Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-07-09
THE HARLAN TRIAL.
TESTIMONY OF w. PROVOST AND
w. s. LYNN.
Sheriff r. III. Bcamer's Account of
the Interview Between
Craft and Sill.
lmBcIAt BY TELEGRAPH 20 THE srconD-us1os.l

! fathers residence to WINES carpenter
shop, back of the Bank of Woodland, and
return from there to his house. Shortly
before the homicide witness was standing
on Main street, with several other young
men. One of them spoke about going tC
| dinner, and Frank Nelson said Don't &C
to dinner you will miss the fun" One Of
them said, never did see any fun; al
ways miss it, and guess l will miss my
dinner" Witness had his curiosity eX.
cited, and looked around TO see what the
fun would be. When Harlan started
toward the Byrns Hotel, Nelson said, % Lei
US go to the Byrns Hotel; the fun begins
and, Provost you take the lead. We dc
not want to go in crowd" While the
party were on the Capital Hotel corner, and
after Craft came out of the carpenter shop
and went back to his house, witness drew
Nelson's attention to Craft, and Nelson
went over to Crafts house. When he came
back witness asked him if he bad put Graft
on his guard. Nelson said no; that he had
| Just taken over a message that had been
sent from the folks below. He said that
! Craft was asleep when he reached the house
but be arose and brushed his coat as Nelson
left
W s. Lynn, colored ianitor of the Con
gregational Church, testified that at about
l o'clock on the day of the homicide he
| saw deceased walk from the gate of his
fathers house and so through hole in the
fence in the college grounds; that about
the time they passed on the sidewalk he OBJ
| served Craft change pistol from the front
of his person and place it in his rear pants
pocket, and Immediately after Craft had
passed through the fence he observed him
put both of his hands under his coat, and
he appeared to be examining something.
This afternoon Sheriff Il. Fl. Beamer
testified: Last January | was invited TO
call on Miss Harlan at Spaulding's house,
and communications she then made | re-
lated to Winnie particular friend of Craft,
a few days afterward. l understood / was
called upon officially. Sometime in Janu-
airy Craft called at my Office late in the
evening and asked to see me privately He
asked NE if | had ever been shown letters
he had written Miss Harlan. told him
no. He wanted me to be very positive that
had not been shown such letters.
1 told him I could be positive l
would not know his handwriting
if 1 We're to see it. He said
l propose TO make them eat it," The even
ing after the marriage of Sill | was invited
by Sill to go with him and see Craft On
the way down l stopped with him at his
store. told him l wanted to know just
what he was going there for. He told me
his business there. We also stopped at
Attorney Bakers office He was not i'll.
We met Graft in front of Ponds drug store.
Sill told him he came to give him his
answer. Craft invited us into the office in
the rear of the drug store. When we got
in there Sill said to Craft. What you
told me at the Byrns Hotel about my wife
is all pack of d lies. | do not be-
lieve word you have said. l warn
you, if you persist in annoying me or my
wife you will have to take the conse-
quences." Craft said; "All right, sir.
.All right, Sill. / have got your answer /
will show you whether | am G. d. liar
or not. We will see who is the id liar
in this case before we get through" Craft
then spoke to me, and said he had offered
to furnish this man with proofs of the as
sertions he had made. and he had refused
to look at them. He said Z" He did not
have manhood enough 10 look at my
proofs" He said to Sill: Had you had
the nerve and manhood you now
show with your friend with
you, you would not probably be in
the position you are in to-day" He said
to me: | know you are a.better friend of
Sill than you are to me, but | do not care.
| know | am right, and do not propose
to be bulldozed." l told him not to make
an unnecessary mistake, as l was not there
as an especial friend of either party. | had
been invited by Sill to be there, and had
he Craft invited me under similar circum-
stances | would have done the same thing
for him. Craft said he might be mistaken
about that. Then Craft and Sill COM
menced talking over what had been said
at the Byrns Hotel. Craft reasserted some
of the matters he said there. Sill told him
he was liar AMI be knew he was liar
Craft then asked him why he did not
tell him that before he charged Sill with
knowing he was RICH. in what he had said.
Sill denied it, and Craft called him cow
ard. Sill started to go towards him. l
intercepted them. Both parties were very
much excited. Craft called Sill cur and
a coward several times. Sill denied being
q coward, and Craft invited him to prove
it. Craft was very anxious to have Sill
and myself look at documents he claimed
to have in his pocket. 1t was getting
to go outside to the light, where he
could read US the proofs of what
be said Sill told him he was not
around reading old letters. Graft replied,
" No; you bet your ID life you are not
You do not want to see any letters / de-
clined to look at them. Several times they
made demonstrations to fight. and l told
them would not allow it; that / came
there to keep peace between them, and |
proposed to that extent, at least, to sue
coed. finally told Sill to leave the room
that / saw no good could come from the
conversation, and he went reluctantly. |
spoke sharply to Sill before he would leave.
Before | went there / exacted a promise
from him that he would behave himself.
told him l could watch one man, but
| did not know if / could watch
two He told ME be would not make move:
he would do whatever | told him. After
Sill left Craft spoke in very bitter terms of
Miss Harlan. He said she was such an in
fernal liar he could not believe what she
said; that she had deceived him and
placed him in an awkward position, and
he intended to get even with her. He
several times insisted that l should look at
his documents. and took ME by the arm,
pulled me down on a lounge and said /
had to listen to him. He said he
wanted me to see them; inasmuch
as l got into the history of the case
that far, he was disposed | should
know the whole circumstances. /
asked him if he was willing Miss Harlan
should be Sill's wife. He said he was per-
ieCtly Nlllilg, anu more tQdil WILING. lie
said, God | would not change circum-
stances for anything in the worldw l
asked him why he could not Just let the
matter die natural death, right there, and
say nothing more about it? He replied
that it would not be justice to him TO do
that He had been misused and placed in
false light before the community She
was the cause of it, and he did not propose
to submit tamely to such treatment. L
gave him some advice. He said, in speak
ing of Miss Harlan, sill has been
sleeping with her for the last two nights,
but he is not the only man who has done
So" He made no threats against her life
When Sill was present, Craft said to him:
You are no man; you are no part of
man you do not deserve the heart of
brave woman. If man would talk to me
about a wife of mine, and say to me what
| said to you at the Byrns Hotel, l would
mop the earth with him. When Craft
called Sill coward, and Sill made a break
for him, and l stopped them, told Craft
he should not talk that way, because Sill
had no chance there to prove whether he
was coward or a brave man, and told
him of the promise / exacted of Sill. Craft
apologized TO me. and said he would re-
serve it for some future time. He asked
-