New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1868-07-05
THE GREAT REPUBLIC MURDER.
CAPTAIN DOHALDsONs EXAMINATION.
HIS ooMM1rrAL ron MURDEn.


--
The st. Lous papers received Friday
evening bring reports of the testimony be-
fore the police court in the case of Captain
W. B. Donaldson, of the steamer Great Re
public, arraigned for the murder of Henry
Anderson, colored, while he was confined in
irons in the baggage room of the steamer
Great Republic on her last trip up from
New Orleans. The courtroom was crowded,
and large proportion of the visitors were
colored persons.
The Democrat says:
Captain Donaldson is a fine looking man,
about thirty-ive years OF age, large aud sol.
idly built, with square shoulders aud long
limbs, and countenance. beaming an
open and frank expression, and some
marks of lover of the iuxur!es of life.
He was calm aud composed throughout
manifesting but little concern, 4ud making
no suggestions to his counsel. He shook
hands with some of his liver friends, and
was not at all despondent. His confidence
seemed to be shared by his friends.
When the case was called, Mr. Shreve,
counsel for the prisoner, stated that the de-
fense would waive examination.
MI. Z. T. johnson, prosecuting attorney
OF the criminal court, who together with
uAAs ShaAACo VI. ulhulO dppCdANu do CDuubGl
for the State, said he insisted upon an ex.
animation. He knew of no law for waiv
ing examination in the case. He knew of
no power on the part of a magistrate
in this State to accept waiver of exam-
ination.
Lawrence Glover, employed on the steam
er as ladies' cabin boy, testified that he and
Anderson were handcutfed together. We
| quote:
Captain Donaldson was down again before
we arrived in St. Louis; the second clerk
| was with him; Anderson had his handouts
| broken at the time; he broke them with
pair OF dumbbells; he broke them about
| quarter of an hour before Captain Donald
son came in; the captain ordered some more
| handCuHs to pc brought, and asked him how
he broke them; Captain Donaldson told him
to go down to the stage plank did not
| hear anything else after the deceased broke
| his handouts; after the deceased broke his
| handouts he played cards with me; we were
| doing so when the captain came in; did
not see the captain in the room after that
until the shooting of Anderson; we remain
| ed in custody until we got TO st. Louis; we
went asleep soon after nine o'clock on Tues
| day night. was wakened up by Capt. Don
aldsOn and the porter Samuel Raw; the
/ latter had lantern; they were coming into
the baggage room, and the porter said to
/ bAAG Chpbdlu budb AuutIsuu uhu EOb HIS
| hands before him. was awakened by
their coming into the room; Anderson was
| asleep then. Captain Donaldson touched
| him with his foot, and ordered him to get
| up. 1t was before he laid down to sleep
that he got b ) handouts before him. Cap
tain Donaldson asked him how he got his
| handouts before him, and he said he slipped
them; he said he must slip them back
| Captain Donaldson had pistol in his hand
| when deceased was slipping his handouts
behind him; he made us squat down five or
six times, directing pistol at us; | said
had cut my foot, and asked the porter to
put some whisky or something on it. When
the porter turned to get the whisky the
captain put the pistol to Anderson's ear
and shot him. Captain Donaldson before
said: ''Don't you talk that way TO me-
Anderson had not said anything to him.
| When he fired the pistol Anderson was
standing up, and his handouts were behind
him; | was also handcuffed. Anderson fell
Immediately; Captain Donaldson turned
round to me and said, " / had better shoot
this little son of a - or he will tell it;n |
saw he had the pistol in his hand; the porter
said will make this all right, aud the cap
tain then said that he would go to bed; |
reached down to get hatchet to burst the
window open, and picked up the pistol with
which he shot Anderson; my handouts were
still on; Captain Donaldson dropped the
pistol after he shot Anderson; he had two
pistols, one of which was smaller than the
other; at one time he had both of them out
at once; when he made us squat down and
get up, he had them both out one pointed
at me and the other at the deceased; / did
not notice in which hand he had the large
pistol; when he made the remark to me he
had the smaller pistol in his hand he had
| dropped the other pistol; | did not see
where the hatchet was; | was the last one
out of the room; Captain Donaldson was
just out of the room when / picked the
pistol up; the lamp was left in the room
when got the pistol l broke through
the window with my hand; pulled the
! window out, got out and run over two or
| three ladies, who were on the middle
| deck. | then went behind some barrels
| stayed there three or four minutes until
| got my handouts off; / slipped my hand
cuffs off one hand only; Caught hold of
one of the tenders of the Mollis Able, and
slipped down on the deck. From there |
ran toward the police station. When l was
slipping my handouts off Iheard the watch
man moving about on the lower deck. |
was raised in Philadelphis, where also
have a residence.
Judge Dennison informed Captain Donald
son that he was charged with murder in
| the first degree, and that he was at liberty
to make any statement.
Mr.. Shreve, on his behalf, said he had no
statement to make.
! The accused was committed on the charge
| of murder in the first degree to await the
examination of the Grand Jury. t-.-
/