Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-05-06

eral times that she expected she
would be arrested for numbering her
husband.
On REORGANIZATION Byron French
was asked about the petition circu-
lated in Somerville and declared /.
was a petition asking the selectmen
to take action in the Hisler case but
didn't say anything about prosecution
or about taking action if the county
didn't He didn't know who drew it
up and he never signed 1t or had l.
presented to him until after the con-
fession.
Mr.. Halpen brought out In the
cross-examination that Byron French
made two trips to Peter Hisler's tina:
day to get confession. The first
time he heard indirectly that Eugen-
ia Hisler had made confession, anT,
taking his uncle Edward with him,
went down to see if it was true. Mrs.
Hisler asked for chance to talk with
them alone in the front room and she
said when she went into the room
she was going to tell us something
that she never told us before since
her husband died. She said she was
going to tell us the truth. After We
got in there, she changed her mind
and said she didn't dare tell us, and
asked what we'd advise her to do.
Edwin told her if she did it, she ought
to tell.''
The night of the confession Harold
Hisler, Peters son went after Byron
French, he said, and told him that
Edward Hisler asked him (Harold) to
go and get them byron and Ed) be-
cause she wanted to tell them some
thing and would tell the truth.
Did you tell her that anything she
said might be used against herr"
He said Mrs. Hisler discovered soma
blood on her fingers and exclaimed,
How did that come there?" He tes-
titled that there was also a spot Of
blood on the floor about a foot and d..
half from Fred Hisler's head
He related the first visit of himself and
Byron French to Mrs. Hisler, when she
said she was going to tell the truth and
then changed her mind, and said that
when she asked advice he told her that if
she killed him it would be best to confess.
He also related the incident of the oon-
fesson made that night to Byron French
and himself. He related it using in his
direct quotation the same words that had
been repeated by Byron French, with the
addition that Mrs. Iiisler said she was
afraid of Fred when he came into the
door with the stick of wood in his hand
and the additional description of the MUIR
der: Il took q stick of wood and
watched my chances and l hit him over
the head and l knocked him sitter than
h and he never spoke, he never NOV
ed, he never breathed."
On cross-examnation French frankly
admitted that he was circulating a petit
ton for the selectmen to do something
about Fred Hisler's death and that he
was interested in getting a confession,
but he said the paper was not passed
upon after he heard of the confession and
that he got II names during the last part
of the afternoon between the first and
second visits. He said that at the au-
topsy he asked DR.. Gregory what they
had found and as he remembered, the
doctor said they hadn't found the natural
causes for death and he was not salts
fled. He didn't remember anything be-
ing said about a chemical and microscope
ical examination being necessary to show
the cause of the remark that blow
didn't do it,
Attorney Halpen for some reason SEEM
ed to place importance on the fact that
one of Fred Hsler's leggings was partly
removed and was turned down over the
heel, which he brought out in cross-ex-
animation of Byron and Edwin French.