The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-10-30

| z The case of Leonard Stinchin, the
East Mankato man who so cruelty beat
\ his horse the other day, came before
| the municipal court Wednesday for
| trial, and several witnesses were on
hand to testify against Sbinchin, in
clu ding his wife.
Evan Hughes, attorney for Stinchin,
stated that his client would change
! his plea of not guilty to guilty, and re-
ceived permission to make state
ment. He said that Stinchen bought
the horse of some horse traders two
weeks before the beating occurred
| He was urged to buy the horse, and
offered a dollar, but the trader wanted
! him to "split the difference" on three
i dollars. Stinchin soon found that the
horse was unable to get up without as
sistance. The front part would get
up, but the hind part couldn't, and in
trying to get up the horse would strike
it's head against the manger until it
| became sore. On the day in question,
the horse was hitched to load of hay,
and in backing up it fell down and be-
came tangled in the harness and
turned around so that in trying to get
up it pounded its head on the whiffie
tree. Stinchin became excited and
pounded the horse more than he should
have done. He has since killed the
horse as matter of humanity, and
would not have bought it if he had
known it's condition.
At the request of County Attorney
Benedict, Mrs. Eta Burgess, of Eagle
Lake, was examined, in order that
the court might know the facts. Mrs
Burgess said that she was riding by
on her bicycle, when her attention
was attracted by hearing Stinchin
shouting at the horse. She went in
to the yard and saw him kicking the
animal in the mouth and pounding it.
She appealed to HIM in every pos
sible way to cease his cruelty, but he
paid no attention to her and took a
neckyOke and knocked one eye out of
the horse, as nearly as she could tell
The eye and blood spattered all over,
and the sight was terrible one. The
horse threw up it's head in agony. Mrs.
Stinchin came from a neighbours at
this time, but her husband chased her
and the witness away with the neck
yoke. The horse couldn't get up, for
the wagon tongue was across it's body.
Neither side desired to call any
more witnesses, but Mr.. Hughes
stated that he had examined the horse
and it's eye was not gone, but there
was bad wound over it.
Judge Shissler said that the Humane
Society was grand institution and
it ought to be supported by the bet
ter class of society. Stinchin had been
arrested for abusing dumb brute,
which was shown by defendants state
ment TO be weak animal and not fit
ted for work. Yet, the defendant had
put it in the harness, and because it
couldn't do the work that he wanted
it, he had abused it. The defendant
was high tempered man, and if he
was rich the court would have given
him the extreme penalty of the law,
but the court had pity on account of
his ignorance and temper, and his be-
ing a poor man. This was not the
first time that the defendant had been
before this court, on account of his
terrible temper. The only way to con-
troll that temper was to put the law
on him. The court hoped that the
defendant would learn lesson and do
better by the brute creation and the
human family as well. He would be
lenient, and imposed fine Of 500 and
costs, the total, being S2S.1 6, or sixty
days in jail in default of payment OF
the fine.
Stinchin went out to borrow the
money to settle with the court. His
wife, who is little woman with an
honest face and apparently afraid of
him when in his angry moods, went
home.
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