The Portland daily press., 1885-01-30
THE LIBBY TRIAL.
Great Crowds Listen to the Second
Days Proceedings.
The Government Rests Its Case.
Mr.. Moulton's Argument for the
Defense.

Defense.
The court room was filed yesterday with an
interesting audience, on the second
day Of the Libby murder trial. The
cross-sxaminstion of DR.. f.. H. Gsrrish
was begun at the coming in of Court The
doctor said that in the autopsy he discovered
no signs Of pregancy.
DR. CHARLES D. SMITH,
city physician, was next called and corrobora-
ted the testimony of DIR. Gerrish as to the
nature, position and direction of the wounds
upon Lydia Snow and also as 10 the autopsy.
He said that he ex amined the wound on Lib
by. 1t was on the right side ofathe head and
passed directly through the ear and entered
the skull about three quarters of an inch
above the little projection that is left in the
skull back of the ear. 1t had direction a lit
tie upward, but not as much Of an upward di-
rectson as the two wounds in the woman.
There was very little hemorrhage from the
wound and there was very little oozing from
the ear itself. The wound through the ear
was surrounded by quite an area of burnt tis-
sue and the ear itself was thickly studded
with powder grains.
Cross Examination by Mr.. Moulton.
placed cotton in Libby's ear at the police sta
ton to keep out the dirt. There was no free
hemorrhage from the wound or the ear at the
time saw him; it was just a little from the
ear probably from the rupture of some minor
blood vessel. caused by the bullet or shock. I
saw no signs and smeled no odor of liquor
about 1t. My attention was particularly called
to that because opened his mouth and smelt
his breath.
JAMES s. GOULD,
the coroner. was called and identified the bull
let which was picked up in room SO, and intro
duced in evidence yesterday.
CHARLES W. HANSON
was recalled and said that he had applied the
bullets produced yesterday to the empty car
fridge shells and they fitted perfectly.
JAMES y. eooLBRoTH,
called by the State, testified: reside In Scar
boro. am acquainted with Thomas J. Lib
by; was at his stable at Prout's Neck the morn
ing before the shooting. saw him cleaning
or fixing a revolver. / asked him what he
was doing and he said he was fixing his gun.
He said something else that remembered at
the time, but have forgotten now, but the sub
stance was that he was going to shoot at
mark or going to try her.
On cross examination the witness said shat
Libby was seated in the stable door at the time
facing the house and that Libby's son Vsranus
was at work in the stable.
JOHN HIGGINS
called by the State.-I live in Scarboro; my
business is boating and fishing saw Thomas
j. Libby on the morning before the shooting
in 'front.' of his hotel. He had a revolver with
him, and he says "John, that would make a
hole in man." said yes, if he hit him with
it, and said that he would have to be pretty
near to hit him, and that was ALL 1 had the
revolver in my hands. / think 1t was q Smith
& Wesson. The revolver shown me looks like
the one.
CroSS-e1dminotion. The witness said he had
heard the reports Of pistol shooting around
Willow Cottage, which is this side Of Libby's
MRS. MARTHA D. TURNER.I
live in Scarboro and was acquainted with
Lydia Snow in her lifetime, aad am also &C.
quainted with Thomas J. Libby. On the
morning of the 9th of August Lydia Snow
came to my house about o'clock in the morn
ing with two trunks. She came from the d.
rection Of Mr.. Libby's hotel, where she had
been at work. Libby's son brought her there.
About s o'clock Thomas ~. Libby came with
the team and asked her, or commanded her, to
get on her things and go to Portland with him.
She said she didn't see how she could and she
didn't want to go, and he urged her to CO. and
after they had talked spell and he told her
two or three times that she must 90, he says
SIT will be worse for you if you don't CO." She
got up and went with him, and he drove off
with her in the direction of Portland That
night, j2st as we were at supper, he brought
her back. The next night, at about twenty
minutes past ten, Libby came to my house and
inquired il Miss Snow was there. She was
not there and he went away.
MRS. MARY IA. PRATT
was the next witness and the daughter of
Al L. L
Libby called for Miss Snow on themorning Of
the 9th Of August He came to the door and
she stood in the door. He asked her to go to
Portland and she said she couldn't. He says,
'tget on your things and go to Portland with
me-" She said "I don't see how can." He
said "Iwant you to 60 to Portland with me
and il you don't it will be worse for you" She
came in, never made any answer, put her
things on and went with him. When she was
going out she said something to me not in the
hearing of Libby who sat outside in the car
riage, The witness was asked what the re-
mark was but it was objected to by the defense
and excluded.
The Attorney General at this point announc-
ed that with the exception of one witness who
resides out Of the city, but who ia now on his
way here, the case for the government was
closed. Upon Mr.Baker's informing the couu-
sci for the defense the name of the witness and
the nature of his testimony 1t was agreed that
it might be but in later.
After short intermission, Mr.. Moulton be-
gan his opening statement for the defence.
OPENING OF THE DEFENCE.
After commenting upon ths gravity of the
situation and the responsibility resting upon
.bnI Ixz knd IA =.
ed briefly the testimony Of the government 80
far as it had been adducsd claiming that no
motive whatever had been shown on the part
of Libby to commit this crime.
Coming down to the time that >Pingree was
called to the room at eight o'clock and asked to
take the pistol away, Mr.. Moulton said: 'Now,
gentlemen, from the time Pingree left the
room until the time when the door was opened
again by the officer what happened? Gentle
men, I can well ask what happened, because
no man will ever know. 1t is and always will
be mere question of snppositon for Thomas
J. Libby, the prisoner st the bar has no more
knowledge of what occured there than YOU or
/. Whether that pistol was brought around
and discharged into the WALL whether she,
alarmed by the shout, spraug and caught the
pistol from his hand, and the bullet was dis
charged into his head in the back part and he
aroused by frenzy fred the third and fourth
shots; whether the shooting was done in this
way or in some other We shall never know,
But 1t is apparent that the shots all passed up
ward. Libby Is tall man; had he fred
them standing up the shots would not
have gone up In that direction. The shots that
entered that girls head were undoubtedly fred
from the bed, and evidently Libby had not
moved much from the position in which Pin
gree saw him when these shots were fred,
Mr.. Moulton claimed that the government
testimony thus establishes the fact that Libby
nnt into To