A HARD CASE.

Evening Star, Issue 3307, 25 September 1873, Page 3

A HARD CASE.

TESTIMONY OF A NEOUO IN A MURDER CASE, The New York Times contains the following report of the evidence of a colored witness in the case of a man named Nixon, recently convicted of murder : William Henry Johnston (colored) testified that on the day of the shooting he saw two men having an altercation in Chatham street; one of them was on horseback, and the other drove a wagon. The man in the wagon told the man on horseback to get out of the way, when the latter turned round and attempted to strike him two or three times.

Cross-examined by District Attorney Phelps : Where do you live, Johnston ?—ln a garret. What is your business ?—My wife follows the washing business, but she makes me do the work.

Where was the waggon when you saw it ? -’Twas in the street.—(Laughter.)

What part of the street ?—ln the street, not on the sidewalk.

On which side of the street? —On the same side that I was.

How near was the wagon to the sidewalk ? —Well, upon my soul, I could not tell. That’s a pretty hard thing to tell, as I did not measure it.

Are you deaf?- Sometimes.—(A laugh.) When you first saw the man on horseback, where was he ?—On his back,—(Great laughter.) Where was the waggon?— Well, boss, I guess we talked about that before.—(Applause.) With what hand did he strike the prisoner? —He struck him with no hand ;he struck him with the whiffletree. ’Pon my honor I can’t say in which hand he held the whiffletree, except that it was the right or left.— (Laughter.) W ere they near Barnum’s clothing store ? —Well, see here now,boss, I ain’t able to read or write, and I can’t tell Barnura from A. T. Stewart, or any of them big folks, by looking up at their names. When did you tell this to Mr Howe ?—Mr Howe ? Mr Howe, when was it I went to see you ?—(Great laughter in the court, and counsel joined.) Did you know Nixon ?—No ; I did not know him from Tom, Dick, or the Devil. — (Continued merriment ) —The fact is, boss, men will get. into musses, particularly colored folks. You know some folks bees down on the colored people. 1 mean folks as have no eddication, and don’t know their grammar nor their dictionary. I can write my name—no i can't either, come to think of it. —(Laughter ) Do you know Officer Van Buskirk?— Who? What? Does he know me? 1 guess not. No, sah.—(Laughter, during which the Court ordered the witness to retire.)