THE BIDDULPH KU-KLUX
Preliminary Examination Yesterday Afternoon.
LOVES LABOR LOST EVIDENTLY. [...]
Yesterday afternoon, the prisoners Wm. Donnelly, Micheal Donnelly, Thomas Donnelly, Robert Corcoran, Daniel Keefe and William Atkinson, charged by Mr. William Thompson, of the 6th concession of Biddulph, with shooting with intent to do grievous bodily harm on the night of the 9th January last, were brought before Messrs. Lawrason and Stevens, J. P's., for preliminary examination. [...]
Wm. Thompson,sen., sworn — Live in Biddulph; on the night of the 9th eight men came to my house, and one of them stayed outside in the sleigh, whilst the others came to the door, and rapped for admission; my son went to the door and let them in; all of them except two were concealed with scarfs [...] they asked me for something to eat, and I told them there were no women around, but that the tavern was about a mile away [...] they told me they had a warrant for a horse thief, but they would not show me , or read, the warrant; I said it was not a horse thief, but my daughter they were searching for; they owned up to this, and then went away; in about five or six minutes afterwards I went south to my neighbor's, Mrs. Widow Fogarty's; on my road thiter I came up to the sleigh, and the men were just starting in an easterly direction, and when they saw me they turned round in the way I was going and followed me as fast as I could go; when I got near the house they were close upon me, and I hollered as loud as I could; one or two of them jumped out and caught me within a few yards of the fence. and put their hand or handkerchief across my mouth so that I could not holler Fogarty; I struggled and got away from them, and called for an axe; at this they fired two shots in the direction of where I was; I went into the house, and had the door partly shut when they came and pushed it open and caught hold of Mrs. Fogarty; they searched the house, and said they were looking for my daughter, and would have her wherever she was; [...]
Re examined — My daughter is aged between 21 and 22, and has been keeping house for my son for four or five years; I had no idea that she was keeping company with Donnelly, and would rather see her going to her grave than she should have my consent to marry William Donnelly; [...]
Wm. Thompson, jr., was also sworn, and, after giving details similar in substance to his father, identified Wm. Donnelly as one of the men who was in the gang that entered his residence about four o'clock on the morning of the 10th January;