USA > Iowa > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Iowa; Volume I > Part 36
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someone answering said it was near 8 o'clock, when old Mrs. Nelson re- marked: "It must be 8 o'clock for tonight, I know by the oil in the lamp." He then related particulars about getting up the horse; he said that part way between old Mr. Nelson's and Phillips', Cronk complained of something hurting his feet, I think it was corns, and he got on his horse; he said that he left Cronk at Mortimer Phillips'; that Mr. Cronk started off west, and that he, Watkins, took the road through the field; that just as he passed Phillips' some one came to the dooor; one thing I have omitted to mention in its proper place; he told me that just before he left old Mr. Nelson's two teams passed; said that the teams were about fifteen or twenty rods ahead when he left Cronk; he did not tell me what time it was when he arrived at home; I remarked that a strong suspicion rested upon him in regard to the discrepancy in time; his reply was, "I know nothing about the time." He walked directly to Cottonville; never stated to me when he arrived at Bucklin's. This conversation was about the same week as when the horse was found; I went to the ground where the horse was found and recognized the body to be that that of Samuel P. Cronk's horse ; when I arrived, I commenced looking at once for tracks, and found those of a horse which had evidently been made by this one as he had been led to the spot ; also looked for tracks of persons, and in connection with a good many made by persons visiting the ground since the horse was found, saw some that had been made in the original snow; also saw some in the heavy snow which I thought might have been made two weeks previous to that day; noticed in two places tracks that might have been made within a short time upon the last snow, one of which was within six feet of the horse and the other about ten feet ; the snow was so much faded out that I could not see them only in a few places ; in tracing the horse tracks backward, I discovered tracks of two persons in company with those of the horse; they are very distinct, considering the time they are supposed to have been made, and were evidently made in the first or original snow when it was a little soft; I took the dimensions of the track particularly, and found it a little shorter but not a size shorter than my own foot, which is a No. 9 boot ; it was a great deal wider than mine, and mine was a coarse boot, the heel being re- markably wide; took a stick and measured it and found with a heel of mine it was a good half inch wider ; the other track I found by the shape of the heel to be that of a fine boot ; had a narrow shank and was a No. 7; also discovered this large track leading from the horse lay at first a little north of west then turning a little west of north; traced it to the fence; in some spots new snow hid it; where the old snow only remained it was quite distinct, but where it was covered up by the new snow you could not tell what kind it was; also noticed a large track leading a little south of east; this was about a size larger than the other large track; it was not two sizes larger; I could follow this but a short distance on account of its being covered or being too indistinct ; commenced looking for the direction of the small track, but my attention was attracted by some one coming onto the ground at the time, and I forgot to look afterward. A few days after that-the next week-I saw a boot which corresponded with the No. 9 track ; saw it here in this house on John B. Bucklin; I found on the person of Samuel P. Watkins a boot which I thought corresponded to the small track ; had seen three different sized tracks; I made a search of the ground where the murder was committed, on the 8th day of April ; made no search between Saturday and Monday ; the examination of the ground was deferred on account of the snow thawing, thinking that by Monday the ground would be in better condition for an examination ; invited Samuel Dean to get into the buggy and ride up with me ; we drove to within five or six rods of the spot, hitched the team and commenced searching; examined the ground very carefully in the road; Mr. Dean went into Hunter's field north of the road; I hunted along in the brush and along the fence south of the road and went east; we met some eight or ten rods east and then crossed the road to north side ; not far from that time I saw Dean cross the road and go into Sawtell's field on the south side of the road; within a short time I
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saw a stick of stovewood lying in the hazel brush on the ground ; I stood look- ing at that in order to see when it had been placed there-if it had been placed there since the fall of leaves-and saw that it had; the leaves were under the stick ; at this time James Sawtell drove up with a wagon ; I called his attention to the stick and picked it up ; when I picked it up I discovered some fifteen or twenty hairs fast in these slivers ; discovered that the color varied, and a part of the hair seemed to be discolored ; then took out the hairs from under the slivers and found them to look natural and like those of the deceased, as near as I could judge ; found this stick eight or ten rods from where the murder had been com- mitted, and six or eight rods east of where the horse was hitched, on the oppo- site side of the road from the horse, and