Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1895-06-07
FOR HIS LIFE
The Trial of Harry Grove for the
Murder of James Morgan
on March IA
BEGUN IN THE DISTRICT COURT
A Synopsis Of the Evidence Pre-
sented So Far in Behalf
of the Prosecution.


Wednesday morning and half an hour
later the wanting juror had been secured
from a special vcnire and the following
jury was sworn to try Harry Grove,
charged with the murder of James Nor
gan: Ed Lowry, A. j. Vance, l., G. Har
ris, G. Il. kretIow, Nick O'Brien, Charles
Meeks, S. r. Jensen, G. T. Grove, f. B.
Wilcox, f. ID. Dibble, }. ID. Young. w.
| +. Brown.
Civil Engineer c. r.. Anderson was the
first witness. He presented diagram
of the railroad bridge, where the shoot
! ing occurred, and explained 1t.
Dan McKenna was the next witness
| He was walking across the bridge and
saw the shooting. AS he approached the
bridge Grove was standing near. talking
to some companions. Grove exhibited a
revolver and said: II let the -- - do
me up last night when didn't have a
gun. Now I'll i'll the --- -- full of
holes" Witness afterward saw Grove
and Morgan on the bridge. They appeared
to be sitting down when witness first
saw them When he next looked Grove
had arisen and fired. and Morgan was on
his hands and knees. Grove then ran
little ways and threw the revolver into
the river and walked rapidly away from
| witness toward the west end Of the
| bridge When witness had reached
| Morgan, Grove came back with two men
and said II shot him and want to give
myself up. He smashed me in the face
ana | shot him in self-defense." Witness
said that his testimony in the police
court that Grove said Morgan had
knocked him down was wrong. lie said
'.smashed ms in the face"
Cross~eyamired further, witness said
that when the shooting occurred witness
heard Morgan cry out, 81 am shot" he
was then about 100 yards away. Witness
had been residing at the county Jail since
April 3. Attorney Huntoon asked the
witness if he was not aware that by
giving a deposition he might have
avoided this restraint and council for
the prosecution objected. Attorney
IIuntoon stated to the court that he de-
sired to ask the question as tending to
show the character of the witness, who
had given UP his liberty in order to draw
53 a day from the county. but was over
ruled by the court on the ground that
! the question was immaterial.
Peter Gupner was sworn for the state.
| Didn't know either defendant or Nor
gan; WAS railroad man; was going
across the bridge with Mckenna and saw
two men on the bridge; passed both men
on the bridge; looked back and saw pris-
oner draw pistol and make a motion as
though to strike the other man over the
head; looked back three times and saw
this threatening motion with the pistol
repeated three different times; saw both
men fall on the bridge. Shortly after
this heard the shot fired; prisoner came
up and said she struck ne in the face
and | shot him. One fellow asked him
what he did with the pistol and he said
he threw it in the river. They all went
up to Morgan and prisoner touched him
with his foot and said he should be
taken off the track. as a train might run
over him. Couldn't get stretcher and
finally took the wounded man across on
on an engine and that was the last he
saw of him.
Cross examined by Mr. Largent ::
Stopped and looked back at couple at
least half a dozen times. Noticed de-
| fendant particularly, because Mckenna
had told him that he (the prisoner had
declared his intention of shooting the
other man in conversation with him.
tIuntoon objected to this as heareay,
| but the prosecution said the defense had
| brought it out themsel"e-, and Attorney
Largent said he had no objection to It
standing anyway. the osR-examina,
tion was rigid, but no material change
was made by witness in his testimony as
given in the direct examination.
Isaac S. I May started for tie Hest
side with Mckeynods and Bent al out
3:3O p. m. March II. He saw two men
on the bridge. One was on his knees
and the other had just shot at him.
Grove shot, ran ten or fifteen feet and
threw the gun into the river; then he
started for the west end Of the bridge.
Grove stood behind Morgan about six or
eight feet when he shot. After running
away Grove came back and said, 81 shot
him and am going to give myeelf up.
Morgan asked witness for pencil and
paper wrote letter to bis sweetheart
in Nebraska and started letter to his
mother.
The defendant father here OBTAINED
permission to remain in the court room.
Cross examined, witness said he had
testified that Morgan and Grove were
scramblipg around on the ties. He
didn't know whether it was a scrtle or
not. The men were 300 or 300 feet away
from witness. Witness did not SEQ
Grove get up. Did testify in the police
court that he saw Grove get up from
the bridge, but | meant when | said
l saw him get up that he was UP,
Attorney Huntoon here asked: "Do
you belong to any railroad union?"
"Yes, sir" "What is that union?" The
state objected to the question. Mr..
Hnntoon privately informed the court of
the object of the question, but the ohjec-
tion was sustained.
w. F.. Bent was the next witness. He
saw three men on the bridge. On was
twenty or thirty feet beyond the other
two. When witness next looked the
two together were both down on the
bridge, facing each other, four or five