Litchfield enquirer., 1868-04-23

A Y. APRIL 23, 1868 great error, and that he was neither the man who aided ill the robbery of Jansen s store nor the redoubtable Jim Stuart His plea was one for mercy; for time to inves- l tiglte more thoroughly the whole matter; for an opportunity to. be given to these men. when the passions of the populace should have sabsided, to produce IS he as sured the jury that they could produce, anl- pie evidence of their innocence.~ The old man grew eloquent, and evidently was affecting the jury and the crowd, which had waited patiently in the room during the entire proceedings; and, as he closed, a round of applans greeted his efEmt The Jury after charge from the presiding judge, retired into an ad joining room, aud during the two hours between ten o'clock and midnight, Berdue and Mildred, re maining in the court room, surrounded by citizen police, selected for the occasion, tremblingly awaited the verdict of life or death. Near midnight, the outside throng began to grow impatient, and they were harangued by several of their number. At one time rush was made into the court room with the evident intention of seizing the prisoners, but the frmness of the citi. zen guard foiled the attempt. Soon after, quite dramatic scene occurred. A wo- man young, and by no means ill-looking, bearing in her arms an infant, forced her way into the court room, as she had forced it through the vast throng about it. Her baby, and her woman's weakness, were her passports through that assemblage of rough excited men waiting and hoping for her husbands execution. She was Berdue's wife, and, arrived in the court room she threw her babe into his arms, and fell ex- hausted on the floor at his feet, where she lay speeches. and sobbing, until removed to an adjoining room. This little episode, however, had its effect in softening the crowd gathered immediately about the
 4 little past midnight, the jury sent in a communication to the court, stating that it was impossible for them to agree upon a verdict. A ray of hope shot across the fa- ces of the prisoners, as this announcement was made; but it was changed to look of dread and horror when the report having reached the outside throng, it was received by them with the general shout of chang them, hang themr' In order to allay the excitement, the presiding judge requested the prosecuting attorney to address the crowd. This he did, and reminded them that, having placed the matter in the hands of a court of their own choosing, they were bound in honor to adide by that courts de- cision. His personal popularity, rather than his argument, had the effect to lower the temperature of their passions: and when he returned to the court all was qui- ct. It was now one o'clock, and the jury again communicated with the judge, sta ting that they could not agree The court consulted together a moment in silence, and then, ordering the citizen guard to convey the prisoners back to their cells. the jury was called in and discharged; and the court adjourned to meet at the call of the president. The crowd, wearied with excitement and want of food and sleep, re- tired rapidly; but several hundred persons remained about the courtroom till day light. The mayor of the city addressed these, and recommended them to retire. He assured them that justice should be done; that the prisoners should have speedy trial by the regular judicial author itles, and begged them to leave the matter in their hands. The morning journals contained articles recommending this course, and on Monday, although knots of stragglers remained all day about the court house, no demon stration was made; and it
 
 that, as tine grand jury was then in session the prisoners should be taken immediately before it. ''If," Was the argument used, "the judicial authorities fail to punish them, then We will take them in hand and execute them ourselves without judge or jury"
 The grand jury, in the course of the day, found a :'true bill, and two weeks after ward thesnen were tried before the crimi- nal court. The same evidence given upon the lynch trial was reproduced here, and Jausen, now rapidly recovering, appeared in person, and gave in his evidence clearly distinctly, and positively. Additional wit ncsses were introduced to prove the identi- ty of Berdue with Jim Stuart. Wildred's coat was passed over to prosessed chem lst, who reported the clot upon the elbow to be blood The trial lasted but few hours; and resulted in the conviction of both the men upon the crime charged iii the ndlctment-robbery- both were sentenced to undergo the extreme penalty ot the law, fourteen years confinement in the penitentiary of the State.
 Mildred was immediately conveyed there but for Berdue, a requisition was i'll Wait ing demanding him for trial as Jim Stla:t, the murderer of the sheriff of Tuba. The night of his conviction he was taken to Marysville, where the grand jury had al- ready found bill against him for murder, and in few days he was tried as Jim Stuart sworn to for Jim Staurt by at least dozen witnesses, some of whom testified to hay ing lived for months in the same mining camp with him; convicted as Jim Stuart and, as Jim Stuart, sentenced to be hung in three Aeeks from the time of his convic- tion.
 Meantime, the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance had become permanent or ganization. Already some of it's members had, by union of ruse and force, taken two notorious thieves and robbers out of jail, one Sunday afternoon, when the pris- oners were attending religious service; and thirty minutes after the two men, Whitta- ker and Mackenzie, were swinging from impromptu gibbets, extended from the committee rooms. They were, in reality, committee of vigilance" and their argus eyes discovered much crime and many crim- inals.
 Opa ovonino ahout a xvooI hofovo klo