east from the schoolhouse; while we were talking about this, I saw Mr. Dean coming toward us with this piece of clevis in his hand-the piece with the string in it; he handed it to me; I took it and noticed three pieces of fresh dirt on it, the other part seemed dry and cov- ered with dry dust; brushed this off with my fingers to see if I could see any stain; also noticed some hair sticking through the fresh dirt; on this broken part I saw several; some were short and some were full length hairs; the hair was the same color as the other, natural; none were discolored; I asked Dean to go and show me the place where he found the clevis; he went about ten feet south of where the body was found, and about sixteen feet from the fence, and there showed me the spot where he picked it up; looked at the spot and fitted the clevis ; there were only three marks on the ground, and they corresponded with the dirt on the clevis; I examined this piece of denim very particularly ; it was covered with dirt outside, but upon opening I found it to be a new, clean and unsoiled piece of denim; took the wood and clevis and started for Cottonville; as we came out on the Dubuque road, we met old Mr. Sawtell, and he asked us if we had discovered anything, etc. I observed on the forehead several punc- tures and abrasions of the skin; examined very closely and found they were not made with a knife or edged tool ; discovered he had been struck across the fore- head; one wound was near one of the eyes; was ragged; when the body was disinterred, I was present and think the first thing that was done was to fit this iron across the forehead; it fitted exactly with the wound; after that the scalp was taken off and the iron again fitted; the wounds on the other parts of the head were examined; one wound on the right side of the head, back of the ear, which broke the skull in, and it seems this blow had fractured the skull clear around ; there was also a flesh or scalp wound in the back part of the head; there were, a good many blows on the back part of the head that I could not tell how they were made, and I think they were not made with either of those weapons ; the color of the hair of the deceased was brown, and corresponded with the natural hair I saw upon the instruments; Cronk's habits in wearing his mittens were peculiar; think I never saw him wear his mittens when walking, however cold; it had to be quite warm if he did not wear them when riding; know that a year ago last May he borrowed my mittens and talked about his peculiarity in that respect at the time; the clevis was first found in the edge of the plowed ground close to a furrow; there is a track through the grove pretty nearly be- tween where the pants were found and the fence; the first resembles a foot path and runs along the fence, probably two rods, then courses into an old road; it is . a road that looked as though it had been traveled; in some places the banks are near two feet high on both sides; it runs north of the granary and south of the house, between the two buildings; was with the surveyor and requested him to plot that; did not notice this other track north of the grove. Mr. Frank Purdy pointed out to the surveyor where the pants were found. In August or Septem- ber, 1866, Cronk had one hundred and fifty dollars, and placed it in the care of my wife ; several times during the fall he wanted money, and my wife would bring it to me and I would give him what he wanted out of it; think some time in the latter part of December, 1866, I sold him the horse he had when mur-
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dered ; he then got his money and paid me thirty dollars on the horse and had about a hundred dollars left and kept it.
Dudley Palmer: I now reside in Lyons, but resided in Andrew last win- ter; remember of the circumstances of the murder; know it to have been proven the body of Samuel S. Cronk; knew he was buried at Andrew; was present when the body was exhumed and know it to be the same body.
Mrs. Cynthia P. Williams: I reside in Cottonville and remember of mur- der, etc .; am slightly acquainted with defendant Watkins, and know of his coming into our house and saying he would get out a warrant for some others, and Calvin Nelson applied for a warrant the same day to my father, who is justice of the peace; this was the day after the body of the horse was found ; I reside with my brother, Griffith Abbey, who keeps store in Cottonville ; quite a number of persons were about town on Sunday, and many visited the place where the horse was found; Calvin Nelson was the first one I heard of getting out a warrant for the Conklins; after Mr. Nelson went out my sister made out the warrant ; during the time I saw Nelson, Bucklin and Nelson were talk- ing quite attentively ; Mr. Watkins came in and said he would swear out the warrant as Mr. Nelson had a family of children, and these men, the Conklins, were quite dangerous men; Bucklin stood a little ways off from these two men while they were talking; Nelson stood in front of Watkins, with his hands on his shoulders ; saw no one near Bucklin and Nelson when they were talking together; never saw either of the defendants going around in the direc- tion of where the horse was found; Bucklin and Nelson are related. Have never known of defendant Watkins having any occupation; the most I know of him is seeing him go to the saloon and in the postoffice. Webb, Brunson, Nelson and Conklin were mentioned in the warrant when Watkins came in for it.
