Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-02-03
COUGHLIN'SKNIVES.
Another Witness Who Swears to
Their Identity.
DAN OWNED THEM IN APRIL, 1850

How Mrs. Norton Remember Seeing Them
~ That Time-Some ImPortant Discrcp-
sncies Regarding the White horse. Its
Evening - Very Important Witness
Found.
CHICAGO, Feb. SIN the Coughlin case
Mrs. Maria Norton. OF SEA Austin avenue,
said she knew the defendant and his wife
and that they had called upon her one Sun
day in April, 1882 Coughlin's little girl
and her own child, the witness said, had
quarreled over the possession of knife
To satisfy the children Coughlin had taken
out Of his pocket two knives and given
them to the little girls. The witness was
shown the knives supposed to be those of
DIR. Cronin and said Coughlin's knives
were very similar. The witness said she
had first met Coughlin in Ishpeming,
Mich. when he came there to be married
Her husband was in the clothing business
at that time. but is now employed with the
Diamond Drill company.
Big Dan Makes n Suggestion.
Attorney Bottum wanted to know how
Mrs. Norton remembered that Coughlin,
with his wife and children. visited her on
april 81 The witness stated that when
Coughlin was arrested, being curious to
know just when she had seen him, she had
counted back from May and come to the
conclusion that the day of his visit was the
second Sunday previous Bottum learned,
through questioning, that Michael Ames.
counsel for Beggs in the former trial, had
nj he frxr
but the witness insisted that she had never
spoken to him about the knives. Cough
lin suggested that Mrs Norton be asked if
che had ever seen the prisoner since the
visit in April. 1sS9. She said she had not
Captain Setback On the stand.
A sensation was created in court when
Judge Wing said, Call John kunze,"
but 1t subsidized when little later he con-
cluced Ia call Captain Setback first. On
taking the stand the inspector said that
Coughlin had travelled ia his district about
two years in citizens clothes. On MAY
). 1889, he said Conklin had notified him
OF DIR. Cronin's disappearance and given
him description Of the physician, the
driver and the horse and buggy. This had
been copied in the station record. Mrs
Conklin described the horse as white and
the buggy as a top-buggy The inspector
couiu uot reinefnDer taxing from her a de-
scription Of the driver. He had taken the
horse to Conkiin's house and Mrs. Conkiin
had failed to recognize it.
The Driver of the Horse Was Cross-E Eyed.
On returning TO the Chicago Avenue sta
ton after taking the horse and buggy to
Mrs. Conklin's residence for her inspection.
the witness testified that he said to Cough
lin:
Dan, you are lucky man. Mrs Conk-
lin says that isn't the horse"
WAS Dan with YOU when Oman first
described the driver OF the horse." asked
Judge Wing.
Yes: he was in the Office there"
WAS anything said about the eyes of
the man"
Yes. Coughlin asked Oman if the man
was not cross-eyed. and Oman replied,
Yes. he was cross-eyed'"
Where He Differs from Mrs. Copklin.
1t WAS testified by Mrs. Conklin tina; the
reason she did not identify the horse the
day Schaack, took it up was that it was
raining and the horse WIS a dull gray in
stead of white. But she also testified that
she identified the horse when it was taken
to her house at another time by the pecu-
liar motions of its fore feet and restless
actions. Mrs. Conklin also swore that the
eyes of the man who drove the horse were
straight but restless and piercing.