Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-11-03

last of the winter. and after that blac
, one was used. d.. :.
E. N. Trask. who has a store and res
} dence on Sewall street, at the south sid
: OF the private way, testified that his al
tentiOn was attracted to talk being mad
in the lane, a short time before March 2.
ard looking out, saw the defendant wit
his team and his coat off lying on tn
sled. Norton was walking along to tn
house and knight was doubling up hi
fist and shaking it in Norton's face. TN
horse started up and Knight ran after II
Had heard Knight say, previous to Marcl
%. that Norton was coward and h,
couldn't get at him, and he would l;cl
him If he got chance. Said he could licl
him If he was shut up in a room with
one hand tied behind him, and he woult
lick him if he had Il chance
On cross-exam.nutlon, witness testified
that he was on good terms with X night
but they had. had some words about a
| horse.ss
Mrs.4Norton, the wife of the plaintiff
testified as TO her husbands condition
after MS injury; also that she had fire.
quently heard, defendant make abusive
talk to her husband previous to March
%; heard him say he would like to GEL
hold of Mr.. Norton. Mr.. Norton ordered
him out of the passage way
George L. Trask testified that he
| worked in a blacksmith shop in the mas
| sage way, last winter and spring. Had
| seen defendant pass through there and
| 4leard him make talk to plaintiff. Had
heard him say: Hello John L., how are
you feeling, to-day! Come out here ard I
will do you up" Had heard him saw that
several times. Heard Norton at TWO on :
ferent times tell him to go off about his
business and forbid his coming there,
On cross-examlnation witness said peo-
pie came into the lane from both direc-
tons to the blacksmith shop, and to go
through the lane.
Mr.. Williamson opened for the defence
at 40, claiming that what the defendant
did he was justified in doing to protect
himself from an assault by the PLAINTIFF.
Judson G. Knight, the defendant, testi-
fled that his age was 40 and he weighed
40 or 115 pounds. Had lived In Augusta
six years and dealt in wood, hay and
| straw He had not been on good terms
with Norton for three years last spring
On the day in question he drove into the
passageway. and when he came by Nor
tons stable they commenced hollering
out. at least, Norton did. singing out ..Old
sinkspout. Norton was on the woodpile
then. l drove down to the watering
trough, unchecked my horse and Morton
commenced to call me 81 of a b-h.
AS he kept up his hollering said: What
Is gnawing you John l.. 2"
j checked up my horse and turned about
half way round and put my left foot to
the step to get onto my cart, and just as
! touched my foot to the step my eye
caught Norton. and he was within five
feet of me. with something in his right
hand that looked like knife blade, and
he jumped for me and struck me, and as
Tended off he put the knife into my lit
tie finger and split off small piece of
bone and cut me some on the wrist, and
as soon as that was done he gave me a
blow on the right cheek. and l Tended off
the blow and struck him in the face.
should say about on the right eye with
the left hand. That was the first blow /
struck. Then he clinched me and | broke
his hold and punched him in the breast
with my left hand Then ! struck two
ri a hnp hlsNtt-s .N1 H.
ditch. Should say l struck him in the
face. ! had on a stiff hat. and that fell
down into the hole and l stepped down.
took my hat, got up and onto my team
and started off. | had no weapon during
tins time | never saw before this the
Norton after he was in the hole.
AT the time of the trouble which the
called me s--n of a b-h and said he
would like to mop the ground with me-
;, said: Get out of that and l will
following up and l threw my overcoat
into the bottom of the sled and stepped
out onto the walk and said: You have
made this talk a long time about three
years. about doing this job and perhaps
you might as well do it now as any time
He said he could lick me with one hand
tied behind him. y did not raise a hand
from my side.
On cross-examnation. witness denied
that he had been forbidden to cross by
the private road. but said he understood
that Norton did not want him cross there |
He had not felt friendly toward plaintiff, |
but he had not a feeling of bitter hos,
tiity toward him. He felt that plaintiff
had been trying to wrong him, and for
that rehson he wanted nothing to do with |
the man, ard he tried TO carry out that |
idea. Should say that on the day of the |
meeting between him and Norton the lat |
ter called him a s-n of b-h three times |
Did not ask him to come out He had
shown the cut on his finger to Judge An
drews and to the policeman. Shea. Had
no physician to dress it. The piece of
bone came out some five or six weeks |
after it was cut. Could not say it was a
knife that plaintiff had, but he held it in
his right hand and 1t looked like the
blade of one.
No word was exchanged from the time
Norton came out until the end. Could not
say what he did with what he had in his
hand. Did not offer to help him out of
the hole. l gave an account of the affair |
to the newspaper reporter afterward and
told it just as l have here. Told him
about the instrument that looked like
knife blade. Did not stop to look for the |
knife and did not afterward when l went
through there
L. d. Carver testified that on the Sun
day following the Esd of March. he went
to the hole where Norton was found and
examined it. Saw In the bottom of the
hole two hoops and various pieces of rub
DISH. saw nothing IKE whip in there. |
Sow Norton. Friday after he was hurt
Tuesday. and he then said that Knight
had something in his hand. like a club.
On crosS-examinatiOn. he testified that
short time before the trouble he had
advised Knight that he could avoid diff
Guilty with Norton by around by Sewall or
Capitol streets. Knight was complaining
that Norton was abusing him He said he
had never been forbidden from going
through there
Redirect: In that conversation Knight
claimed that Norton was calling him
names and abusing him, and witness ad-
vised him not to go through there. He
replied that everybody went through, and
if he went through and minded his own
business, he didn't know why he hadn't
a right to do so as much as anybody.
This conversation was about a week be-
fore the trouble At this point court ad-
journed until morning at 9.15.
State House Notes.