Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-03-24

public. The efforts of any paper in q case
like the present one, without the possession
of any facts whatever, to endeaver to extend
into columns in length, long drawn out
shadows of rumors and ghostly speculations
of theorie', for sensational purposes. even I'M.
der the guise and pretense OF newspaper en-
terprise, is reprehensible in the eyes of dis.
eliminating public, and as urjournslistic as
detrimental in the cause of justice"
At the opening of the Court yesterday the
assessment list of the deceased, given in by
him te the town of Woodland, for the fiscal
year 1882, was offered in evidence. 1t
shows that his total taxable property in the
town was 1880. 1t was admitted that Rahm
requested the last Grand Jury to investigate
the cause Of the death of Maltby.
! Asa Brewer remembered March 25 1882.
Knew deceased Saw him drunk on that day
in the evening. During the last year Of his
| life the habits of deceased as to sobriety were
! good occasionally he had his spree they
would sometimes last three or four days. On
! March 10Th he saw deceased and asked him
how it happened that he got hurt He said
he could not tell me. About 8 o'clock left
him at Powers saloon, and never saw him
again. Did not see defendant there that
evening. When on sprees, the deceased
sometimes went to houses of prostitution.
During the week he was missing 1 inquired
of Rahm about him. We concluded be was
at the Exchange" where he had spent the
Goth Of March. When 1 last saw deceased
he was sober.
j. E. Baird had known Stotenberg Is
years knew his reputation in this commu-
nifty tor truth and veracity it is bad never
heard of his honesty or integrity being i'm.
pesched; always heard him spoken of as a
great blowhard.
o. G. jackson testified that he had told Dan
Burns that Stotenburg was the d-t liar in
the world. Witness offered to explain how
he came to say this. Defendant objected and
the Court refused to permit the explanation.
Defendant offered to prove by persons to
whom he had told them, the various tough
stories of Stotenbere's exploits, but the Court
refused t. hear them. The defense then
closed.
J. G. Ball, in rebuttal, testified that one of
the Hornlein brothers told him at Sacramento,
about two months ago, that he knew Harris,
and asked Stotenberg, who was with me, if
that was the man who was there with him.
Stotenberg said yes. He then said, Eyes,
know him he was here yesterday, and left,
saying ne was going to the mines" Don't
know the Hornlein boys apart unless l see
them together. 1t may have been Hugo,
though l thought it was Max. Hornlein
never told me that Stotenberg had requested
him to tell me this. Yesterday Hugo Horn.
lein stated that Stotenberg had asked him to
tell Ball these Stories but stated he had not
done so, and that he had told Ball and also
the District Attorney about them, and refused
to assist in misleading them in respect to
knowing Harris.
9. 7. Jones, of counsel for the prosecution,
then addressed the Court. He said ever since
his admission to the bar he had always been
ready to prosecute any guilty party, but
never considered it q duty to ask prisoner
to be held unless there was evidence TO war
rant it, and in this the District Attorney
agreed with him. He said that while he was
not satisfied that suicide had been committed,
there were more indications now that such
was the case than before the examination. A
motive for suicide had been shown. He be-
lieved that Rahm should be fully exone.
rated that everybody engaged in the prose-
cution had acted fairly and in good faith
that parties had made statements that misled
those engaged in the prosecution, and when
put upon the stand did not testify to things
they had told the prosecution. He thought
Stotenberg's testimony was entirely valueless.
He therefore moved the discharge of the de-
PENDANT. This was done. Many pressed
forward to shake the hand of Rahm.
Yesterday afternoon preparations were
being actively made to hold mass meeting
of the citizens of Yolo, to express their senti-
ments in relation to the prosecution of de-
PENDANTS. A circular was issued, signed
Many Citizens" calling the meeting, and
band of music was engaged for the occasion.
An effigy of George Harris had been pre-
pared as nearly as could be to fit the descrip-
ton given of him by Stotenberg, who said be
was dark.complexioned, and the description
of him by another witness, who said he was
light.complexioned. In order to accommo-
date the efigy to each description, the
whiskers on one side were white and on the
other side black. The intention was to burn
this gentlemans efhgy. Some talk was also
being INDUCED in when the RECORD. UNIONS
representative left the scene to burn
in efigy the District Attorney, Joseph
Craig, but many citizens of Woodland
were strenuously opposed TO such proceed
ing, and it was thought that better counsels
would prevail Owing TO the closing of the
telegraph office at an early hour in Woodland,
it is not known at this writing how jubilant
the citizens became, or to what extent their
indignation was shown.
In closing the account of the examination
it may be interesting to readers of the RECORD
UNION to give some of the adventures of Len
Stotenberg as they are said to have been de-
tailed by himself The defense yesterday Of
fered to show that Len had diseased mind,
and the mode proposed TO be followed in
making this proof was first to prove the fact
OF his having told many tough yarns, and
then put experts on the stand and take their
opinion as to whether or not his mind was
sound. The stories they offered to prove
were in substance as follows:
He told to one party that his mother kept
/ $4,000, 900 put away in her trunk, and when
ever he wanted few thousand all ne had to
do was to 'tsp the old laly's bank " and he
could get all the money he wanted, and that
the only reason he worked at all was to while
! the dull time away. Another time he was at
a neighboring town and had one of his fingers,
which had been cut off in childhood tied up
with rag. He showed this in crowd, and
stated that he had the day before teen in
| fight in Woodland that his assailsnt used
knife, and that in attempting TO wrest the
knife from his antagonist he had his finger
cut smooth off, and made motion as if to
pull off the bandsge; bystander advised him
not to take it off. as he might catch cold in it,
and be concluded he had better not. Another
time he told the telegraph operator at Dunno
gan that he had q fight with man, had
killed him and thrown his corpse into cache
creek and Asd he had changed his mind, and
desired word sent to the Sheriff that ne would
give himself up, and for that off, GER to come
for MIN. Another story was that his en-
ployers owed him 81, 800; that he ex-
pected they could never pay. and had taken
a team he was driving as security.
: aIOslcE was tutt NC hoL SOA0SC0 O IOhhS
! lady in Michigan that her father and brother
had followed him here that they came up
with him at Davisville, and the trio went out
| to the bank of Putah creek to fight it out !;
that the father shot and missed him; that he
4 shot and killed the father that the brother
then went at him with knife and cut him
sill to pieces, and then started to depart. but
4 before he could do SO he (Stotenbergl sue
| ceeded in mortally wounding him ; that be
| then threw his dead man into the creek and
escaped; that remorse had overtaken him,
and that he was now anxiously hunting an
officer. There were said to be millions more,
! but these will do to illustrate his style.
Yesterday James Smith. the Folsom con-
vict, who was taken to Woodland to testify IN
the ease, was returned to his prison home in
charge of Deputy Sheriff Montgomery, of
Yolo county.
In justification of the detectives who made
the arrest of the sx-Sherif and his late depu-
ties, it may be said that persons who were
expected to give direct testimony in the case.
with the exception of Stotenberg, who stuck
IN HIS story until the last NEARLY all failed