three days. Then the argument began, of which Judge Benton was first, then F. G. Fields, Senator Hogg, Grant Forrester and Judge Byrd. Then R. Monroe Fields finished. The argument from the defendant's side was very poor. The attorneys left the case completely and all they done was to make fun of Letcher County and its officers. The attorneys for the Commonwealth stayed with the case and the proof and a verdict was rendered in about fifty minutes for life in the pen.

The first vote was seven for the chair, four for life and one for two to twenty-one years. When the jury asked the Judge for pen and ink to write the verdict with the Judge ordered me to bring out the prisoner. The courthouse bell was rung and the courthouse was full in ten minutes. The jury came out of the jury room and took their seats in the jury box and the Judge asked them if they had a verdict and they answered, "We have," and the Judge ordered them to read it and it was read. If I ever saw an intelligent jury in my life that was one. After the verdict was read the attorneys for Frese asked for a new trial and a change of venue, which was overruled by Judge H. C. Faulkner. Then the attorneys for Frese took the case to the Court of Appeals for a new trial and change of venue and were granted sixty days to hear from the Court of Appeals.

Mr. Frese is a very wealthy man. He owns all kinds of coal and timber land.

The Letcher County docket stands clear without a murder case on the book now-thank God for that —and I am glad I have lived to see old Letcher stand ahead in law and order. We must give the Hon. J.

F. Butler, Judge of the Thirty-fifth district, and also our Commonwealth's Attorney, R. Monroe Fields, credit for nine-tenths of it.

R. Monroe Fields was born on the head of King's Creek at the foot of the Laurel Mountains. He never was in college, but got what education he has in a very homely schoolhouse. He was granted law license to practice law when he was eighteen years old. Mr. Fields' first case was a very funny case. William McIntire, merchant at the mouth of Rockhouse, had sued Andy Crase for $300 for store account. When the case was called Mr. Fields stated to the court that you could not bring a suit in a magistrate's court over $200, so Mr. McIntire agreed to knock off one hundred dollars. Mr. Fields claimed that he had paid the account in full and also claimed limitation on all the account except ten cents' worth of horseshoe nails which had been bought inside of two years. Mr. Fields showed the court where an account was over two years old you could not bring suit, and so Mr. Dixon, the magistrate, took Mr. McIntire out and read him the law and he agreed to knock off the other $200, as he did not want to get stuck for the costs, and he agreed to law it out for the ten cents' worth of horseshoe nails. A jury was called and the court began to take the proof. The case lasted something like two hours. The case got very hot. Both parties accused each other of swearing lies and the court threatened to fine them if they did not hush up that talk. So finally the case was finished and both sides of the case was argued on. One side was argued on by Mr. Fields and the other by Mr. McIntire, an uneducated merchant.

After the argument was over the instructions were given the jury, and after being out about one hour the jury came in and reported that they could not agree. The court then sent them back in the jury room the second time to make a verdict, if possible. After something about one-half an hour they reported the second time that they could not agree, so the court sent them back the third time and asked them, if possible, to agree. They were out this time only about fifteen minutes and reported that they could not agree, as there were only three and three. So the jury was dismissed and both sides agreed to pay his part of the costs and the suit to be settled, which was agreed upon. So Mr. Fields won his case for his client, Mr. Crase, and received his five ($5) dollar fee out of a ten-cent suit for horseshoe nails.

Since that time Mr. Fields has won some very large cases in different Circuit Courts and the Government courts and has been elected once County Attorney and twice Commonwealth's Attorney of the Thirtyfifth Judicial District of Letcher County, which was cut off of Perry County.

The first County Judge was Nat Collins, son of Jim Collins, and a very strong preacher, who came here in 1806 from North Carolina and was making his way for the Bluegrass section. There were eight men and women and Preacher Collins led the bunch. They had come by the way of Cumberland Gap and did not know how to get across the Stone Mountain into the Bluegrass region. There was no Cumberland Gap tunnel then or any railroads, only a wild wilderness. The bunch came up Powell's River to where Wise, Va., is now, and struck out through the Pound Gap