OCR Text |
Show 'TIS A SAD TALE OF A MAN, GUN, TWO MAIDS AND HANDFUL OF BEANS By FLOYD A TIMMERMAN This Is a story a true story of j 'man, a gun. two maids, and a handful 'o: beans, in the year of 1852. The scene is laid in Weber count-, and the closoup Is of a house. Inside the kitchen a man Is busy rigging up a shotgun so that it points at the doo.-iand doo.-iand a Ftrlni; is arranged from the trigger trig-ger to the floor so that whoever enters WHl evplmle 1 In- charge and receie the I contents of the shotguu. j The man completes his work. The gun points directly at the door. He 'gives the string a final test and in jspection and his lips part in a sinister 1 grin. The man straightens and listens In-lenth In-lenth He hears footsteps npproach-inc, npproach-inc, and runs to hide All is quiet. WOMEN APPROACH Two women are approaching the door evidently unconscious of the dan-1 dan-1 ger that awaits them One pulls the latch The door is pulled open There lis a loud explosion and a piercing j scream This is what really happened in Weber We-ber count id the year oi 1852, according accord-ing 10 the first records that were kep of the probat) court The volume containing con-taining the Information of the trial of the man which came later, was discovered discov-ered Saturday by W. J. Young, deputy In the county clerk's office and the volume is believed to be the fir6t to contain an records t be lakcu ol the court by the court clerk The case is the first one contained' in the old and soiled volume. The of-; final record of the case, as written in the old tashioned handwriting of James-A James-A Browning, contains the information' Lhal S, ; Simmons was the man who arranged the gun. Martha .Strong was the woman who! received the charge ol the weapon, the record stales Simmons was tried in a lower court and then turned over to the probate court where the grand Jury returned an indictment against him. OFFICIAL RECORD Tbe official record of the case, as. written in the old volume, follows "Territory of L'tah versus S. G. Sim mons. Februar 3, 1852. j From an examination or trial held before Francis Durfey and against S. G. Simmons, the defandant w as handed to the Jurisdiction of tfie probate court on a rase of criminal nature committed ;on Martha Strong and Blsamlne Shirt lift by setting a gun in his house In a I position to hit any person w ho nnghl .open the door. The gun wan loaded with beans and was tired by one ot tfie , females who opened the door on the I Slat day of January, last, 1852.' The record does not explain the pur-I pur-I pose of Simmons in loading the gun I with beans or his motive in keeping the women from his home It does, however, indicate thnt Martha Strong received a fair hit of beans which tore 'her clothing and made her feel unenm-j unenm-j fortable "somew here between the 1 kitchen and tbe pantry ' otherwise jit did not injure her to any great ex-' ex-' tent. I The record goes on further and states that prisoner refused to give bonds when arrested for his appear iante in court and the court thought it I ' proper in issuing a warrant hrinirlnc I said pr.soner lo trial." I "The foreman oi the grand jury presented pre-sented the bill against Mr. Simmons as follows We. the grand jur. fro tinil a true bill against Simon ; Simmon for a misdemeanor In setting a gnn loaded with beans in a position to endanger en-danger the lives of anyone who might attempt to open the door, and, where as, said gun was discharged and In Jtired the clothing of Martha Strong 1 and endangered the person of Elsa ! mine Shirtliff. we unanimously agree ' " PRISONER RELEASED The record of the trial shows that Simmons did not go to Jail for his crime, due to the fact that be proved that he had been tried in the lower court. The final disposition ot ihc case follows: The Indictment was read and the prisoner plead not guilty and the court railed for evidence In the case Trial was had and the prisoner dismissed in consequence of his proving that he had one jury trial on the same- case before F. Purfey. Esq " |