Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1882-03-21
e.
THE TRIAL OF G. j. LANSING
FOR KILLING HIS WIFE.
Proceedings fn the District Court
Testimony for n D~efense-The
Evidence of Miss Ada Lansing.

Testimony for che Defense-The
Evidence of Miss Ada Lansing.
The case Of the State Of Nevada against
O. ]. Lansing, charged with manslaugh-
ter, was begun yesterday. The forenoon
was taken up in securing a jury. In the
afternoon the witnesses for the prosecu-
ton were heard. They testified substan-
TALLY as has been reported. They could
tell only what is already matter of COM
mon notoriety. The circumstance Of the
killing they knew nothing about. The
defendant, c. ]. Lansing, Esq, is the only
person who is in possession Of these ma
terial facts. He will testify to-day. Yes
terday afternoon, after the evidence Of the
witnesses for the State had been heard, the
witnesses for the defense gave their testi-
mony, the gist of which was to show b
character Of the deceased, Mrs. G.. j. Lam
sing. They testified to her violent temper
as observed by them in the chronological
order of their evidence for the last thir-
teen years. Ii the witnesses had taken the
stand in this order they would have come
as follows: J.. s. Whitton, @. l.. Broy,
Mrs. Miller, Alexander Wilson, M. B.
Bartlett and Miss Ada Lansing.
THESE ALL TESTIFIED
Substantially to the same facts-to what
they had observed with regard to Mr.. and
Mrs. Lansing from 1869 up to the present
time. That the deceased was given to
periodical spells of intoxication |; that she
mo y,alaat anI oIra;ya If har buabon1 .
that she was a bad and dangerous woman
that she made home q veritsble hell for
her husband that she repeatedly threat
ened to take his life, and that he had to be
constantly on the alert to save himself
from death at her hands that she said,
when sober, as well as when under the in
huence OF drink, that she was determined
to kill him that she was a woman of ex-
t~raordinary physical strength, and clearly
his superior in this respect that she had
time and again driven him out OF the
house, by day and by night, sometimes
undressed, bent on killing him with what
ever weapon fell into her hands that her
fayorite weapons were beer bottles, the big
kitchen-knife, s~tovewood, the Ratchet, the
poker, or whatever she could first lay hold
of in her fiendIsh anger that the neigh
bors were often called in to her husbands
protection, and that they subdued her for
the time only by threats Of police and the
Jail.
o THE DEFENDANT.
OF Kit Lansing they all testified that
he il an inoffensiye, peaceable, mild-man-
nered man, and that he preferred always
to get out Of the way Of the devilish wo-
man rather than to try and overcome her
by resistance. and that he never treated
her as she did him unless strictly in self
defense and when flight was impossible.
On one occasion, when cornered by the
woman and being mauled by her with a
piece OF stove wood, he did no more than
try to parry her blows and to expostulate
with her in this wav: "Oh! mamma, NAM
ma, don't do that" The impression made
on the minds of the audience by all this
testimony was one Of surprise that some
direful tragedy had not occurred in the
Lansing family before, the daily chances
being SO much in favor of such a eontin.
gency. Had the husband proved the vic
tim there would haveb been much less sur
prise, and it would have been looked upon
as a piece Of news that was not unex-
pected.
A TRYING SITUATION.
The saddest feature Of yesterdays Court
proceedings was the appearance on the wit
ness stand Of Miss Ada Lansing. The
situation in which she was placed could
hardly nave been more cruel or melancholy.
The counsel for the defendant hesitated,
for obvious reasons, to use her as a witness;
but they recognized that there is nothing
to be conceded to mere sentiment and
delieacy in such a catastrophe as this.
young lady, Of course, knows all that
has been going on in the unhappy family
she can remember. and her testimony
Is important in showing that her father
may have acted in self-defense when he
slew her mother, or else was crazed by
drink. That a refined and sensitive young
woman should take the stand in public,
and say things to utterly damn the name
Of her mother, il not a pleasant thing to
contemplate, but duty to the living COM
pels the truth to be told in this instance at
sacrifice Of sensibili.y to the wit
ness, and regardless of whatever obloquy
may result therefrom to the dead.
IN THE TINES CHAIR.
Miss Lansing appreciated the situation
When she went to take her seat in
The witness chair it was plain to be seen
she was n~erving herself up for the
ordeal with all her moral strength. 1t
was feared by those who sat in her neigh
borhood and watched her closely that she
would break down, but she did not, and
she told her sad story all through without
balk or confusion. She is a very sweet
young lady, Is years of age. She was
dressed in deep mourning, and very
as a reflex of her present dis
condition, drew out the sympathy
Of every person in the courtroom. Her
loo -. - mas aauarly ltotapaA m in nrO.
found silence, and every word she uttered
upon curious aud eager ears. She
said substantially as follows:
MISS LASsINa's TESTIMONY.
I can't remember anything very definite
" about our home life further back than
1872, except that she treated both me and
cruelty. She beat me with an iron
poker and ran him but of the house with b
knife. Father used to take me away from
her, and put me in some place away from
home to stay a while. In 1872 and 1878
were both in San Francisco. Mother
was intoxicated nearly all the time. In
1875 and 1876 l was at home most of the
time. Her conduct then was fearful, con-
threatening to kill father and strik-
ing and beating him and me, too. | recol-
lect distinctly that she kicked him out of
pcu several tllHcst uIiNiuS hih IA Va sho
and making him stay there a long
time. ! pitied him, but dared not say so.
He told me never to cross her, but to join
her in finding fault, so as to pacify her.
Her treatment Of him was always alike,
whether she was sober or drinking. She
was in San Francisco several months in
1877. ! was then below at school. Father
down several weeks of my vacation.
She was constantly beating him and en-.
dangering his life. She told me she
WOULD KILL HIM soME TIME.
I warned him to be careful. She said she
only lived with him to keep her mining
stocks. Once she slapped me violently in
the face on the street in San Francisco.
She threw a pitcher at my head once. /
lodged its full force, but 1t glanced across
my forehead and / fell. She used to make
me call father bad She would