Huntsville gazette., 1886-05-29
"Sunday morning, but nothing much


| was said"
.Now, will ask you to tell when you
had any important conversations with the
prisoner. And to tell them up to the time
of your release"
"About ten days after I went into
Jail"
About ten days after went into Jail he
talked to me about these people here and
| said they were not fly, and had tried to
break him down; said that the Chief OF
Police had taken him into his Office and
had given him whisky, and when he
thought he was drunk showed him a
picture of Preller taken. after he was
dead, and asked if he knew it. Maxwell
sale. no, and said he would be fool to
tell him he did know him. He told me
that he did recognize it. This was the
beginning. We had other conversa-
tions. He thought 1 belonged to a
notorious gang of forgers and was
in bad fix. l told him if
had a chance at an alibi would prove it,
He asked how. l said by my people. He
said il he had witness who could testify
right he could beat the State. I asked
him how. He said if could get wit
ness who could testify that he had so
much money in Boston he could get free.
/ asked him how much money and he
said seven hundred to eight hundred dol
lars. l told him would try to get some
of my people (gang of forgers) to do him
this favor, to testify for him, and asked
him to tell me about his case. He told
me when he met Preller and what he
wanted done in the case. The defendant
| first said he met this man Preller in Liv-
| erpool. Wanted Preller to 60 to a fancy
| ball, but he refused to go because
| it was fast. Afterward he said he met
| Preller about three days out from Boston.
He said he left England to avoid testify
| ing in case. Met Preller on the steamer
that arrived in Boston February 3, and
| took rooms at Young's Hotel. Several
days afterWard he (MaxwelD went to
| l5DS Washington street to board, and
| Preller stayed at Young's two weeks.
PreIer went to Canada then and he re-
mGned in Boston, at 1903 Washington
street. eating at Murphy's saloon. He
said he bought ticket in Pullman
| coach, and left Saturday in March and
went around by Canada. His ticket cost
| S21.
| He arrived in st. Louis Monday and
registered at the Southern. He asked
| about telegram of the clerk. The clerk
| said one had been received asking if he
had arrived. He answered it. This was
on Monday. On Friday Preller arrived.
They had talk about going to Auck-
| land. Maxwell was anxious that Preller
should go to Auckland. Maxwell said
that Preller told him that he had only
enough money to see himself through in
the trip. He said he made up his mind on
account of his meanness to fix him.
| On Sunday, he said, Preller was
| in his (Maxwell's) room and complained
| of pains. Maxwell told him he could
remedy it by using hypodermic
syringe, and agreed that he should try it.
Preller, he said, took off his coat and
vest and he said he gave him good dose
in the arm which put him to sleep. When
he was asleep he used some chloroform
that he had there, and when he found
that was not enough he went out and got
some more chloroform. Then he found
he was dead. He took off his clothes,
took his money, and cut off his under
shirt and shirt, and took off his
drawers. He drew the things out, put
him in the trunk and left the things in
the room. This was four or five O'Clock
in the afternoon. He said he then STAYED
around until Monday morning, when he
went out and bought several things,
trunks among them. He then packed his
! own trunk, putting the things he had
taken from Preller's body into it. He
bought ticket for San Francisco, for
which / think he said he paid SIG"
Witness detailed conversation in regard
to defendants movements on the trip to
California and his doings while in San
Francisco, and his trip to Auckland and
his experience there.
Mr. MpDonoId fhnn hrOuUht no wit.
ness back to the arrangement to have a
witness swear that he had between 5000
| and 500 when he left Boston.
The two men agreed on the manner of
making up the story and of posting the
| witness alleged friends how to testify.
1t was first suggested that the two friends
be introduced to Maxwell's attorneys
and then brought into jail to see
him, but this was dropped. Maxwell
said he might get bond and
get out, so it was agreed that they should
arrange for the meeting by fixing certain
| means of identifying each other. On
card Maxwell wrote "Frank Dingfelder,o
with "2 W" under each end of the name.
The witness explained that "2 W" meant
two witnesses. The card was torn into
two pieces, Maxwell taking one and put
ting it in his drawer in his cell and the
witness taking the other The witness
had card, on one side of which was
''Hon. John l. Martin, Attorney-at-Law,
ST. Louis, Mo-" and on the other "l508
Washington street" and "Young's Ho-
tel" The cards were shown by the wit
ness.
''What else did he want the witnesses
to swear to9'' sfgs t-
He said that he wanted them to testify
that they met Preller some time in June,
1885, and spoke to him, but Preler asked
them not to say anything about seeing
him, as it might prevent him and Max
well getting the money they wanted, but
afterward he said he did not want this
testimony as the defense would probably
be accidental killing"
"Was anything else said about the
testimony?"
81 said something about the money
that my friends were to swear to, and
Maxwell said there would be no trouble
about perjury, as there was barkeeper
at the Southern Hotel who would swear
that he had 500 with him. He said he
wanted that sworn to, as it was the miss
ing link
"Did Maxwell ever say any thing to
Won ohout ch1oroform heinp the hest