Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-08-03
THE TRIAL OF
ALI BEN DING.

..m h.. mouth and, after gaz-
f ...n.t It fHe ceiling for few min
II mlanliy
I. stne. yes. very strange. that
.r .be great trial OF Ali Ben
" appeared iu print for that
a.. ... na.t remarkable murder trial
owl. l..I n Now York county.
40 English ship arrived in New York
...H.. .Ir'7 u April iu the year 1898
Ii.. a.ra 9 think. was the Blue Pigeon
r .H. H1- frcIghtcd 90 the water line
600 bat mHuy passengers aboard, among
H.m All Hsn Ding. a native Of India.
Ts. fa.Il. took a small cottage on the
.I.a..t. .f Ibe city, think In the neigh
t..laaI Hf where Canal street is today.
u. Urrl ~ alone and was rarely seen
Id fl. streets except about dusk, when
ID HerI t8 walk down 90 the riverside
coo uafrh the sun setting in the west
tH"rH fhe Palisades. Not far from where
All uau Ding lived was the house Of
stephen Van Nliet the money lender,
aHa was rcputcd 90 have stored away
u 1. cellar aud garnet untold bags OF
s..rar anI gold. which he treasured be
rrI 800 things dear In life. not many
u.aIh. after the oriental came TO New
NHr. H. was seen walking on the Hud-
snua bans Zoo company with stephen
san NHrf. both talking together in deep
.frne-tur--. % did not take long for the
.|r fs circulate storic, TO the effect that
stephen had sold himself 20 the devil
Coz moro bags NJ gold. the Hiudoo con
irrtns thc bargain.
"a year passed 10y and summer came
.....U rrI still tho fstritug were
4I at sea as 90 the business ~ Ali Ben
Ding u .ye ancient town Of New York
The aus.ips. unable 90 lay their tongues
fo any substantial story concerning the
strange bIuck man from the far east, con
tented themselves with waggng their
heads aud uoddng significantly. If not
somewhat fparfully, whenever his name
was mentioned. Imagine their satisfac-
zion when one morning the body OF
stephen Van Nliet was found in mar
row ano near his house with a long
knife 1f remarkable workmanship plung-
ell in his heart. More than one had seen
that terrible and awe provoking knife
sticking iu the scarlet sash Of Ali Ben
Diur. so that not many hours passed be
fore the sheriff and his men went to the
uindoo'. little house, whence they con
veyed him 20 the town jail, where he was
confined in the strongest cell. which was
further strengthened with many new
locks and bolts.
The esquire justices OF the general
quarter sessions court, knowing the in
tense feeling against the oriental in the
town and consequently the rude crowd
that would ill the courtroom and greatly
rutile the judicial dignity of the bench
when the murderer was brought to trial,
decided 20 wait until late some after
noon, when everybody was at supper, and
then bring the prisoner into court and
deal out summary justice to him. Con-
sequently one hot evening in August Ali
Ben Ding was taken from his cell and
brought in a roundabout way and with
great secrecy TO the little city hall, where
the general quarter sessions court dis
pensed the criminal business Of the
| county.
The prisoner, securely handcuffed to
the sheriff, was brought into the almost
deserted courtroom and arraigned before
the six solemn bewigged and somber
gowned esquire justices. The attorney
general, his one assistant, the clerk of the
court, the sheriff, his two deputies and
my ancestor, John Noble, completed the
court complement.
"Thc attorney general in few words
stated the prosecutions case, and, after
exhibiting the knife which the sheriff
| sworc he had found in Stephen Van
| Vliets heart. rested his case. The court,
/ through the presiding justice, asked the
prisoner il he wished to be defended by
counsel.
The prisoner. Ali Ben Ding, who had
stood in the dock with bowed head dur
ing the brief grafton of the attorney gen.
! eral fixed his piercing black eyes upon
| the six solemn judges, then, raising his
hands above his head, began to humble
in a voice like a faraway echo from the
tomb. Suddenly the entire room was
| filed with impenetrable darkness and
every one stood transfxed as if turned
to stone. terror sitting their very heart
beats. Hardly a second passed when the
blank, whitewashed wall at the farther
end Of the courtroom stood out in glisten-
ing white in the blackness. Every eye
was fixed on the wall, which in a second
was covered with a perfect picture of
nature, in all the living cOlors. The pic
ture showed the little lane leading to
Stephen Van Vliet's cottage. The chang
ing hues of evening were livid above the
| gently waving tree tops that shaded the
lane. A rabbit crawled out of its hole
and scampered away in the bushes. Then
Van Vliet and Ali Ben Ding could be
seen coming out of a little grove and
walking slowly along the lane toward
Van Vliet's house. They were walking
slowly and apparently conversing in low
tones, when all of a sudden two rough
looking men jumped out from behind a
cluster of high bushes, One Of the men
jumped behind Ali Ben Ding and pin
Toned his arms to his side while the other
tore the knife out OF his sash and in q
twinkling caught Stephen Van Vliet by
the neck, threw him to the ground on his
back and plunged the long knife in his
heart. Then the two men stopped, as II
hearing footsteps, and after waiting a
few seconds disappeared among the trees
Here the picture faded, and the darkness
that shrouded the courtroom was brush
ed away as IL by an invisible hand. Ali
Ben Ding was still standing with bent
head. simultaneously the six justices
made a significant sign to the sheriff
who went to the dock and opened the lit
tie gate TO allow the prisoner to walk out
Not one of the little assembage in the
courtroom stirred or so much as moved
a lip while Ali Ben Ding slowly and with
bowed head made his way out of the
room. New York Sun.