The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-02-22

MOI the pare for women to play in that
remote settlement three decades ago.
/ Only the men came. and OF them all
only Wingler ana Shepherd knew any
thing. Shepherd was silent, under the
threatening eye of Wingler, and WIN
gler's story alone was heard
The Jury doubtfully took his word
for it, and since there was no doctor
there to look at her wounds, the yer
dict was that she Tell out Of the lcn
and was killed accidentally.
Back home with their wives, the
! men had fresh suspicion planted ID
their minds, and ten days later they
went IL miles and got doctor. They
exhumed the body and made casual
examination But wonders die after
nine days, even in the mountains, and
they were not impressed by the doctor,
anyhow. The body had mortified, and
they were glad enough to put It BACK
in the ground and forget about It.
Happiness Unmarried.
After what less simple folk would
call an indecently short length of time.
Yes Wingler married again. His sec
ond wife was fifteen years bis junior.
They lived prosperously and had many
children. The cabin rotted down, ana
they moved into more dignined
dwelling place. Apparently the spec
ter of his dead wife never returned to
trouble the husband Yes Wingler was
happy.
Twenty-nine years he lived the life
of the average mountaineer. He was
at times accused of making liquor
without sanction of the law. He drank
and brawled and gambled, now in
company of John Shepherd and now
without him. SO far as the evidence
went at the trial, the death of his wife
was never mentioned between them.
YES Wingler closed the book and dared
anybody to open it.
Their families maintained amiaDle
relations. The sons of Shepherd
courted the daughters of Wingler. even
down to the younger strata of the two
families
Evangelist Comes.
With the opening of spring there
came into the Businesses Of the Blue
Ridge migrant evangelist. He
preached simple doctrine of he'll
fire and damnation He pictured the
terrors of eternal fire that burned
for all who forsook not their stills,
their drawings and their gamblings
ana destruction for all who repented
not and confessed not their sins. Shep-
herd hardened unto the preacher and
confessed his own SINS.
Then on warm spring evening
when a young Shepherd was calling
on one of the daughters of the house
of Wingler, the youngest daughter
made nuisance of herself generally.
The ardent swain from the house Of
Shepherd, irked by her continued In |
reference, slapped her teeth, three of
them, completely out of her mouth |
She went bawling to Wingler and the
son of Shepherd was banished with
threats
Next morning, Wingler repaired to
the magistrate and issued warrant
charging Shepherd with assault and !
battery on the person of his daughter
The boy fed the state, and there was
war between the houses Of Wingler
and Shepherd. Wingler made threats
and Shepherd limited darkly that Win
gIer had better be careful. But he
was not careful.
Convicted of Crime.
Within week, Wingler had fed I
the state two jumps ahead of sheriff
who wanted him for the killing of
his wife 30 years before. Some time
later he returned to the state and was
taken into custody, tried, convicted Of
murder in the second degree, and sen
fenced to 80 years at hard labor in the
state prison The Supreme court in
one of the most remarkable opinions |
on record, denied him new trial.
In vain did attorneys for the de- |
PENDANT hammer on the theory Of ven
geance, stirred by the prosecution of
young Shepherd IN vain they accused |
witnesses of conspiracy against him
and brought impeachment against the
character of every one of them. The
Jury stood adsmant, not because they |
believed John Shepherd, but because
they believed the women.
Times have changed. Thirty years
ago not woman felt that she could |
attend an inquest and maintain her
self-respect. Every one of them
brought through the years vivid pic
ture of what she had seen. They I
ached to tell it, and they made story
Of it
Pious oaths sworn to by Shepherd, |
Fashioned with newly-found Biblical
citations, had little weight. He had |
heard Wingler say he killed his wife. |
1t was what the women had seen that |
the jury took as sufficient circumstan-
tial evidence. In vain did Wingler tell |
his story Of the wife who fell out of
the loft. The women had him when |
they remembered so much and told 1t |
with unanimity as to detail Per-
haps 80 years enforced silence had |