Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-06-17
THE HARLAN CASE.
Opening ment-Ezamination OF the
Physicians.

Opening Observation-Disclosures Oh 'iie
Physicians.
At the hour fixed for the commencement
of proceedings in the Harlan case at Wood
land Tuesday afternoon District Attorney
Sprague made the opening statement oil
what the prosecution expected to prove,
viz: That j. II. Harlan IS weil-known
citizen-a man of influence, financial and
political; that t. L. Craft was young
man. raised IN Woodland, and about 30
wears OF age; tnat he was known as q man
of fine social qualities that he had been
living in Sacramento for several years, Ia
boring for the benefit of himself and pa
rents; like Mr.. Harlan. he was respected
wherever known that before February 4,
1886, Harlan conceived malice against
Craft, and desired to take his life. 10 do
this he conspired with f. J. Barnes, and
sought to take the life of Craft at the date
mentioned. AT about l:3O ?. NJ. on the
aforesaid day, as was his custom, Graft
went to the Byrns Hotel, and while seated
in the chair on the bootblack stand was
discovered by one of the conspirators, who
reported the location of Craft TO Harlan /;
that Immediately Harlan and Barnes went
Mr.. Highton made several objections to
the opening statements of Mr.. Sprague,
which the Court overruled. An exception
was taken by the defense
Dr. Ross was the first witness called. lie
testified that he knew f. l.. Craft, and that
he knew him to be dead a medium-slzed
man about 80 years of age; little taller
than General Hart; would weigh about
l45 or $50 pounds; | saw Craft lying in the
front room of the hotel, about twelve or
fifteen feet from the stove; his head was
toward the south, feet north his hands
were extended; his right hand directly
above a revolver; of my own knowledge, l
could not tell how long he had been dead
| heard four shots fired about fifteen min
utes before | saw deceased; the shots We're
fired rapidly, little interval between the
first two and the second two witness
illustrated the rapidity of the shotsl;
heard the shots distinctly; after hearing
the shots | went to the sidewalk in front of
drug store and saw Harlan come from the
hotel with a pistol 4 gentleman stepped
up TO him and said something the man
was Mr.. SOule; saw a great number of
persons there; Harlan was in front of the
Yolo Bank; post-mortem was held by
DR.. Macfarlane and myself, on Sunday,
February 18th, in the afternoon, about four
hours after the shooting; Harlan was walk
ing east from the hotel when l saw him.
Q-What wounds did you discover at
the post mortem?
A.-The first was a rugged wound a little
above the inner corner of the right eye,
about Il inches long; it extended directly
back through the brain and the Cccipital
bone, and the ball lodged in the scalp
WITNESS illustrated his statement.l The
Il
| removed the bullet from the wound ;
other wound on the right side between the
ninth and tenth ribs, about six inches from
the front medium line it entered the alb
domen and ranged obliquely upward to the
left it fractured the lower border of the
ninth rib, passed through the wall of the
abdomen, through both lobes of the liver,
through the diaphragm, the pericardium
and the right ventricle of the heart; grazed
the left lobe of the lungs, making its exit
between the fourth and fifth ribs, grazing
the upper border of the fifth rib and lodged
near the left nipple. Another wound APP
peared near the spine near the right side,
between the eleventh and twelfth ribs the
wound was slight, the ball only penetrat-
ing the skin probably quarter of an inch;
found a bullet in the overcoat pocket of
deceased, III MS SILK HdlluherCDlel III Inc
breast pocket on the right side.
The remainder of the session was mainly
devoted to a cross-examination by Mr..
Highton. who questioned witness as TO his
experience and knowledge of gunshot
wounds, and as to which of the wounds re-
ceived by the deceased caused death. Also,
how long man would live after receiving
either of such wounds, etc. The witness
replied that the wound in the liver and
heart and that in the head were both fatal.
He could not say which caused death.
Was quite positive that Craft was alive
when he received the wound in the heart.
Yesterday morning DR.. Ross examination
was concluded, and DR.. Macfarlane was put
on the stand. His testimony corroborated
that of DR.. Ross.
L. p Everett, surveyor, submitted
plans showing the location of the Byrns
Hotel and the portion Of it in which the
shooting took place.
In the afternoon the Court adjourned to
the Opera House, owing to the heat. Ira
r. Doolittle was the next witness, and was
on the stand when the Court adjourned for
the day. His evidence, describing the
shooting, is the same as heretofore pub
lished.