, 1881-12-25
This Was on the Plains, on the
Way to Deadwood.
4 Crowd Tried to Make Him Shell
Ont" and BE Killed Man. p,
His Trial Was Concluded with Verdict
Of Manslaughter Yesterday.
He Had Studied the Guiteau Case, and Had
Ascertainsd His Rights" :.
He Therefore and Thereupon Made an
Enormous Sensation in Court 10,

TANK1oS, D. T., Dec 24.-For over tw,
weeks past, George Knowlton, famou
three-card monte man. has been on trial her
for the murder of David Raucl in the lndial
country OF this Territory over four years ago
Knowlton then made his escape, but was al
rested In Chicago on the 31st of last Angus
on suspicion, and a fraudulent gold bficl
was found in his possession. Maj. Whipple
who had been after him for over three years
recognized him as the nan who was wanted
in Dakota, and ; he was : brought Il
this place by Marshal Jones. The hla
has been fuft of interest, and from the festl
1nony given the prosecution seemed to have
q strong case. s.; 80
r. FIVE WITNESSES ":s Il.
testified that they saw the shooting, and theil
evidence was consistent throughout Briefly
given, tna facts are these: On April 10, 1877,
large number of men were atwhat is now
Pierre, on the east side Of; the Missouri
River. on their way to the Black Hills.
George Knowlton and Michael 0'Neii, three:
card-monte men, induced Dutch Fred and
afterwards an old man named McKen-
ME, to play, and, all Of the
old mans =: money: and his gold
watch quickly changed ownership. Anum-
Der OF the men, with guns and revolyers, de-
>ided to go to Walpo1e's camp, where Knowl-
Ion was and - *'-- ~-.-;,s 7 80 = i:
HDucE KEowLrox TO GIVE BAcK :PARr OF
:.:...-" ~ THE MONEY! T. :
rs the old man was 200 or, 800 miles from civ
iization; without cent or a friend. Knowl-
ton had been informed by a fellow called
Red Cloud that the men were coming, and
intended either to get the money or to kill
him, and Know1ton was advised to Skip"
Shortly afterwards Dutch Fred : came
running up, and Knowlton fired; two
OF three !. times. at ~. him, and then
disarmed him. As the men came. up they
gathered around a wagon. upon the tongue
of which David Rauck- sat with his gun on
his knees. just here the testimony varies
materially :.~.sS y +:
80 EDWARD BUsBY's EVIDENCE
goes to show that Rauck's: gun was not
pointed at Knowlton, but little to one side,
and that while the men were talking Rauck
also said something to Knowlton about Civ
lng back part Of the money. Knowlton
turned upon him. and, after telling
him two or three times to put his
gun down., shot !: him in the left
temple, causing instant, death. According
to another witness, Knowlton replied, when
H.
and would die on the spot before giving ltup.
...s' MIKE o'SE1L' ~, =, = .:
testified that, when one Of the men said if
Mckenzie had been foolish enough to GAM
BILE, it served him right, and the: matter was
all right; that Rauck replied lit may be all
right with you, but it is not all right with
me. and no such thieving operations can be
carried on around here;'' that, saying this,
he pointed :, his gun UPON Knowlton,
who. after telling him to point it.. away,
shot him dead. The defense has been con-
ducted blythe Hon, Bartlett Trip. on the
theory of selt-defense; that Know1ton was
warned that an armed party was coming up
to mob him and - Il :,
RELIEVED us LIFE WAS IN DANGER,
and that when he saw Raucl pointing his
gun at him. he. was justified in taking
Ranck's life to save his own. The prosecu-
hon denied that any threats had been made;
that Rauck's gun was pointed at Knowlton;
that the gun was cooked, and that Know!ton's
life was in danger. The Lawyers spent two
days and half summing UP the case. Judge
Shannon finished his charge just before 8
o'clock this afternoon, when the jury re-
tired. :s.>< r. -. .-:~>@ -
TIE SCENE
The court convened at 7:30. and the iury
were led in. At this time Knowlton looked
sangnlne, though his wife, who has been
with him all through the trial, buried her
lace In her handkerchief. The jury then
announced that they had found the prisoner
guilty Of manslaughter. Mrs. Knowlton
gave vent to her feelings In the loudest grief
The flrstone to break the silence was Knowi-
ton himself: Herose to. his feet and cried
SNYI&S