Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-12-05
CHAPTER Xxx
SILENT WITNESSES

BTOGneI came uol eeAh0 esN'N 49,
required hail for my appearance. preferred
remaining in the county town TO returning
TO Bull Bar There was but week to wait,
as the county court then convened
zone thing troubles me very much" l SAID
to Broener; II can't give my story concerning
this matter without revealing in open court
the secret of the Banks whereabouts, and
then theren be general rush for the mine
from the whole county"
1--WE thought over that, " he replied ."Of
course, YOU must tell the whole story, and
show in court rich specimens of the quartz to
prove it That, in fact, viii be your strong
est defense. A miners jury will think such
a claim worth defending, with or without
law. Let them swoop down on our ground.
As I've told you before, the cream of that
particular vein we've taken out It's only
pocket We can hold on to hundred feet
or so anyway I've put up notices claiming
such amount The crowd will, Of course,
take I'D all the quartz outcroppings they can
find far and near Thereu be a tremendous
excitement for time But the masses know
nothing of this sort of mining. 1t will battle
them. They'll lose patience after little.
There will be a reaction. Five-Sixths will
abandon and give up their claims The re-
mainder will perseyere and eventually de-
velop this species Of mining, which will be-
come extensively followed. But that will
take time-years So tell all about it, Don't
let that trouble you in the least"
Nv trial came ON, and the case being called
I appeared without any lawyer to conduct
nv defense. The Judge assigned one, young
member of the bar, for that purpose.
said desired to conduct my OWL defense,
and was allowed so to do. My counsellor Wal
not at all pleased thereat Having heard
something of our resources he had seen in
prospective some enumeration If he CON
Quoted the case successfully, as well as pos
sibility of establishing a reputation for a
good criminal lawyer.
| thought | could tell my story as well as
have another tell it for me, and l didn't
want lawyer to tell any new stories for me
or put any shades of color on mine which did
not belong there Could l prove my aSser-
tions9 No There were no witnesses to any
hostile meeting between Pratt and myself.
The evidence against me was all clrcum-
stantial In other words, certain events,
as interpreted by certain individuals,
were regarded as proofs that John
Holder might have tried TO kill Jededlah
Pratt. Because John Holder and Jededlah
Pratt had quarrel last week, John Holder
Doi1ht have tried to kill Pratt the next Be-
cause no one could tell how Pratt got his
hurts. why. John Holder might have inflicted
them. Because John Holder was seen the
evening Pratt was missed, with blood on his
clothing, it is inferred it was Pratts blood,
drawn in enmity Because John Holder was
the first to find Pratt on the mountain, 1t IS
inferred that John Holder knew Of the affair
more than he told, and because he knew more
than he told, it is inferred that he must have
tried to kill Pratt
All these "might-have-b eensn were ably in
terpreted TO the jury as 'muSt-have-beens"
by the district attorney, who, naturally thirst
ed for my blood, because he desired 70 make
a brilliant reputation as an able prosecutor
of the innocent or guilty. He dwelt strongly
also on the fact that there were neither
notices nor tools on the ground, and that
claimed the whole mountain" or great deal
more ground than / could legally hold. These
were Pratt's rawlings which had been reported
to him. True, these were not legal evidence,
but he used them as arguments against Inc,
taking the chances that the jury might be
stupid enough to receive them as such, or
that they might forget, even if reminded,
that Pratt's words, not backed up by proof,
were no more evidence than mine would be.
He pictured me as DIGGING Pratt day by day.
OF nv interfering and meddling i'll this hon
est, Woodworking mans business" and twelt
on my "skulking ambush in the bushes, the
'saSsassn'S shot, and the fall of the innocent,
- I TO M ffair
and divert suspicion, assume the guise of the
Good Samaritan, pretended to find Pratt and
bring him home.
Lastly, he adverted to my habits as ''sus-
picious'-w working little and loafing much,
absent frequently, on what business no one
knew, but all the while inferriug, by hint
and inuendo that | might be or must DO
doth terms being by him made to mean about
the seine thing engaged in some diSreputabls
Business.
Et,- - hoaSt Of Law that all facts alleged
against person must be proven; yet the law
makes little provision against Islander by i'll
ference in open court, by its own ministers,
which cannot be proven.
Setter and Long Mac were summoned as
witnesses unwilling ones, now, with the
memory of their recent unsuccessful attempts
on me- They testified Ia seeing blood on my
clothing. Setter told the story of my par
ticipaticn in guiding himself and Hilyear to
the spot where Pratt lay wounded ON the
mountain.
The attorney had the audacity TO put Hill
year on the stand, mainly with the view that
he should give Pratt's version of the story as
inferred from his delrious utteranCeS did
not attempt to stop this hearSay evidence Mt
all wanted the lawyer 10 have his own
way entirely, because | thought in such
case he would all the quicker get through,
and leave the jury with a fragment, at least,
of clear mind. Ii we got into wranSe rs To
the admisSibility of evidence it would pro
long the case, and in law it is often the main
object, on one side, at least, to 80 confuse and
wear out the jury that it won't know the
difference between right and wrong, sense
and nonsense.
Finally he had finished, and | remained
with very black character indeed-in short,
the assassin of Pratt. and, by inference, the
author of half the untraced murders in the
county for the last four months ! said TO
the jury that / should make no plea, but
simply tell my story. First. was the keeper
and, TO an extent, worker of a rich claim-a
very rich claim. 1t was n mine of sort not
generally known in the state. No laws had
been made to hold claims Of this character.
viii introduce now, said, my witnesses
us To the reality and existence of this claim"
and taking from a bag several of the richest
specimens Of quartz gold, handed them to
the jury.
The specimens were indeed good to look at
from every point of view. The yellow metal
protruded in places from their sides in thin
fakes-in Others it was as If solid, heavy
nuggets were embedded in the stone. The
effect on the jury was electric. They had
never seen such rock. Their eyes glis-
tened They passed them from one to
another, yet each seemed 10th TO part with
the one in hand. The clerk of the court, his
deputy, the sheriff and his assistants reached
eagerly forward 10 handle the coveted
pieces. The Judge put on his spectacles and
pot one piece after another under rigid in
speCtiOn.
Mammon had invaded the court-yes, car
~~<>~