Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-06-02

Tense and the Ground on Which it is At |
tempted to Prove That the Girl Did Not
Murder Her Own Infant-Incidents of the |
Trial
No case in 4 good many years has |
excited as much interest or attracted |
as many people as the trial of Mable |
La Grange, of Milan. on a charge of
numbering her her 6-dav-old infant J
child, which is now in progress in
the circuit court. The facts have
been detailed in THE ARGUS hereto
fore. She was seen to go to the river
with n bundle and walk to the lower
end of the ferry dock. and after re-
naming there minute returned
without the bundle. Then followed
the finding of the body OF the infant
and the arrest of the mother and DR..
f. NJ. Boyer. and both were afterward
indicted for murder. Tuc prosecution
introduced witue>sc. to prove that
she had carried the child to the river
in a bundle and had thrown it off the
dock, afterward returning to Eigh-
teenth street and Second avenue,
where she Joined DIR. Boyer. and to-
gether they went to the young wom-
| ans boarding place on Third avenue,
| where she was aftcrward arrested.
Testimony Being Taken.
TO do this. the young men who
| saw her at the ferry dock were en-
! amined. and also the policemen who
made the arrest. Afterward. DR..
| Plummer's expert testimony was
| taken. which was to the effect that
according to the best of his knowl-
| edge derived from the symptoms he
| discovered on the body at the time,
| death was due to drowning. The
! state then rested its case and the de-
| Tense began the examination OF the
witnesses. From the purport of the
testimony of the first two witnesses
examined. namely. Samuel Blair and
Rev. W. Is. Mckee. of Milan. the de-
Tense would be partly upon the line
that the girl was weak mentally.
| Mrs. LaGranGe. the mother of the
girl. was next put upon the stand.
the vein Of her testimony being that
| Mabel was weaker mentally than the
other children. The girls father
was the next witness called, and he
testified to her having been weak
mentally for some timc-in fact.
since she had the diphtheria some
five wears ago. Both the last men
toned witnesses testified to the fact
that DR.. Boyer had been employed To
treat Mable for dropsv a. that was
what he pronounced her ailment.
Mabel LaGranGe the stand.
The Young woman herself was
| then put upon the stand and in 4
| cool collected manner told her story
! OF the affair. which was in substance
a. follows: She said she had been
treated for dropsy by DR.. +. NJ.
Bower for some time last spring
while she was still AT her home in
Milan About three weeks before her
confinement the doctor advised her
OF her tire condition. which was the
first intimation witness had that she
| was about to become a mother.
Bower told her if she would come to
Rock Island he would find her place
to board and also Il home for the
child. she came on a Saturday and
on the following Monday made some
clothes for the child. The
infant was born on Apri l..
and on the afternoon of April 6.
witness was able to leave her bed.
which she did. and went out to the
| kitchen. The doctor was there at
the time and helped her to dress.
While she was in the kitchen just be-
fore supper Boyer went into the room
| where the child was. She went to
the door and looked in and saw the
doctor giving the infant something
out of a bottle which he then put in
| his pocket. After supper she went
into the room herself and found the
child dead. She called the doctor
and told him. and the latter wrapped
the body of the child up and told her
she must throw it in the river He
carried the child for her To the cor
ner of Eighteenth street and Second
avenue. where he gave it to witness.
She did not want to throw the body
in the river. but the doctor insisted,
and she went to the dock and threw
| it into the water. returning there and
| meeting the doctor and going back
home as before stated.
| The Cross ENamis alton.
The direct examination by Mr.
| Sturgeon brought out the fact that
her memory had been bad and that
| her mental condition was such that
she was easily Influenced and had
spells when she did not remember
what had taken place. On cross
| examination Mr.. Searle'S efforts
were to establish that these spells
were only at certain times when she
| did not want to remember. Mrs.
| Mary Metzgar. of Moline. who had
visited her while in jail. was also
| called to the stand to show her dis