Eliza L. Wasson: I reside at Cottonville with my brother, G. C. Abbey, at the store where the postoffice was; am sister of Mrs. Williams; I assist in the postoffice, in the distribution and delivery of mails; Mrs. Williams also assists or attends to it sometimes; from the time of the murder to the March term of the District Court I do not think Watkins received letters but twice, one from Mr. Thomas and two from elsewhere, neither of which were money letters ; my attention was called to his anxiety about letters, but cannot say as to the exact time of letters being received ; think the two were received before the March term of court, and not far from that time; the receiving of these letters was after my attention had been called to his anxiety in that respect, and of his getting letters or not; the postmark of two of these letters was too dim to tell where they had been mailed from; he made the remark in one in- stance that it was not the letter he expected; think there was no money in them ; they were directed with a lead pencil. Watkins became the informant first when the warrant was issued; I wrote it for my father, who came in and said that Nelson had applied for a warrant; saw Watkins when he came in, and heard him say he intended to get out a warrant because Nelson had a family and the Conklins were considered a dangerous family ; think he re- marked that it belonged to him, or words to that effect. I do not recollect of Nelson turning off from the road and going south of the graveyard in going from Cottonville west; know people do go around there in muddy times, and I think I have seen Nelson do so; do not recollect of its being muddy the day after the murder, as I was sick at the time, but remember of there being sleigh- ing ; think the snow remained until some time in February ; was present at the examination of Bucklin, Nelson and Watkins last spring, and boarded at Mr. Leightner's Hotel during the time; remember of being in the kitchen with my sister and others, conversing in regard to the murder; do not remember the exact conversation at the time in regard to letters, or the particulars of con- versation about Nelson walking around the graveyard; do not recollect of
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saying that I thought it strange, but might have said so ; think I can state what I did say ; I heard or understood from others that he went through.
Thomas A. Abbey : Reside at Cottonville, and am a blacksmith ; was in my shop when the body was brought up to Cottonville, and was informed of the fact by defendant Watkins; he was going west at the time; saw him ten or fifteen minutes afterward coming east; Calvin Nelson was with him; they had a load of manure on a sled drawn by a yoke of oxen ; had seen Watkins going past to Cottonville before he informed me of the murder; he asked us when he came to the shop if we had heard the news ; he replied, "there has been a murdered man found down near Mr. Hunter's;" he looked somewhat ex- cited, I should judge; I was on the ground of murder after the body was brought up, and remember seeing Bucklin there; Watkins was talking in the shop where the body was; said he left Nelson's between 7 and 8 o'clock; I know Calvin Nelson; think he is a left-handed man; have seen him whittle with his left hand.
Lyman Abbey: Reside at Cottonville and am a blacksmith ; was justice of the peace last winter, after January Ist; was never much acquainted with de- ceased, but knew him ; last saw him alive at Cottonville on the 22d day of Jan- uary last ; I had collected some money for Mr. Whitley, but had not had it in my hands long ; had understood, when I saw Mr. Cronk in Cottonville, that he lived at Andrew, and had been sent by the sheriff to serve some writs ; went to him and found him at Joseph J. Farrington's shoe shop; Mr. Farrington said he lived with Mr. Whitley, and Mr. Cronk replied in a joking way that Mr. Whitley lived with him; I asked him if he would take some money down to Mr. Whitley in Andrew ; he said he would; gave him twenty-one dollars and eighty-five cents; I then stepped right out; saw him count the money and put it in his pocket, or clothes somewhere, before I went out; the money I received from those men who owed Mr. Whitley was in two ten-dollar bills, one one dollar, and eighty-five cents in currency ; I had kept the money with that of my son's, laid away when I got it ; then I asked my son for the money ; he gave me two tens, a one, and eighty-five cents in currency ; one of the tens was a good deal lighter colored than the other, and I held it up and asked him if it was good, or words to that effect ; he said it was; I gave Mr. Cronk this same money ; first saw him in Purdy's grocery that day, but gave him the money in Farrington's shop ; suppose it was about II a. m. when I gave him the money ; do not know that I ever saw either of these bills thereafter ; do not recollect seeing any bill that Mr. Farrington had after this ; this, I believe, was on the 22d of January ; went down next morning to where murder was committed ; had the body taken to my office and held the inquest ; do not re- member seeing Bucklin that morning, but saw Nelson and Watkins where the murder was committed-at least, I think Watkins was there; did not go up with the body, but stopped in the schoolhouse, writing out a subpoena for Dr. Carnahan. Watkins, I have known for a year or more ; do not know of his having any occupation ; understood he made his home with John B. Bucklin.
