO much SO that he was fear
full the company would take ~offense.
Upon arriving at the house of his
mother on the night of the murder,
DIR. Hearne was there. DIR. Hearne
exclaimed: "Hit him a good one,
didn't he?"
An important fact testified to by the
witness was that no blood was found
in the depression made by the head of
the deceased going to show that he
had been struck elsewhere and placed
there. During the examination of the
witness Mrs. Hearne lost her self
control and wept bitterly for a few
minutes.
MoRE DAMAGING TESTIMONY.
BOWLING GREEN, Mo-, Dec. lion
the afternoon of the 18th of December,
1889, DR.. Joseph G. Hearne and Mrs.
Fannie G. Stillwell were married in
Hannibal. The ceremony was per-
formed by the Rev. John Davis, Rec
tor of the Episcopal Church of that
city, in the parlors of the Stillwell
home, where, less than a year before,
Amos ]. Stillwell had been foully muir
dered in his bed. Interest in this
celebrated murder trial is growing
daily. The direct evidence of the
State is nearly all in.
HEARNE HARSH TO HIS WIFE.
DR.. Hearne's cruel treatment of his
wife since their marriage is talked
about a great deal here. An incident
at the Jail the other night shows how
completely she is in his control. The
people. here say that he has her |
Some woman friend of |
Mrs. Hearne's in Hannibal sent her a
basket of delicacies by one of the wit |
nesses who when he got in Bowling
Green gave the basket to the colored
porter of the hotel to take to the Jail.
The porter gave the basket to her and
she wrote a note of thanks which she
sealed and addressed to her friend and
gave to the porter to mail. AS he was
leaving the jail DR.. Hearne appeared
in the hall and cried: "Here, you
black scoundrel, what's that you've
got?" The porter told him it was a
letter from Mrs. Hearne. .Give it to
me, you damned niger. I'll write all
the notes that it is necessary for the
Hearne family to write" Mrs. Hearne
came to the head of the stairway and
protested and DIR. Hearne ordered