Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-12
MURDER TRIAL AT TEkAMAH
Jury is Secured and Testimony in the Ysger
Case is Taken.
DEFENDANTS ATTORNEY STATES HIS CASE
Claims that Ncgcr Had No Thought
of killing EERIeton when He Hit
Him ON the Head with
SinEletrce.

TEKAMAH, Neb., Oct. Ii (SpecialO-A
Jury was secured this morning In the Eggle-
ton murder case. Attorney Argo in his open
ing address to the jury outlined the defense
The defendant Oscar Yeger. he said, was
born in Sweden and came to this country
when Is years OF age. A few years after
coming to America he went to Decatur,
whore he had a sister living. Here he at
tended the public school and secured fair
common school education. He remained in
that vicinity and by industry earned and
saved some money He was married to an
English girl, going to her home in England
and marrying her. With his savings he pur-
chased ninety acres Of land near Decatur
and on this was residing with his family
at the time the tragedy occurred.
Yeger and the victim, Eggleton, had had
some trouble over road which ran from
Yeger's place by Eggleton's. direct to De-
catur. The road was not regularly laid
out road, but had been travelled by the people
OF that neigh borhcod for more than thirty
years. Eggleton had shut up the road at
different times, but it had been opened UP
by neighbors and shortly before the killing
CT Eggleton the latter had again threatened
to close the road. This engendered some
feeling. A strip Of land lying between Egg
gleton and Yeger and which 1t is claimed
had at one time been conceded by Eggleton
to belong to Yeger, was being used year
after year by Eggleton and Yeger, listening
to the advise of counsel, had determined not
to allow Eggleton to continue in peaceable
and unmo!ested possession of the same for
fear that he would later claim possession OF
ii.
On the morning of the occurrence Yeger
left home without any idea of trouble so his
counsel maintain, and did rot anticipate that
Eggleon was plowing on the land in con-
troversy. Coming to the land and seeing
Eggleton plowing he stopped his team. Know
ing, as counsel said, Eggleton's quarrel =
some disposition and fearing him, he took
from his wagon one of the singletrees and
went to where Eggleton was. He had no
idea of striking Eggleton, but took the
singletree along, thinking that with it he
could stand off Eggleton should he prove
quarrelsome. He told Eggeton to stop plow
ing. Eggleton stopped plowing, swcre at
Yeger and called him names, after which
he went to where Yeger was and told him
he would do him up and assaulted him with
his fists. Yeger raised the singletree with
no idea of striking a blow, but to ward off
threatened blow. The singletree being 9
heavier than anticipated, it swung around
and landed on Eggleton, knocking him down
Eggleton arose in moment and, returning
to his team, went to plowing, when Yeger
returned to his team, replaced his single
tree and, upon the suggestion Of his wife
who had then Joined him, went to a
justice of the peace and surrendered himself
and payed fine for hitting man. with
out thought of having seriously injured
Eggleton. The killing, so the counsel main
tanned, would be shown to have been purely
accidental and in self-defense.
The defendants wife and three small
children are present with him in the court
room. one, a little girl, sitting in his lar
through all the proceedings. During tn,
presentation of the case by counsel for the
defense the defendant was in tears and
seemed much affected as the occurrence was
again pictured to him.