J. J. Farrington : Reside at Cottonville ; am a shoemaker ; was acquainted with Samuel P. Watkins, and have done considerable work for him; on the 19th day of January I made him a pair of boots, No. 7; he wanted to know if it made any difference, for a few days, about the pay ; I said not, if he would pay it by the middle of the next week, to which he replied that he could have it by the last of the next week sure, and could pay then, but did not want to strap himself; he said he was expecting money by mail every day from his father ; before the last of the next week he was arrested and brought to An- drew ; he was released on bail the next Tuesday, and the boots were paid for on that day or the day after ; the price of the boots was nine dollars and fifty cents ; he gave me a ten-dollar bill; I at once noticed the bill to be very light colored ; it was a "greenback" legal tender, and I think was good money ; I let Luther Parmalee have the bill the same night I got it of Watkins, and there
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were remarks made about its light color then, and the question was asked by Parmalee if that was a good bill. It was in my shop Abbey paid the money to Cronk; noticed that money when it was paid ; one ten-dollar bill was very light colored; he took the money and spread it on his knee as he sat near me, to count it; the bill paid by Abbey to Cronk and the one Watkins paid to me were both "greenbacks" legal tender and of light color; I had no mark on the bill or did not notice the number; I did not examine any tracks on the ground ; that or the next day I was arrested, brought to Andrew and kept a week; I never heard before the murder that Cronk had sold his farm ; heard that rumor afterward ; could not say who told me; heard it at the grocery ; Watkins told me after coming back from Andrew that he had got thirty dollars from John Bucklin, twenty dollars from his father, and twenty dollars from Mr. Thomas ; called him out to one side the Sunday he swore out the warrant for the Conklins, and told him that there was a great deal of talk about the money he had paid out, and as a friend I would like to know where he got it ; he said it was natural I should want to know, and said he got it as before stated ; he did not say how he got the money from his father; the crowd coming up, the conversation dropped; he did not tell me then where his father was, but he told me before that he was in Richmond, Virginia; he did not say he got his money by mail; told me when he got the boots that he was expecting money by mail from his father ; when he told me he got the money it was the Sunday after the horse was found.
George L. Farrington: Reside at Cottonville ; am a shoemaker ; was pres- ent when Abbey paid Cronk money to take to Mr. Whitley, but did not notice the bills particularly ; I was in the shop when Watkins paid for the boots ; only noticed that it was a ten-dollar bill; think it was about the 28th or 29th of January, shortly after he came back from Andrew.
Mary Baker: Live two miles south of Cottonville with my father, B. F. Baker ; recollect the night of the Cronk murder ; was at the house of my uncle, David Baker, that night; David Baker lives half a mile east of Cottonville ; I was there visiting that night ; Sarah Van Doler, Melvin Baker, Nancy Baker, Scott Baker and myself were all there-brothers, cousins, and sisters ; convey- ance, wagon ; left uncle's at II o'clock in the evening ; the moon was up about two hours high ; did not go fast on returning home on account of rough roads ; the road is quite rough from uncle's to Cottonville ; we saw Mr. Watkins near Cottonville, on our road home ; saw him about twenty-five or thirty rods south of Cottonville ; I mean defendant, Samuel P. Watkins; he was going north ; the moon was shining; at times it was cloudy ; it was light when I saw him ; we all returned home ; we were from ten to fifteen minutes driving from un- cle's to Cottonville ; think Watkins was alone; the clock struck eleven when we started from uncle's ; my brother and boys all went for the horses ; this was before the clock struck; we went out as soon as the clock struck; we did not meet anyone but Watkins after turning south at corners, nor see any one else, nor hear any unusual noise when going home.
