The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1895-01-17
THE HILLMON CASE.

The Hearing Resumed Before Judge
Thomas in the Federal Court.
The hearing of the Hillmon case has
been resumed. All of yesterday after
noon Judge Thomas devoted to it in the
United States circuit court
One of the most important witnesses
for Mrs. Hillmon was called TO the stand
He is Lew Baldwin, the man whom the
insurance companies claim was the orig
inator of the scheme TO have HllImon's
life insured and then have dead body
identified being that of Hlllmon.
Baldwin now lives in Colorado and is
ranchman. He is Mrs. Hillmon's
cousin.
Baldwin said that Mrs. Hillmon had
worked for him when he was on farm
near Tonganoxie and that John W.
Hillmon had nerded cattle and boarded
at his place, which was some time after
1872. He remembered that Hillmon had
gone to Colorado with John II. Brown
and returned in 1878, and that Hillmon
did odd jobs for him until Decem Der,
1873, when Brown and Hillmon went
south, but soon returned and again left
for the south not long afterward
Baldwin said that he could not remem-
Der whether he saw HilImon off on the
train OF not He said that before Hill
mon went on his last trip he had traded
clothes with him, Baldwin giving Hill
mon coat and vest of large check,
but that he had never traded clothes
with HillmOn.
The witness said the first notification
he had of the shooting of HiHmOn was
through Mrs. Hillmon and that ne and
his brother Alva at once took the train
for Hutchinson and drove to Medicine
Lodge where he found John H. Brown
and that they proceeded to fence in Hill
mons grave at the cemetery. He said
that three days afterward the three men
in the employ of the Insurance company
arrived and suggested that the body be
exhumed and taken to Lawrence The
body was exhumed and some one, he
thought it was physician, took knife
and slit the left sleeve for the purpose
of showing the vaccination marks which
were visible to all. He felt satisfied that
the body was that of HillmOn.
The body was taken to Hutchinson by
wagon and to Lawrence by train and
placed in an undertaking estab lishment
where coroner's inquest was held. He
had hunted up two or three men to iden-
tify the body as that of Hillmon.
Baldwin also testified that he went to
Reuben Browns farm somewhere in Mis-
souri, He could not remember at what
lance from Kansas City. He went there
for the purpose of getting John H Brown
to make the necessary affidavits for the
proofs of death against the Insurance
companies and thought that he got
Brown to sign them at his first VISIT but
might have failed to do so, and that he
might have returned a second time for
such purpose He said he finally did
get them signed and that Brown might
have signed them at Kansas City,
in some office, but he could not remem-
Der the name of the Office. J. W. Buchan
was with John II. Brown at Reuben
Browns at the time of MS first visit. The
witness said that he thought the next
time he saw John II. Brown was at his
farm near Tonganoxie, in the month of
September, 1879. He was not to get $780,
600 from Mrs. Hillmon, out of the insur-
ance money. He left Leavenworth cOun-
ty in the fall of 1879. going to New
Mexico.
Baldwin was put through very rigid
cross examination and showed won
derful faculty for forgetting. His an
swer to most of the questions on cross
examination was II don't remembe r."
When Baldwin left the stand the at
torneys for the companies asked that he
be retained to testify for the companies
s. A. Riggs, one of the attorneys for
Mrs. Hillmon, objected on the ground Of
expense, and subpoena was then issued
and the insurance companies will pay
Baldwin's expense until he is again
called to the stand.
The day was closed with the reading
of dispositions of four men who had seen
Hillmon upon a previous trip and who
| identified the body as that of HilImon.