The San Francisco call., 1895-11-02
THE MURDERER TALKS.
He Displays Irritability and a Gym
ical CheerfulneSs.


let his cellmate see that his company was
distasteful When first ushered into his
new quarters he sat down on stool,
tipped his hat on the back of his head,
thrust his hands into his trousers pockets
and endeavored to converse nonchalantly
with his newly formed acquaintance.
The effort was plainly forced, and he
showed unmistakable signs that he was
inwardly deeply stirred. What his emo
tions were it was impossible to tell, but
moved he certainly was as he has not been
since the day of his arrest that Sunday
afternoon in April. And yet he showed
not Q sign of breaking down. In the court
room he had had need to summon all his
nerve TO control his feelings when his
mother cIung SO piteously to her boy and
wept so bitterly on his bosom, and it was
thought at one time he would give way,
but returned to the jail he was like ada
mant so far as losing his self control was
concerned.
But he did not like his new quarters
That was evident. He took his first
supper on prison fare when it was handed
into him at the time the other prisoners
we're fed, but did not eat with any sort of
relish. He had been accustomed to as
good food as any one has and of the
deIiCacies from his mothers table, and
quite naturally he did not like the change,
and showed it in the reception he ac
corded the visitors who called during the
evening.
He was nervous and irritable and would
have but little to say to reporters, stating
he had received fresh instructions from
General Dickinson to have nothing to say
to the papers. He was particularly en-
joined against expressing an opinion OF
the verdict.
When seen by a CALL reporter he APP
peared somewhat nervous, his face looked
slightly pinched and drawn and he was
perhaps a shade paler than usual, but
otherwise he was quite the same person he
has appeared all along.
"What do | think of the verdict? Gen
eraI Dickinson has instructed me not to
express an opinion.
How do l feel? How do you suppose a
fellow would feel in my position? All
broke up, of course.
Did 1 expect it? Well, in way did
and in way l didn't. I was not very
ii looked pretty funny the jury coming in
so soon. In that L was very much sur
prised.
at looked to me as though the Job was
all cooked up before the jury went out.
That slip of paper Dutton read from was
too we'll folded to have been done in the
hurry they appear to have been in. 1t
pocket some time. You can't tell me that
jury arrived at any such conclusion just in
the length of time they were in the Jury
ROOM"
Once started he had talked more than he
had intended to, and something of the bit
terness that was in his heart crept into his
tone as he concluded with, "You can bet
there was some dirty work somewhere
During the conversation that followed
Durrant became quite cheerful again. In
fact, he was quite the same that he was
before the verdict, with the exception of
the slight inclination toward irritability.
and his air partook of that confidence
which has marked his bearing from the
first as he intimated that his fate was not
yet settled.
During the evening Durrant Sr. called at
the jail. 1t was noted at once that he
was not permitted to proceed to the cell
with that freedom that has hitherto char
acterized his treatment by the Jail officials
when the parent sought an interview with
his son. He was required to wait in the
anteroom until the arrival of Chief Satler,
who will henceforth be present at all inter
views with the prisoner. Upon the arrival
of the chief taller the convicted student
was taken from his cell and allowed to
talk with his father half an hour in the
office of the jail.
Chief Satler does not believe Durrant
viii try to commit suicide, but he is
ever on the alert and in view of the grave
ness of his situation and the tn erefore not
TO be unexpected possibility that he might,
does not propose to give him an opportu-
nifty to do so.
This was one Of the reasons for giving
Durrant roommate and the possibility
that something might be smuggled to the
prisoner is the chief jailer's reason for re-
quiring all interviews between the prisoner
and his relatives or friends to be held in
his presence.
Durrant Sr. was more communicative
than his son. He was less affected by the
verdict than either the son or the mother.
but his face showed that he, too, had re-
ceived a terrible blow. There were lines
in the face that have not been there before,
and his eyes were bloodshot and moist
when he bade his son good-night; but
withal he did not appear to experience as
keen and deep an appreciation of all the
verdict means as the other members of the
family.
This seemed largely due to his great
hopefuluess which has never yet and has
not now deserted him. He evidently can
not believe but that his son will yet be
cleared.
He spoke bitterly of the jury and said he
would never believe they arrived at such
verdict without some ulterior influence
having been eXerted upon them.
1t seemed from his manner and words
to be utterly mprehensible to him that
such a verdict could be the result of the
evidence introduced. In fact it seemed
utterly and absolutely beyond the grasp
OF scope of his understanding that such
thing could possibly be. AS he said,
''While there's life there's hope and we
will hope on, for the end is not yet
reached"
at half-past 10 O'CLOCK Durrant requested
Of his keepers that he be permitted to
have the pillow that had been furnished
him from home. The request was COM
municated to Chief Satler, who at once
became suspicious and himself examined
the pillow before granting the request.
He removed the case and carefully in
spected all the seams, then felt it all over
again TO make sure nothing was hidden in
the feathers with which the prisoner
could take his own life.
Satisfied it contained nothing the chief
directed a deputy to give the pillow to
Durrant, and in half an hour the con-
demned man was reclining as peacefully
as though he were at home in his own soft
bed, and as though he had no knowledge
that on Friday next he would listen to the
stern tones of Judge Murphy telling him
he must hang by the neck until dead.
Up to the hour of midnight Durrant had
not retired, but lay idly on his bunk, iok-
ing and bandying words with Sargent, the