The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-06-02

him where David Berkey lived and what
color his house was painted. The wit
ness, who is only II years old. picked out
I James Roddy among crowd of prison
ers in the county Jail as one of the men.
Samuel Whitaker, mail carrier from
Sslix To Scalp Level, passed three men
on the road on the 25sh and again on the
2s.h of May. 1894. and identified them
as the Roddys and Jackson. Louis Wir-
ick and Israel Seese had also seen the
Roddys and Jackson near the Berkey
| homestead. on May 2sth.
Jacob wingard said James Roddy had
| got crock of milk at his place, on the
road leading from Scalp Level to Ber-
keys, about o'ciock ON the evening of
June ID Miss Lizzie Harshberger. Mat
tie Stoutenour, Ananias Orris, Gillian
Seese, Sarah Statler, Edward Wissinger,
Lilly Riddle, Louis Shafer, Mary Small.
Garrett Ream, Samuel Allison, John IL.
Shaffer and John Hays, in all 20 witness
es, testified to having seen the defend
ants on the road between Johnstown and
Berkey's on either the 2sth of May or 2d
of June, 1896. A majority of them were
positive in their identification of John,
who on account of his sandy hair. stocky
build and flushed complexion, was more
easily remembered. Mrs. Berkey posi-
lively identified James and her descrip-
ton of his companion Tailed exactly
with John.
Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Naugle and
A. 4 Ill Sol ~,
Roddy visiting their house on Decoration
Day, 1896, for the purpose of borrowing a
revolver and some cartridges, and of an
other visit on the Sd of June, when he
destroyed Confederate or counterfeit
$40 bill in their presence, saying that it
might lead TO his arrest.
John Rummel. a new witness. testified
that he had seen two men on the road
travelling towards Berkey's on the night
of the robbery. lie described their ap-
pearance in the same manner as former
witnesses. Andrew ID. Shaffer, who
lives about two miles from Berkey's gave
similar evidence. ID. S. Custer pointed
out James Roddy as one of the two men
he passed near Scalp Level on May 9th
or 18Th. s. +. Shaffer was sure he met
James Roddy travelling towards Ber-
keys on the night of June 2d.
Mrs. Jane Lohr, of Jenner township,
who has known the Roddy boys since
they were children, said that she had
seen John Roddy on the 18th or 18Th of
June, when he told her that the horses
had been fed before the robbery at Ber-
keys. Their was no deviation in her
testimony from that given at the former
trial.
William ]. Horner testified that two
horses had been stolen from his barn ON
the night of June ., lSN; he tracked
them so David Berkey's where they had
been tied and fed on the road; recovered
his horses the following evening near
Scalp Level. Witness also told of the
loss of "A lot of leather straps from his fly
nets on the night of June 81, and identi-
fed the straps found in the Berkey home
as the same.
Nine other witnesses were examined on
uniinportant matters, including officers
who made the arrests.
The dying declaration OF the murdered
man was admitted in evidence and read
to the jury, and drait of the road lead
ing from Geistown to Berkey's and from
Scalp Level 10 Osborne cut, and draw
ings and photographs of the Berkey
home were admitted in evidence. At
$3.50 o'clock Friday afternoon the Com
monwealth rested.