Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-02-22
HARLAN AND BARNS.


Murder of +. L. Craft.
Tin' preliminary examination of y. H..
Harlan and +. ]. Barnes for the murder of
E. L yeraft commenced before Justice Rug-
giles, II Woodland, at l0A. NJ on Tuesday
last, and closed Saturday at P. M. Tile
resuit OF the examination was that both
were held for murder in the first degree, as
chargei IN the complaint, and bail III each
ease denied
TbF murder, which occurred in the
ByrnsE liotel, in the usually quiet ana
peacesflc town of Woodland on the after
noon q Sunday, February 9TH. caused an
excitenen which was not confined 10 the
viiiagetin which it occurred, but at once
| became The all-absorbing topicof CONVERSE
ton throughout the entire State. Tho
hitheTto respectability and high sociaN
standing OF all the parties connected with
TINS sad aitray, causes it to be surrounded
with unusual interest, and every scrap of
informaa.on leading up to the killing, or
any mitigating circumstances that coulS be
urged llttavof os the slayer. has been eager
! y sougiH afier by members of siie press.
during the examination, which closed
Saturday. the
coUIT ROOM WAS DENsELY PACKED,
Not ircre morbid curiosity. bu, from the
a.-NN NbAN IIlLtfESlef IN
| obtaining all the facts The defendants
were represented by numerous ana able
counsel chief among whom was Henry L.
Highton, a gentleman who has national
reputation as a criminal LAWYER The State
was most ably represented by District At
tcrrey Sprague, and two of Woodlands
abeSt counselors.
Ths press of the State was well repre-
/ sented, all The great dailies having repre-
sentatives at the examination. The course
pursued by the prosecution was not what
had been anticipated by the public Instead
! OF producing all the testimony available.
and delying into the mysteries surrounding
/ the homicide, they only interrogated their
witnesses regarding the killing. and asked
as lew questions in that respect as possible.
( This completely, in most Instances.
( cut OFF all cross-exanination. and
counsel for defense contented them
selves with making wholesale OBJ
! jectons TO the questions asked, and
took up much Of the time in arguing the
question of the admissibility of the evf-
dence and noting exceptions. With but
very few exceptions, the rulings of the
Court were uniformly III favor Of the prose-
| cntloa The facts ELECTED at the examina-
| ton were only those brought out at the
Coroner inquest, and with which the pub
lie are already acquainted After the prose
cution closed, the defense. without the in
PRODUCTION OF any testimony, moved that
defendant Barnes be dismissed. In a
lengthy, able and argumentative address,
Mr.. Highton reviewed the testimony of
| each witness of the prosecution, so far as it
| related to Mr.. Barnes, claiming that there
was not particle of testiasonvthat evanu
IN the remotest degree, connected 6f,sr%
the killing. He claimed that there was fay
more evidence introduced by the prosecu-.
uonSo show completely on the part of
CRAFT AND HIS FRIEND NELSON
10 Kill Harlan than there was on the part
OF Harlan and Barnes to kill Graft. Ii
Craft had traduced the character of Har-
lans daughter, his own conscience told
him that meeting with the father would
be fraught with danger. Nelson, on the
day of the homicide, watched every act of
defendants Barnes and Harlan, and the
latters son-in-law, Sill. He performed
extrao ordinary detective functions ON the
day, Keeping Graft informed as to their
every movement. There had been no
prima facia case of completely made out
against Barnes. The Court, he said. was
not sitting for the purpose of putting the
State 10 unnecessary expense, and unless
there was some showing. some ground
some reason to believe that congicti IN
could be made, will not ordinarily ask that
such a person be held. He euliid see no
connecting link between Barnes and the
commission of the homicide and therefore
asked his discharge.
X: Clark, OF counsel for the prosecution.
replied to Mr.. Highton, claiming that
Barnes was as guilty of the murder of
Craft as
:, THE MAN WHO PULLED THE TRIGGER
tie read extracts from Mississippi Reports.
and the Penal and Civil Codes. in support
of his lrf L..
by, he said at the killing of Craft. in
position to aid and abet Harlan in the
commission of the crime he becomes a
! principal, unless ne shows that he was
there Tor different purpose. He must ex-
pam why he stood there with pistol
drawn. He said the remarks of cof.nsel
regarding the witness Frank NCis.lS. he
could not understand, unless they were in
tended to distract the attention of the Court
from the main issue.
FEARFUL ARRANGEMENT.
The speaker then, in referring 10 the fir
ing of a shot in the head of Graft after II is
claimed he was dead, became very elo-
quent, and his arraignment of Harlan was
one OF the most scathing denunciations
that was ever delivered in any Court.
That act, he claimed, was, in brutality and
hideousness, beyond the serpent that crawls
upon Its belly, enfolds with its Shiny
coils the body of its victim. but which.
alter 1t had ohrust its poisoned fangs into
the body OF its prey, unfolds itself and al
lows 1t to become cold in death before de-
yourlng 1t. The tiger that prowls the
tangled jungle would lay down beside, purr
and play with its slaughtered quarry be-
lore eating It, The untutored savage that
roams the deep recesses of forest will pluck
the poisoned arrow from the side OF a slain
antagonist
Each of his similes were drawn out to
great length, and delivered with all the
force of studied rhetoric. His voice at times
would soar aloft and then drop to the soft
est whisper Those of his friends who
Leard Mr.. Clark, speech say sisss-i Was
the greatest effort of his life
Mr. Highton said he had not got down.
to discussing the case of Harlan The ques-
ton before the Court was, is there arg evil
dencc showing completely on the part Of
Barnes with the killing? There was no
evidence that Barnes drew his pistol until
after Graft fired upon Harlan. In all the
testimony given no words, acts, motions,
yestioIs or i,ss.44;ss .rencc on the part of
Barnes had been shoSa 10y complieity
on his part. Counsel for de- ~
asked for the discharge of the oe!endanf'
Barnes.
The Court said the preponderance Of tes-
timony showed that Barnes was impli-
Gated, and he must deny the motion.
Counsel for defense then asked that de-
PENDANTS be admitted to bail, no matter how
large the amount. This was also denied bv
the Court