New-York tribune., 1922-10-26
Faced One Who Screamed
on Murder Night During
Courthouse Inquiry, She
Says; Felt Sorry for Her
Heard 4 Quarrel
And Rector Fight
Shots Made Mule Flee;
Tried to Tell Officials,
but They Were ssBusy''
By Boyden Sparkes

she witnessed the murder of the Rev.
Edward Wheeler Hall and Mrs. Eleanor
Mills in fallow field on the Phillips
farm six weeks ago.
Before they were killed. Mrs. Gibson
said tonight, the rector and his sweet.
heart were bitterly denounced by the
man and the woman who confronted
them. Then there was struggle be-
tween the rector and the man who was
going to kill him; shots were fred !;
che surviving woman cried name, and
then the frightened mule Mrs. Gibson
rode galloped off, and on it's back went
she woman who will figure as the chief
Witness for the State of New Jersey
at the trial of the two persons she
saw there that night.
hen | saw that woman face TO face
At the courthouse" said Mrs. Gibson
solemnly, 81 felt so sorry for her that
/ cried, but the dying shrieks of the
murdered woman seemed to sound in
my ears again and felt that justice
must be done"
At no time in telling her story did
Mrs. Gibson use the names of the man
and woman she believes she saw en-
gagged in argument and struggle with
DR.. Hall and Mrs. Mills. And yet she
left no doubt as to the identity Of
the persons she is prepared to accuse
in open court.
Her sixty-acre farm is nearly two
miles from the Phillins farm. 1t fronts
on Hamilton Avenue, one of the prins
eipal highways radiating from New
Brunswick. The next spoke in this
wheel of roads is Easton Avenue. on
which the Phillips farm has a 'front.'
age. The widows fields are planted
in corn, most of which has been har-
vested to serve through the winter
IS food for the forty-five young pork
as that squeal greeting and q hun-
gY plea whenever this self-reliant
roman comes within range of their
eagerly sniffn@ snouts. Her home is
an arehitectura& monstrosity of whim-
sical additions, built after the old
farmhouse was destroyed by FIRE.
Denounees Foreigners
"This used to be good place before
hand agents got to selling lots to for
eigners," said Mrs. Gibson tonight.
nhe was adjusting an electric fash
light with which she proposed to show
visitors her enormous barn and it's
most intelligent occupant, her muls
'enny.
@"esc AoieigHefS Duy lltIle scrap
Vt ground, build "a shack and then make
living stealing from their nighbors,'
She went on. "Last year~I lost sow
and her ten pigs in one night.
That's how | happened TO go out
this night speak of. One of the dogs
sni'ed somebody. ! had an idea who
twas but wasn't sure. went out to
the barn, put a bride and saddle on
Jenny, and went scouting for them.
a. f,a Il
and made up my mind | was going to
follow and give him some trouble. I'vo
been wanting to catch one of them on
my place at night and empty shotgun
into their skin. That seems to be the
only way to stop thiesing.
Jenny knew what ! wanted to do.
She's q smart mule and she knows II
lot Of tricks
Jenny Good Trailer
You might not believe it, but when
tnat mule come to a brook or log at
night she gives q little whinny Of
warning before sig jumps it, and she
can JUMP higher than my head. She's
oniy shod on one hind foot and per-
son would have had to listen with
sharp ears to know Jenny and were
following them.
hen ! got to the Phillips farm /
sseemed to have lost sight of the man
"a been following, but | believed I
anew where he was going. Jenny
was picking out her road. and then
ane turned her head and pointed her
ears listened and heard voices. We
eut across the field. laid myself fiat
sgainst the mule so that if any one
aeard us they'd just think it was
sssray animal, and it was that dark
aey could hardly have seen me.
he Macy thn enot 1yb ba,
@usoer was committed. A terrible
quarrel was going on and apparently
ae people engaged, in it were so in,
.s shg On what they were saying that
tfney paid little attention to the mule
| taogght at first that some men had
aalohght girl out there and were mis-
sesting her.
Wishes She Had Screamed
hileI was trying to make up my
aaha as to whether / should speak out
'. mind my own business the fight be-
sah' II had called out ] might have
prevented the murder. Oh, j wish now
ass had shrieked or made some
IIosha, but it all came so suddenly and
vas stunned. l could do nothing. 1t
sa sas Ike nothing had experienced be-
.sIs and yet there must have been
some div ne purpose in it.
4 nI "a siic PSSptE WCAS tShetuS
auo ~ argu ng in load tones. 1t did not
st M aapps in a minute. Then came
ma sas shots our of them-and Jenny
frightened and ran away"
slfs. Gibson was asked to repeat the
naai na.ne that if is known she heard cried
;ss,,y as oy the suryi ing woman, but she
tell everything at the right
ass as she replied. and then went on:
ssnnse was frightened; q mule
a. Sosshs !, IKE shooting any more than we
s,.a 81, She galloped away and / was
- su OF i. did not want to think
. snat ! had seen and heard. ] could
- - ~ = ssS-xh T1s careful not to
S;.,1. naea = 49, place. No one in their
Ill shss senses wants to get mixed up in
sort of thing.
~. the following Sunday learned
laasu me bodies had been found, and
l,sl what crime / had witnessed. +
sa,e. never ), known any Of the people
aas.a;.. a.sas. Gibson. with the aid of thu
I barnr,ag.nt' picked her way across the
ssafd' Uttered with corn-shucks,
scaafiaud y ssse ashi,