Frank Purdy : Reside at Cottonville ; keep a grocery and dry goods store ; last winter I kept a saloon; know Watkins and knew Cronk in his lifetime; saw him on his way to Lamotte to serve subpoena; first saw him at my broth- er's, one-half mile east of Cottonville, on the evening of January 22, 1867 ; there was a dance there that evening, and all contributed to pay the music; I col- lected the money just before the party broke up; said to Cronk that there was a small bill to be collected ; he took a wallet from his pocket and gave me ten cents and five cents in currency ; I said to him the bill was a quarter ; he then gave me a two-dollar bill and I could not change it ; said to him that the fifteen cents would answer ; Watkins was on the floor dancing at this time ; asked him for twenty-five cents and he replied: "You pay the bill and I will hand it to you." Next saw Cronk at my shop the next day ; Watkins assigned no reason for not paying at the time I asked him for his bill; have stated all he said ; it was between 10 and 10:30 o'clock the next day when I saw Cronk at my shop;
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could not say when he left the party; Watkins and Cronk were there when I left with others. Nelson and Bucklin were at the party; when Cronk was at my saloon the next day, Watkins, Reuben Jamison, Wm. Davidson, and two or three others were there, but am not positive who they were; the prin- cipal part of the conversation while they were there was in regard to our being in the service ; four or five of those in the shop had been in the same company. Cronk, an hour after, came into the shop, asked if Joseph Farrington was at home; I said to him that it was probable that he was in his shop at work; Cronk said he would go and see him, and then left the shop; half an hour after he returned to my saloon; Watkins and Cronk conversed together a moment or two in rather a low tone of voice, but not in a whsiper; heard Cronk ask the question, "Will it pay?" Watkins said, "I guess so;" they immediately left my shop-I mean saloon ; stepped to the door and noticed a horse hitched to the post ; the horse was untied and headed for the east; asked Cronk if that was his horse ; he said, "supposed to be, if my debts were paid, or if I did not owe anything ;" then asked them, "which way, boys?" Watkins said, "Down to Brush Creek;" I then closed the door and stepped back into the saloon; could not be positive whether Watkins and Cronk came to my saloon together or not, but they were in there at 10:30 o'clock, and left there between II and 12 o'clock ; they went east from Cottonville ; they were headed east; that was the last I saw of Cronk alive. George Nelson lives on Brush Creek; was in my saloon when word came of the body being found near the Sawtell School- house; I went down there before the body was brought up; made a little ex- amination of tracks; Mr. Abbey called my attention to one track on north side of road nearly opposite where the body was found; saw no blood on it; that was the only track I saw, except those made by persons around there; Mr. Abbey requested me to follow the track; followed it to the fence and went no farther ; got over the fence where the body lay, but did not notice any tracks there; did not see any place where the horse was supposed to have been hitched ; saw trail where body was supposed to have been dragged; accom- panied those who took the body to Cottonville; first saw Watkins that morn- ing in going from where the body was found to Cottonville; met Watkins, Calvin Nelson and two or three others-do not remember who they were; rec- ollect of Watkins being arrested and brought to Andrew ; on Wednesday, Jan- uary 30th, defendant paid me a ten dollar bill ; he paid me for different articles he had got in my saloon-beer and cigars; it had been accumulating for two or three weeks-might have been longer; do not remember exact amount of the bill ; it was between two and three dollars; changed the ten-dollar bill for him, and he requested me to take out the twenty-five cents that I paid for him at the dance; told him I had not paid the musicians for him; he insisted on me taking the twenty-five cents and paying it to them; told him he must do that himself ; Wm. Davidson paid for the drinks when Cronk and Watkins took a glass of beer together. About the same time they arrested Conklin, Brunsen and Webb. Watkins said to me, on Wasson's steps, that he had re- ceived from John Bucklin a sum of money, cannot say how much, that he had loaned to Bucklin; he also spoke of money he had received from another source, but from where I cannot say.
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