Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1895-10-11

The Prisoner Gets Tangied in
His testimony.

San Francisco Oct. 1O-Th"o'oge
Durcnnt,a REPUTATION for truth nnc
V"ra>ity went cornpletely TO pieces
today. The pitfalE into which he fell
was in telling about tie afternoon ne
spent at he ferries to see if Blanche
Lamont wOuid not attempt % cross
the bay 70 escape from the city. Dur
rant said he had a clew that Miss
Lamont would cross the bay that
afternoon. Asked where he got the
clew, Durrant said that he was stand
ing on the corner 4 Market and
Montgomery Stre~t7 that lay, when a
stranger came np to him and asked
him il MS name was not DUrrant.
The prisoner rerlied that it was. IT,"
stranger then asked if Durr"nt VS.
not Interested in her dissapoarausr .
view Of the fact hat his nam 1.i
been con nec'ed with the case, Dur
rant replied that he was. The strau.-
er then said: watch the ferries
this afternoon hat is my advice.
She will try to cross the bay"
Although Durrant said he was
Overioved to get a clpw to Miss La
mont. in reilly to District Attorney
Barnes questions, he said that he did
not ask the mans name, residence OF
anything about the source of the in
formation he had rr"cived. Neither
did he ask for further information on
the subject He simply watched tie
man walk towards Dupont street, and
then DurrHnt went to a restaurant
and ate luncheon, He then went to
the ferry. he said. to see if he could
find Blanche. Four Of Durrant's
friends saw him at the ferry thar
afternoon. And by one Of them the
Prosecution expects to prove that
Durrant went there not to meet Miss
Lamont but Minnie Williams.
Aaron Hoge, an old schooImatn Of
Durrant, testified at the preliminary
examination that Durrant met a
woman answering Minnie Wiliars'
description. and boarding Il Howard
street car with her, rod" to the Mis-
sion. Durrant testified today that he
did not meet any woman at the ferry.
and that be went from the fo,gv . thu
aTmOry to pack his blankets. .r-para-
tory to making a trip to Mt. Diablu
the next day. To Frank Sademan.
whom he saw at the ferry. Durrant
said that he WIS looking for Blanche
Lamont. To Dodge and Dukes, stu
dents at the medical college, he said
that he vas waiting for members Of
the Signal Corps, who were coming
over from Oakland.
When asked today if he told Dodge
and Dukes that he was tracing a clew
to Miss Lamont, Durrant at first re-
piled that he did. The next moment
he realized that he had given the
wrong answer and replied hat he did
not. He attempted to reconcile his
statements by saying that he was look
ing for Miss Lamont and was waiting
for members Of the Signal Corps at
the same time.
District Attorney Barnes asked Dur
rant why he left the ferry at ) o'clock
to make preparations to go on a pleas
ure trip if he was so much interested
in finding Miss Lamont with whose
disappearance his name had been 50
unpleasantly connected. Durrant re-
piled that he did not think it necps-
Sary to remain at the ferry longer.
The District Attorney then asked if he
told any Of Blanche's friends Of the
important clew that he had received
from the stranger. Durrant replied
that he had not, as he had not had an
opportunity.
After vigorous questioning Durr6nt
admitted that he attended the Chris
tan EDdeavor meeting the same night
where he met a number of Miss La
mOnt's friends. Among others he met
Thomas NOgel, who, Durrant testified
the moment before, was more inter
ested in Branches disappearance than
anybody else except her aunt, Mrs.
Noble Although he had a private
conversation with NOgel, Durrant
told him nothing about the clew to
Miss Lannon'S disappearance, as he
said the subject did not occur to him.
Doforcon Cnroox,o,o