Show I ZIMMERMANS CRIME The Prisoner Landed Safely in Mindoii Nebraska illS TRIAL IS NOW IN PROGRESS A Complete Resume his Desperate Deed His Flight and Capture Not Yet Identified Matt Zimmerman who was arrested in Ogden recently for murders committed in Nebraska nearly seven years ago was safely conveyed to Minden Nebraska by Sheriffs Hill Jinrl QnnnVifiTtrlr nnr 1 in tirttir nn trial The prisoner remains noncommittal and refuses to give any clew as to his identity but converses freely with those who visit him in the jail his favorite pastime being tho recital of wild border stories in which he figures as the hero A large number of witnesses aro being examined but only a few aro ablo to identify him while others either do not recognize him or claim he is not the man It is estimated that this hearing will cost the county at least 3000 Zimmermans crime and escape form one of the most notable chapters in the criminal history of Nebraska On Sunday October 15 182 a party of four men arrived in Minden Min-den the county seat of Kearney county Nebraska with a herd of twentytwo ponies which had been stolen in the western west-ern part of Hitchcock county The officers overtook tHom on the iota but two of the outlaws left that afternoon leaving their two accomplices in charge of the ponies About 5 oclock twenty guests including several ies were seated at the table in the dining room of the Prairie Home hotel when the two cowboys stepped in and took a position facing the door A few moments later the lawabiding occupants of the dining din-ing room were startled by the appearance of Jack Woods sheriff of Hitchcock county who ordered the latecomers to throw up their hands The command was obeyed but the hands contained two revolvers and Woods fell dead with two bullet holes in his body R B Kelley was sitting by his wife at the table and his hurried Run I i run I addressed to her drew a fatal shot to him from one of the villains Not satisfied with the slaughter already effected the two murderers mortally shot Mail Carrier Collins rushed out of the hotel mounted their mustangs and rode through the streets firing at everybody in sight THE FLIGHT The murderers passed rapidly southward followed by a posse under the leadership of the adjutantgeneral of the state but by stealing fresh horses and availing themselves them-selves of their personal knowledge of the country the outlaws distanced the pursuit Passing the northeast corner of Tergo county the fleeing brace stole two fresh horses from the ranch of Charles Fouts of Wakeeney a young man of only twentytwo years He accompanied by Frank Miller d nineteen started in of the aged > uu < < u U > LU > u pursuit U LUU thieves and followed the trail for seven days before sighting human game During the pursuit they were joined by two other men William Hardy and Thomas Tow On nf01r the following Monday they came upon the camp of the fugitives but deemed it advisable advis-able not to attack them there as it was on the open prairie and there would undoubtedly un-doubtedly be a bloody conflict The thieves were shadowed to their next nights camp which was in a dugout upon Beaties ranch near Point of Rock when preparations for capture were made During the night one of the four Kausans untethered one of the horses of the occupants of the dugout and concealed themselves behind a sod house about 150 yards away TUB CAPTURE Belmount one of the murderers came out to look for the horses when Fouts ordered or-dered him to surrender but he snapped his revolver at Fouts when the latter shot him through the left breast killing him instantly in-stantly Zimmerman then came out and gave himself up The capture was made about seven miles from the Colorado line and the same distance from Indian Territory Terri-tory The prisoner was taken to Lakin where they took the train for Lincoln Nebraska Ne-braska arriving there November It It was then learned that the captive was the man wanter for the murder at Minden and he was incarcerated < in the penitentiary Zimmerman was three times sentenced to hang by different juries Finally when the law was about to be avenged the defense appealed from state to federal jurisdiction After the appeal L C Burr his attorney at Lincoln had the prisoner removed from the Buffalo county jail to the presence of the United States commissioner in Kearney Kear-ney and by a questionable transaction before be-fore that officer scoured the release of the prisoner who disappeared This action of Mr Burrs brought about his disbarment and he was only recently reinstated a member mem-ber of the bar Immediately after Zimmerman had fled pursuitwas organized but no trace could be found and he passed out of knowledge until his capture at Ogden |