Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1894-12-13
CROUCH'S TRIAL.
The Stream of Evidence
Not Yet Exhausted.
The Case Will Likely Go
to the Jury Today.
Yesterday Taken Up With Tes-
timony for the Defense.
The Almost Vital Importance At
tached by Botn Sides to Crop
of SunfloWers.

All day long the lawyers in the
Crouch murder viewed the long pro-
cession OF witnesses for the defense.
The procession moved slowly; there
were 80 many apparently trivial mat
ters, yet upon which SO mucn hangs that
the ground was beaten over and over.
There was crop of sunfowers, for in
stonce, surrounding the place where
Leon was killed which will cut most
important figure in the trial. If the
defense can prove that those sunhowers
were as high as mans head and stood
so thick that one could not see through
them, much will be gained, because it
can then be shown that some of the
witnesses for the territory who said
they saw Leon shot could not have seen
him, and if they could not have seen
him, they could not have known he was
unarmed.
The manner in which he held the
crowbar which Crouch mistook for a
a
great deal of time was expended and
on which the witnesses for the defense
are not quite agreed. Another thing in
which these witnesses were rlgidly
cross examined was the intention OF
the party which drove up in front of
Icons tent "about half hour by the
sum-" as the witnesses put it on that
fatal morning of August %. The wit.
nesses were at disadvantage in the
cross examination. Ti+ey had not only
to conform to their evidence IN chief
but had to line up against their testi-
mony at Leon's inquest and the subse-
quent preliminary trial.
The proceedings began with the cross
examination of VIM. Price, concerning
the purpose of the errand to the tent.
He said it was to eject ths trespassers.
There were in the wagon two rifles
and two shotguns. The rest of the
armament consisted of sixshooters
Chas. Bowers, Crouch's step-son, and
R. NJ. Price who were mem bers OF the
party, corroborated in a general way
the direct testimony OF VIM. Price with
regard to the journey and the killing
Bowers said on cross examination that
the object in calling upon Leon was to
put him off the ranch. M. A. Ivy, another
mem Der of the party also described the
shooting and the circumstances imme
diately preceding it.
The next witness was Dan Johnson
Johnson is the man who brought word
to the city on the night before the kill.
ing that the Mexicans had taken pos
session of the ranch and he accom-
panied the party back there the next
morning. He was arrested with Crouch
and Price. but was discharged at the
preliminary examination. He said
that the wagon was driven up within
twenty feet of the tent where Leon and
the younger Leon, Patricio, were at
work. Crouch went up to Leon and
asked him what he was doing there.
Leon said he was there to stay. Crouch
told him that he didn't want any
trouble with him, that they had al
ready had a great deal of trouble
and he wanted him to go peace
ably. Leon told him to go: he was
going to stay. He called Crouch
- of B. and started towards
the north side of the tent. Crouch
went around to the west side
in the same direction. Leon's
wife met him and took hold of him.
As she stepped away the witness saw
knife fall to the ground. He did not
know whether Leon had had it before
or whether his wife was trying to give
it to him. Leon went on to where the
bar was sticking in the ground, and
picking it up, swung It to strike Crouch
who was five or six feet away. He was
then shot. Price in the meantime had
gone up to Patricio Leon who tried to
strike him with a shovel. Price made
him drop it and then kicked him.
Patricio then went away. After the
shooting Price picked up the knife and
crowbar and put them in the wagon.
He, Crouch and Price got into the
wagon and just then Leon who had
walked off in northerlv direction, fell.
On cross examination the witness
said they went there to make the Mexi-
cans leave. His testimony in appar-
emily unimportant particulars differed
from his evidence at the preliminary
examination.
VIM. Broadbent was the next witness.
His testimony related only to the sun
flowers which he said surrounded the
tent on all sides. They stood about five
feet high and were SO dense that it was
impossible to see through them.
The only other witnesses who saw the
killing were Sam Gentry and Thomas
Depew, members of the party in the
wagon. Their story of it was much the