St. Paul daily globe., 1892-03-29
The Davis Murder Trial at.
Last Gets Fairly Under
Way.
Evidence Seems to Lean in
Favor of the Pris- ID
Oner. -
Christian Endeavoreps HaYe
a Rousing Rally at Plym- s
0uth Church. 81
e
Ministers Take q Preliminary
Canter ON the Sunday ~
Question. q.

Rapid progress was made in the Kate
Davis murder trial yesterday afternoon
The jury was secured shortly before
noon, and the men chosen are repre-
sentative men. They are; James G.
Wall. Theodore Draz, Oscar f. Clark,
Edwin N. Wolever, Alfred N. Curtis,
Charles G. Titcomb. William E. Burton,
David Kennedy, Thomas Mccormick,
George a. Hunter, Robert lyle and Axel
E. Melgren. County Attorney O'Brien
outlined the case to the jury in COM
prehensIve, speech. Celia Bracken
was the first witness. She was
the house servant of Mrs. Davis
at the place the colored man,
Sam Blackstone. was shot. ON Seventh
street, near the Ryan hotel. She said
Mrs. Davis occupied thesecond and third
stories of the building. p. j.. Miesen,
the proprietor Of the Bodega saloon,
was a roomer in Mrs. Davis apart
mentS. The door bell rang shortly after
II O'Clock in the forenoon of Nov. 9 last.
Mrs Davis went to the door. She heard
loud talking in the hall for some min
utes. She. heard Mrs. Davis tell the
yard, to go and tell policeman to come.
After that there was loud talking and
the shot was fired. She was in the
Kitchen at the time and did not see the
negro. A self-cocking revolver of an
cient pattern was exhibited and iden-
tilted by the woman as one Mrs. Davis
had. Mrs. Davis had another revolver
which she kept between the mattresses
of her bed.
An Officers Version. 4
Officer McEllistrum testified that the
boy, Peter Rose, came to him on the
street and asked him TO go to the Davis
house. He saw Blackstone at the
street door. He went up to the door
OH the stairs and rang the bell. The
door was not opened at once, and the
boy said that Mrs. Davis was afraid to
open it aud he would go around to the
back door and open the front one. Mrs
Davis then opened the. door and in7
vited him up stairs. She then said she
had shot the colored man. She said
that the negro had forced his way into
her room and she had shot him. She
also said that he had said that hes
wanted to call Peter Miesen. She
ordered him away, but he went back
the second time aud forced himself Into
her bedroom, which angered her and
to Blackstone and advised him to have
Mrs. Davis arrested, but he declin edi to
do so. He looked at his neck, afterI he.
claimed it felt like being burned, but
saw no mark upon it. The negro was
drunk. ~
Edwin McGraw, coiored man, testi-
fed that Blackstone lived with linn,
He was brought home in all express
wagon about l p. IN. Nov. 8. He EaSa
sitting upon the seat. He went into
the house and sat down. Upon exam
iniug his neck, a small hole was discpv-
cred under the left ear. iiThe neck was
slightly scorched, as wasOalso his coat
collar. There was hole in his shirt
I collar,and a slight spot or stain of blood
on the inside OF his shirt collar. Dr.
McCann was called in. and found that
the bullet had lodged just under the
S * non theeoppasite side of the neck.
blackstone, was lin and out of bed fire.
quently, and died suddenly one week
after the shooting.
Peter Rose. the BOY who called Officer
McEllistrum. testified to that fact.
Rosa McGraw, the wife of Edward
McGraw, corroborated her husband.
Surprise for ORrien. 1er
P. j. bIiesen, proprietor of the Bode-
ga. the man whom Blackstone went to
call, if his story is to be believed, rather
surprised the county attorney by his
story. He said that Mrs. Davis went to
his room after the shooting and said
that she had shot his porter In ex-
planning how it happened, she had said
that the negro had forced his way into
her room and she had ordered him ont
and he refused to go. He had then
taken her by the throat and forced her
a gainSt the bed, and she then shot him.
L he county attorney made an effort to
sh oW that the witness did not tell all of
th is story before the grand jury.
Miesen said that the reason lie did not
tell it all was because he was net asked
OH that point.
J. Lowering, an electrician, was on
the roof of the building at the time of
the trouble and heard the loud words.
He had gone down and was putting a
step-ladder in the closet on the top
floor, when he heard the shot on the
| floor below.
DR.. McCann testified to extracting the
bullet. He found that it had entered
| the neck on the left side and passed
slightly backward and nearly directly
across the neck.
| DT. hODeIs w udflOu, WuU dSSlSLGu dC
| the poSt-nlortem. said the bulietranged
| slightly upward.
| George N. Hillman, court reporter,
was put on the stand to introduce an
ante -mortem declaration. He stated
| that there we're present at the time tile
county attorney. Chief Clark. DIR.
| Ancker, DR.. Powell and several others.
] Blackstone had said that the woman
would not be punished if he lived,
neither would she be punished im case
he died. He did not then believe he
would die. The statements made by
DR.. Ancker did not indicate that the
doctor believed he would die. The coun-
ty attorney stated to the court that he
| was under the impression that the state
ment of Blackstone was hardly adinis-
sible, as the man did not expect death,
neither did he or the attending physi-,
clan. The death had come suddenly
The evidence was offered for the court
to rule on its admissibiIity.
The.question of admitting the state
ment of the dead man, which was fe-'
duced to writing. was taken under con-
sideration by Judge Kelly until this
morning. GGa,
A noticeable feature of the examiHa-
ton of witnesses was that the attorneys
for the defense seldom made an objec-'
ton and did but little in the way -ef.
| cross-eXaminatiOn.