The Benton weekly record. [volume] (Benton, Mont.) 1880-1885, 1880-01-16
A TRUTH.
zAoss tile poos witness Fares an ske
Stand,

zAoW the Poo. Witness Fares an ,ke
Stand.
The manner i'll which attorneys uuess OF
witnesses is exasperating to the Intelligent
listener beyond expression. Tho gsrat
purpose of the average criminal IsHsrs,r4
for instance, is to draw from the wi5tstS4s
all the facts in his possession except ito
facts that touch the case under cossittelA.
ton.
A eountryman, chopping down ;rre,
stops his work and buries his axe up 10 li,f
eve in the brain of his brother-if-laW. f7;e
witness who saw the whole bloody Ira.
saction is brought into coart, and his ~
animation runs about thus:
You say that the prisoner was, ci,n!,-
ping tree down. Now, win Fou ple,-,s.
.eIl the court and jury where he boug.45
the axe? ~
ssYou don't know very we'll, sir; xe'A
see about that.
Now sir, look at the jury-tion't STARE
in that helpless manner at memo" sir.
you say, upon youroath, thattsae defeMi:;,ss
stole that axe beforehe left Padllcah.:
You do say SO, Ell? Well, now ma K
me, sir. How many feet was it fre,s, z.,e
tree that the defendant was choppiug =,
the nearest grist mill. You can't say.
.'Ras it tsn feet?"
Certainly, a good deal more.
..Well. then. was it thousand miles ~
.'Oh, certainly not.
4ssI'he court and iaEy will please obser,e
the stUbborness of the witness. It is mst.~
ifestly his purpose to keep from the iny5
the facts they ought to know
'.Sow, sir, who owned the milll''
The witness innocently inquiries, ''Wlsat
mill % but soon repents it.
1.-THE jury will please observe the e&-
aspcrating contumaciousness of this wit
ness, his evasion and his manifest purpose
to confuse your minds to the faeta involved
In this terrible murder
''Now. sir, look me in the face, YoH
have soIenmly sworn that the nan waE
chopping near amill. We'll. YOU now say
look at the jury, sir--that there was n'
mill within thousand miles OF the tree
the defendant was falling"
II don't say anything of the kind
''rhe jury will please note that answer.
snow aee here, my friend, we've haej
about enough of this. You frat declarG
that there was no mill, and now yoiE
brazenly declare that there was mill neaF
the wood chopper
t.I said there was no mill within s"ftS
fee---'' ..-z
s'Never mind what yoa said-1 know
what you said, and the jury knows; and
now, sir listen TO me.
'tWho made your boots ~
s;You don't krowi ID there anything
under Gods heavens that yos ,lo know
There, there; look at the jury-not at me-
And now, perhaps, you can tell the lur$
what your name is?'
The witness tells his name.
''Now, sir-look at the iury--llow long
did you live there?"
s'The witness timidly asks. 'sLive$l
wherc? y when the attorney springs to
feet:
ssMay it please the Court and Jury,
find this witness utterly incorrigihle, es;tif=
born, mulish and bent upon keeping bach
the very facts the jury must have. He has
clearly been tampered with, and comes
here with the manifest intention Of brow
beating and worrying both the jury atfsf
the bar. have tenlporiZed with him.
have gently led him from point TO pointiif
the hope of beguiling him into true reci--
tai of the facts connected with this dread
full murder, and what is my reward for this
considerate Kindness and forbearance.
Speaking under the sanctity Of an oath, be
tells the Court and jury that he doean'f
know where he lives, and has asked me II
tell him, Great God can such things hse
and not overcome us like a-iEe-and nes:
overcome us2 | ask, your Honor thas
this witness be sent to jail for contumacy.
Hngness to tell what he knows about this
dreadful murder.
The Court then admonishea the witness
that further trifling will not be permitted,
and he nust answer the gentleman's
questions, or he will certainly he called
upon to commit him to prison,
The. witness by this time is bewildered,
scared, dazed, and INDUCES in contradics
tons, absurdities as fast and az often as
the attorney requires him to-; and, finally,
leaving the stand, it is a quarter Of an
hour ut least before he can recall his own
name or fix his own identity. The attora,
ney then gets upon his feet and tears t1ns
wretched witness contradictory and foolisls
rignaro1e all to tatters, and asks the Goufs
that it be excluded from the Jury as false
and nonsensieal.
And that is one of the ways many Of otsg
average criminal lawyers adopt " to draw
out the faetsf' in great nsarder eases