Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1889-12-14
SCARED INTO SILENCE.
A Witness in the Barriere Pre-
Iiminary Examination Is
Afraid to Testify.
Says She Is Threatened With a
Whipping If She Tells
Too Much.
From Tuesdays Daily.

IVA
PrelimiR airy examination Of Joseph Bar
riere for the murder Of his wife, Angelique
Bairiere, committed Nov. 80, was begun
before Judge Newkirk yesterday afternoon
at 2 O'Clock. Barriere was brought into
court by a couple OF officers and his well.
filed ~waistband bore mute but strong evi.
dence to the excellence OF Sheriff Lloyd's
fare. Mcbride & Haldorn appeared for the
defense I'M County Attorney Baldwin for
the state. All the witnesses were sworn
and then ordered to leave the court room,
and as a result q molly crowd OF men and
women, black and white. and OF various
shades OF chastity and morality huddled
together about the stove in the engineer Groom
down stairs.
Officer James, who arrested Barriere,
was the first witness called. He went into
all details i'm connection with the arrest
and substantially repeated his evidence
given at the inquest. He said that Bar.
saying that his wife was dead,
having been shot during q strug.
gle between himself and her. Tue
officer further testified that Barriere had
told him that Mrs. Barriere had a gun and
that it had been given to her by Lelande.
Barriere, the officer stated. was vsRy:much
excited and nervous when he gave himself
up. The other evidence OF the witness was
to the effect that he formerly patrolled the
peat Upon which is located the house where.
in the Barrieres resided and that they
were almost continually quarrelling and he
had repeatedly been called by one or the
other while they were quarrelling to make
search Of the complained OF for deadly
Weapons. Witness had never heard de-.
ceased make any threats against the de.
fendant.
The defense on crcss-examination OF the
witness attempted to prove by him that
deceased bore the reputation OF being a
DANCE ous, quarrelsome and desperate
person, thereby evi&ently trying to lay the
grounds for a plea of self-defense. The
prosecution objected, and after lengthy
arguments the court sustained the obiec.
ton. Witness again stated that he had
never heard deceased utter threats against
defendant, after which he was released.
DR.. Cooper was the next witness. He
testified that at the request Of the coroner
he had made an autopsy on the remains
and found that death Lad been caused by
a gunshot wound. He had probed the
wound and after ascertaining the location
of the ball, had extracted it by opening the
head. The ball had passed through the
left cheek, ranged upward and then down.
ward and lodged at the base of the brain.
The wound was such as to causeimmediate
death and the person receiving it would
have been unable to move or speak, as tie
shock caused instant Cerebral paralysis.
Witness was then shown a bullet and iden-
titled it as the one he had removed from
deceased's head.
During the fl st part OF the witness ex.
animation Barriere appeared bat little in
terested in the proceedings. However.
when the bullet was produced his
demeanor changed and he Leaned
forward as far as possible in his chair and
his gaze was riveted upen the CHASTITY relic
which seemed to exercise a peculiar fasci-
nation over him. He was intent upon
hearing every word and his eyes followed
the deadly pellet as it passed from hand TO
hand, and il his thoughts could have been
read during those moments they could
certainly have furnished some startling
testimony and the examination would
probably have ended then and there.
The witness WAS cr~oss-examined with a
view of showing as far as possible by the
nature OF the wound and direction OF the
bullet, how the weapon was held which in
fictsd the wound. According to the doc
tors opinion the weapon was held at an
angle OF about forty.tve degrees and the
ball after striking one t t the hard bones OF
the head was DETECTED from it's course anl
caused to 60 downward to where it lodged.
One side OF the ball a a considers bly, Hat
tened, which, the doctor said, showed that
it's first course was upward, the indention
having been C fused by striking a bone. 1t
WAS the opinion OF the witness that IL the
muzzle OF the pistol had been pointed di.
rectly toward deceased when the shot was
fred the end OF the bullet and not the side
would have been flattened by it's contact
with the bones OF the head. This part OF
the testimony also seemed to interest,"
Barriere very much, he apparently con-
sideriug it favorable to his story that the
sbot was fred accidentally duritg 9 the
scufle which he alleges took place between
himself and deceased for possession OF the
pistol. which he claims the woman held In
her hand when he entered the ROOM.
Coroner Beal next tool the stand. his
Testimony was as TO the position OF the
body when he first entered the roo after
being notified that his services were re-
ouired. The body OF the woman, he tes'l-
fed, was ON the floor, resting partly against
a bed, with theshoulders keptfrom contact
al ~ Qo1r hu , vnsacl which WAS un0eT
the remains. After stating that he had or.
dered DR.. Cooper to make an autopsy the
witness said that he wGs a MUSICIAN ano
surgeon and gave it as his opinion that the
wonnd which he found on the remains was
sufficient to cause instant death. Hegaiso
testified that the body was My party
dressed when be viewed it, and was quite
sure that it was in the position IN wnlcn ~
had fallen after the shotwas tired. he maos
careful examination of the body but found
no weapou near nor under it. Witness was
then shown the bullet and identified IL az
the one taken from the body by Dr. Cooper,
He was shown a revolver and salo ~ l0okeu
verv much like the one which had peer
handed to him by an officer wnen ne nrs.
visited the place. The witness was ~
c-ross-examined. The sight OF tne pis.o
every time it was alluded to or handed M
you'd stare at it and his face would as
uII
sumo a look Of interest and intent ara Cs
describe and at times he looked as thongi
he wished it we're in his Po%er TO a r. hai
cansed to speed to the death OF a human
being, that being a woman and she M
wife. - chor+
The fourth witness was Eugene epo,!
S,ooI,ss He deposed that he knew DOT
tbe defendant and deceased and had Know
them for several years. When the b wa
fired he was in the White Bear saloon o.
the corner Of Galena and Wyoming stre @e
and Heard it quite plainly. In a lew me
and stepped s,psf int into 5v the street and walked t.
ward the direction from which the sound
the report came. He saw James an
Barriers in front OF No. SO East GaIen
800 ond walked toward them. VIII
he ear arrived at the place he was told ths
Mrs. Barriere had been shot. ne ente so'
the house and found Barriere and a. the n oine'
inside looking at the body OF the woh ha,
Ahn Hnnr IN JUo U6t