The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1904-02-12

FouS condition that her attorney adj
Vlsed her not 10 attempt it. Miss Pitch
er sat quietly through the hearing. oc-
cas1onally consulting With her attorE2ST
She wore an ugly brown veil whsea
effectually concealed her features. A.
launty brown hat, black coat and gray
dress, fur boa n muff completed hel
attire. Her right arm useless on &C
count OF her wound, hung Imply in her
zap and her face twitched with pain
Whenever she moved her body. That
she suffered intensely was apparent TO
everybody who watched her. Occasion
ally, especially when her lover was or
the stand, she became almost hySter-
zeal but her nerve held out to the end.
when she practically collapsed.
she is "a years old and moved from
Marion, Ind, her birthplace, to Hand
county in 1882. She has lived at Howell,
81. Lawrence II Miller all her life.
practically, and moved In the best So
clety up to within the past two months.
IN appearance she is prepossessing, with
dark grey eyes. an erect well-formed
Inquire and regular features. In repose her
lace would, were it not for her expressive
eyes. appear dull. When in conversation
her eyes flash, her smile Is winning and
possessing considerable personal magnet
ism she is undoubtedly an attractive wom-
an. At the trial her hollow cheeks and
eyes and haggard features. the result of
her suffering, made n profound impress
sion, But she occasionally laughed and,
1oked with her attorney and to some eX-
tent appeared rather amused at the no.
tor!ety, After Mrs. Sedan had related
the confession as told her by Miss Pitcher.
the prisoner was asked to tell The Tri-
bune the story of that fateful night. She
consented willingly.
What Mother Sedan has said Is true,
it's what | told her at the jail," she said.
ner ewes hltnP with .tpnrS 81 1nua ninlr
Romig and when he went away from Mil
Ter last fail We were engaged. He Is In
tensely jealous and upon his return to,
Miller about December &c. he heard had
gone to dances with other young men
and he took me to task about it. Well, we
Guarreled violently-I thought he had no.
right to upbraid me as he did-and We
hadn't made up when l decided to kill
myself.
You see papa and mamma died the,
past two years and brother Ed died-how,
you mustn't ask ME, but l can only say
that they claimed he committed suicide,
or rather took laudanum by a~ccident-but
I'll not talk more Of that. Anyhow, with
ali my folks gone and only a little left
from the estate, / had no one but Dick
to live for. When he went back on me
and said all was over, ! first tried to win
him back and falling apparently, l de-
cided to die by my own hand. Besides, r
was ptlllllleSS ana OUT Oh employment. mo.
body seemed to care for me. On Monday
afternoon, January II, l called on Mrs.
Clinton Crabtree, an old girlhood friend,
and after talking with me she stepped
from the room. In her absence | stole IL
loaded revolver which lay on the bureau.
That night ! went out toward the ceme-
terry where my folks are buried. intending
to kill myself. Dick followed me and L
came back with him. / didn't tell him my
purpose but hoped he would make up. In
stead he again acolded me and we parted.
In anger, arranging, however. to meet
next evening at s o'clock. All that day
[ thought over the matter and decided no
reconciliation would be effected as Dick.
seemed so cross. AT Z o'clock Tuesday
evening. January 70, I again went down,
the railroad track toward the cemetery.
On the way | tested the revolver twice to.
see il 1t worked. 1t did. When l was
about a half mile east of town l stepped;
down from the railroad track, stripped my
coat off my right arm, placed the revolver.
to my breast and fired. / am left handed,
and my hand was thrust through my muff.
The shock when the bullet hit me whirled
me about and l dropped the revolver. I
couldn't find It again. My right side
seemed paralyzed. l felt awfully dizzy
and sick but finally I came to myself ana
started back to the hotel.'
Picking her muff from her lap, Miss.
Pitcher held 1t up for inspection.
You can see there where the gun-fre
singed the muff,' she said, pointing to a
spot of fur about an inch in diameter that
had been burned away. well, when I
got back to the hotel 1 was braced up
some. / went to the south entrance and
started upstairs. l saw people In the Of
flee but met no one on the stairs, except a.
dog which was at the top of the stairs.
| patted him on the head and went to.
room 1S-my room-and closed the door,
lit a lamp and sat down to think. I had
lived in Miller most of my life and l fig
ured that l had disgraced myself by try
ing to commit suicide. So I planned to
tell a story that my sister-in-lau who
hates me had shot me. / wrote q letter.
ostensibly from her. saying Hattia Pitch
e. had been shot and would bleed to death,
before morning. l thought then ! would.
be dead by morning. Then / lay down ON
the bed. but the pain made me nervous.
! went out in the hall and met Mr.. Fetch
er, the clerk, near the head Of the stairs.
asked him where Dick was and then re-
turned to my room. ! lay there until next
morning, when Al Dehart, a boarder, went
by my door. / called to him and asked
him to tell Dick l had been shot. He an5
his roommate, Frank Webber, came and
called the doctor. That's all there Is tc
my story"
But how do you explain the 'noiseIese
gun expression"
I'm tell you. When Mr.. Henshaw and
Sheriff Abbott were in my room, l heard.
them speak Of the drug store holdup. The
sheriff said, when Mr.. Henshaw, repeat
Ing my story, declared l had been shot at
1880 the night before, that the woman
probably used an air gun on me the same
as the robbers had at the drug store. 81
| Incorporated that In my story. I told
DR.. Wallis the same thing
When you are cleared what will you
and Dick do? Marry?"
That's for him to say. A woman re-
mains faithful, but a man, you're one
yourself-what would you do! Wou d you
desert a woman because she was II. trou-
pie! You needn't answer, for you prob
ably wouldn't tell me the truth"
When Judge Pussy rose to make what
Is admitted to be one of the most powerful
appeals ever heard in the Hand county
court room, the prisoner listened al,en-
lively. When he referred to her aitai1
with Dick Romig and especially when he
pliloried the church members back of hey
prosecution. the girl wept. But she said
nothing. At the conclusion Of Mr.. Pusey's
speech, Miss Pitcher wavered in her chair
he had been talking an hour-and was
led away while States Attorney Cole
closed for the state.
During Judge Pusey's address. this WON.
en- in the crowd began by sneering and
ended sobbing. The men sat silent a,
first and later, despite the court officials.
cheered riotously. When Justice Doug.