On Friday afternoon last, a sad tragedy was enacted near Mt. Erie.

For some time past bad feeling has existed between George Sutton and Wm. Hailey Phelps. The trouble originated in a quarrel between the women of the two families respecting the intrusion of geese in fields where they were not wanted.

On Friday afternoon a number of young people were arranging the picnic grounds at Brown Church for use the following day. In going from the grounds late in the afternoon Sutton and Phelps met and renewed the old quarrel. Sutton used very abusive language to Phelps when the latter struck him with his open hand. Sutton then cut him with a knife in four different places in or near the bowels. Two of the wounds were dangerous and the bowels of the unfortunate man protended from them and were with difficulty replaced. Dr. E. W. Ingram was called and the cuts dressed but the injured man was beyond medical aid and died Saturday evening.

The only persons present at the time of the cutting were James Hayes, Bishop Gilbert and James McLoan. Hayes and Gilbert are the only witnesses --McLoan left for Indiana the day after the affair.

James Rogers was not present but was implicated as being an accessory. He is charged with giving advice to Sutton of a kind to encourage the assault. This is on the theory that it was a premeditated affair. Rogers was arrested by Constable John Marvel on Sunday afternoon and the same evening tried before Esq. Enlow. The result of the examination was a mittimus for his confinement in the county jail - his participation in the matter being decided to be of such a character as to forbid the taking of bail.

Sutton is not to be found but the authorities are on the watch for him. He is not of very bright intellect.

It is charged that the knife which Rogers ground for Sutton was first given to McLoan and by him afterwards handed to Sutton - hence McLoan absented himself immediately after the homicide.

Phelps, the victim, was thirty-six or thirty-seven and married. [He actually was 26.] He was a son of Mr. Newton Phelps, well-known to many of our citizens. He was buried Sunday afternoon.

Rogers was brought to Fairfield Monday morning by Constable Marvel. Owing to defects in the mittimus he was not placed in jail but kept in custody and Squire Enlow sent for to come down and explain regarding the informalities in the [unreadable].

Rogers is now in jail on a mittimus issued by Squire Creighton to await a new trial to be held tomorrow afternoon - from later information it seems that his [unreadable] in the matter is not so [unreadable] as indicated above. It is alleged that his advice to Sutton was to avoid a quarrel but if crowded and attacked to retreat "until the law was on his side" and then go to cutting. This advice was given when the newly sharpened knife was given Sutton. He will probably be released on bail at the new trial.