Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-11-21

The second day of the trial of Charles
Munster for the murder of Ella Patterson,
attracted as large crowd to the district
court as the first, all of whom remained
throughout the session.
Mr.. Egan after calling on Lou Davis and
on another witness, neither of whom ap-
peared, rested the testimony for the prose
cution.
Preliminary to calling on the witnesses
for the defense Mr.. Hall stated that thus
far the state had had it all its own way.
The defense acknowledged the shooting
but claimed the pistol exploded by acct
dent. There we're but three persons who
were real witnesses in this case, the de-
ceased woman, the prisoner and Eliza
Hall, and the latter did not See the trigger
pulled and only saw the weapon in
Eunsters hand after it had exploded. He
stated that Ella, aware of her approaching
demise, on her deathbed did not consider
that the prisoner meant to shoot her. 1t
should have been the business of the state,
while the prisoner was lying poor and
frlendless IN the Jail to have procured her
dying statement of this case in legal
manner. If it had thus done its duty
He proposed to put Paymaster Hollister,
of the Northern Pacific railroad, on the
stand, who went to see Ella at the hospital
Oh the Sunday following tho shooting at
the request of Munster to see if anything
0)uld be done to make her more comfort
able to rebut the testimony given by Eliza
Hall on the Cross examination; that Eliza
told HoIlister at that meeting that Hun
e4a ~ To oh Har Ir h.
contrary, and to put the prisoner on the
stand to give his own version of the ef-
fair.
CHAELEs MUNSTER
testified that he had been Q resident of 81.
Paul for a trife over year aud was q
cook on the paymaster's car of the North
ern Pacific railroad. He gave his where
abouts from his arrival from Bcaiuerd on
the Friday preceding the shooting up
10 the evening in which it
was done at his rooms on jackson street,
he meeting Eliza Hall at his rooms for
the first time. He described his beating
Hall at game of casino for the beer, and
afterwards going for fifteen cents worth in
pail. That they afterwards played for
money, and that on his winning, and her
refusal to pay, to his going into his room
and getting the pistol therefrom, and
pointing it at her, and demanding the
quarter won, on which she laid down her
pocket book on the table, and hs laid his
pistol on the table al his end. That she
snatched the pistol, but he getting hold of
it again thrust it between his legs, butt
out, in the chair in which he sat, when he
tore his pants with it, and thought the az
ton must have cooked the weapon, though
he had no knowledge of it, or thought of
it until the weapon exploded accidentally
in his hand afterwards and wounded Ella.
With the weapon thus in the chair the
game proceeded until IL O'clock, when he
went and placed the pistol on the
table In his room. Hs drunk but
two glasses of beer that night and moth
ing stronger. He took off his hat, coat
and vest early III the evening, "a the
weather was hot, and did not resume them.
After this card playing he went out for
lunch and both the girls were il the room
when he commenced playing with his dog,
and on Elias Gliding him he desisted. Ga
her determination to write to her little
girl, he said she should not in that room
and took the nib from her pen. He asked
Eliza to go out of ths room so that be
could make arrangements with Ella for
her staying there for the night. On Elias
determination to write, and her demand
to have him hold the light for her to got
some paper in his room, he yielded. and
they went in for the paper, which was in
I;tIe box.
Here the prisoner described how he
stood in the room, and where Ella was,
the position of the trunks and table, and
was permitted to take the revolver in hand
in court to explain that in
taking it from the center of the table to
place it in a trunk it exploded as he
hld side hold of it with his hand the
bal! autering Elias groin, Ella held her
hands upon her limo in u dazed manner,
cried, 'oh, Charlie has shot me-" and he
said / @ did not mean to-" Eliza Hall
came IN and caught him By the wriat and
commenced to hoiioa. lie started down
stairs for n doctor, but went back for his
hat and Hall didn't want to be left alone.
The second time he went down stairs he
met Policeman Murphy, who said he was
an officer, but he did not see his badge.
When he asked what Was the matter he
said, II shOt Ella accidentally" aud Eliza
cried out on the stairs, "he shot her" He
went back into the room where Ella was
lying On her face, ahead of ths officer, but
did not hold the door against him, but
there was strong draft of wind blow
ing in from a window against the door
There were three ways to escape from the
rooms, but he did not want to run away,
and had no thought of it. He never had
any intention of firing the pistol at Ella
or anyone else, and had no thought of its
going off. He carried it in satchel in
the pay car, and back and forth in shat
manner from the car to his rooms.
Cross-examintd -Was not accustomed to
carry pistol on his person, though it might
be in oyercoat GA 4 few occasions. he was
badly mixed up as we'll as were the Jury in
an attempt TO tracs him point by point
through Friday and Saturday up 10 the
time of the shooting, but besides reading
the novel "Egyptian Princess" getting
klndling wood for Ella 20 wash and her
baking out the acknowledgment that he
lived with Ella as his mistress and that she
talked of leaving him, nothing particularly
new was elioited, He said that liza told
felsehood if she sand shs beat
him a. casino that night. that
he was IN fun when he pointed the pistol
at her in their play; that he wanted Eliza
to leave the room on the evening of the
shooting thSt he could also talk 10 Ella
about some nancy matters; that the ex-
elsmation made by him in the room inst