Pioche daily record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1872-1876, 1873-08-14
THE HOWARD MURDER TRIAL.
The Testimony for the State Finished.

The Court met at 10 a. IN. Yesterday,
and the taking of testimony in the case
OF Jefferson Howard. charged with the
murder OF Sheldon d. Potter, was con-
tinued. As by far the greater portion Of
the testimony is merely corroborative of
that OF the first witness, Herman Strill.
man, which We gave in yesterdays issue,
we will give only the new matter brought
out in the testimony.
John Buckley sworn.-When the sky
larking was going on Potter sang out to
his partner to have the noise stopped.
He asked his partner if he wasn't run.
ming the house at the time, and said that
II he Charley couldn't or wouldn't stop
it he himself would. Howard told Pot
ter that he had better try it. Potter an
swered that he would try it. When Pot
ter told Howard to leave the bar-room
the latter replied that he Potter
couldn't make him leave. Potter then
presented his revolver and said: " You
d-n son of b--h, if you don't leave
here I'll put hole through you.' How
ard retreated slowly and told Potter that
he would be back soon. Potter COM
menced playing again; in fifteen or
twenty minutes Howard came back again,
opened the door, with his right hand,
holding a pistol i'll his left, and
said: " Potter, I'm here now, God d-n
you; turn yourself loosev' Some other
parties, who were playing with Potter,
sang out to Howard not to shoot. He
didn't shoot for perhaps half minute.
When Potter asked them to stop skylark-
ing think he spoke to them ALTO no
one in particular. They had been max
ing this noise think half an hour or
more when Potter asked who was run
ming that house. When Howard told
Potter that he had better try to stop it,
he called Potter a s-n of b-h. 9th
erwise than by the reports of the pistols
| could not tell who fired first, but iudg.
ing from the reports l was then satisfied
and | am now satisfied that Howard iired
first.
W. B. Gray, sworn. His testimony
as far as it went corroborated the previ-
ously given testimony.
DR.. Bergstein, sworn :
/ am a physician and surgeon;
saw Sheldon D. Potter at about
l a. IN. on May 9th l made an exami-
nation of him; found q gun-shot wound
about the center Of the sternum or breast
plate, between the fourth ribs, passing
obliquely to the left; In my opinion il
passed through the heart; didn't exam
iue him as to how long he had been dead
1t was, i'll my opinion, fatal wound; il
is my opinion that it caused his death;
he was dead when ] saw him; ITO Mr..
Bishop1 do not know whether he re-
ceived that gun-shot wound whilst living
or whilst dead.
AT IL 40 a. N. the Court took recess
till p. M.
At l p. m. the Court met again and
Jas. Keene took the stand.
Jas. Keene, sworn-When Potter sat
down at the table he said that he would
blowa hole through the black s. of b.
that you could throw cat through
when Howard came back / saw him open
ing the door with his right hand
l saw glimpse of pistol in
his left hand; saw Potter rise, hustling
himself out of the chair, and catching
his pistol from his light side; heard How
ard say "turn her loose" four times, |
think-twice before he shot and twice
during the shooting.
Jabez Hawkins, sworn-I saw Howard
come in at the door, and take a pistol
! from under his coat with his left hand
| looked at Potter then; Potter got up
from his seat and glanced toward the
stove, at the same time drawing his
pistol.
Charles Gill, sworn-On the evening
of the Sth of May was standing on the
corner of Main and Meadow Valley
streets, and saw Howard pass; he stopped
and had some conversation with Jimmy
Williams; Howard said to Williams that
he had gone and "healed' himself and
was going to give that S of a b a
game; and he walked off up Meadow VAL
ley street very rapidly.
! J. B. Van Hagen was called to the
stand, and testified that he had searched
diligently for S. Obradovich, Cornelius
Norton and jackson Lcbar, for whom
subpnnas had been issued, but had been
unable to find them.
| Tnereupon the prosecution asked per-
mission to read the dispositions of the
/ three men above named, given before the
Justices Court. The defense objected.
| The Court ruled that the dispositions
were admissible as testimony, and the
| defense excepted.
Deposition of s. Obradovich. @ Did
not Potter say, when Howard said he
was not armed; Well then, go and arm
YOURSELF" A.-No; did not hear him
say anything OF the kind.
The rest of this deposition, as we'll as
the other two dispositions, threw no new
light on the case, being merely corrobor-
alive. The prosecution here rested
TESTIMONY FOR THE DEFENSE.
n. B. Rodriguez sworn.-Obradovich
told me, in conversation, that although
he had sworn that he could not say who
had fired the first shot, he thought that
Potter had fired first. This was conf
dental.
Walter A. Seals, (mulatto) sworn. l
was in the habit OF going to Potter's
saloon; | went there, as others did, to
gamble and drink. One day Potter
made threats against Howard, and
against me too foM or five days before
the shooting he said, that as to Howard
he was going to bore a hole through that
black s--of b before he left town; he
also threatened me-; / owed him bill; il
was the same day he threatened Howard
he threatened several others; have not
paid the bill yet: after he had threatened
me said he was crazy, and asked him to
take drink; he struck my brother on
the head with a six-shooter; l continued
to go to the saloon after that as usual.
William Haskins (colored) sworn
When Howard said that "a niger is
good when he has money but when he
has not he can 80 to hell, he spoke in a
whisper; therefore l know that Potter
did not hear him. When Howard was at
the end of the counter Potter went up
to him, saying: CHOW you just get