The herald., 1895-11-27
COlOred POisoner Before Judge
Smith, Department One
STORY OF A PECULIAR CRIME
The Grand Jury Is Challenged by
Cherry the Sienographer
A. c. Broderson, the Attorney, Before Town.
snip Justice Young on a Charge of
Rape-Generai Court Notes

The trial of W. ]. Busoy, the colored
man charged with the murder of W. J.
Thorn pson and o. l.. Martin, Santa Fe
employees, was commenced in depart.
ment | of the superior court before Judge
Smith yesterday.
The prisoner, coal black negro, with
typical African face and head, sat at
the table with his counsel, Messrs. David
son, Fisher e. King, and followed the
proceedings very closely. The court room
Was we'll filed, thera being quite a num-
Der of colored people among those pres
ent.
Deputy District Attorney McComas said
that the people elected to try Busoy for
the murder OF v. J. Thompson, and the
work of selecting jury was at once pro-
ceeded with. Far progress was made,
and by the noon recess ten jurors had
been secured. The other two vera secured
in a short time after recJnvening in the
afternoon, the jury to try the case being
as follows: Flank Gerling, &. G Burdick,
Stephen Alden. r. b. Russell, Ii. A.
Barraclougn, 4. A. House, W. P. Car
penter, J. l.. Fetterman, W. F. Hall, f..
H. Dalton, II. c. Houne and A. A. Bay
ley.
But three witnesses were examined
during the afternoon. NJ. d. Thompson
a son of the deceased; Edward Eccles,
the boy who was hired by BIsby to carry
the wine to the depot, and Sandy Gard
ner, the chair car porter for whom the
''doctored" wine was INTENDED. The wit
Noses all testified substantially as they
did at the preliminary examination.
The crime for which Busby is now on
trial for murder IS peculi ar one, ana
bis attorneys think they will be able -
clear MIN, as the man he intended to XII
is alive and well, while il the men who
are dead had not interfereu with some
thing that did not belong to them they
would probably now be alive. The story
of the crime is in brief as fellows: ". J.
Sandy Gardner at Redondo and quss-
toned him as to how to proceed to get 8
jon such as ne held. Gardner told him
to put in his application, and when there
was vacancy he would probably be sem
for. This was all that passed at the
time. On the 18th CT Saptembef Busby
met small boy named Edward Eccles, t.
whom he gave packages bottle wrapped
up, and after telling the boy to shake it,
said he would give him 10 cents tn take
it to the ticket agent at the nowney av
! enue station, with instructions to deliver
il to Gardner, who ran on the chair car
on tho San bernardin0 and RedlandS
delivered the parcel, returning to Busby,
who told him not to tell any one about
what he had done and not to recognize
| him, at the sams time giving him another
| 10 cents. Thompson was the ticket agsn
! at the station, ana Martin was the fore
| man OF the gravel pit, The men wer
| temporarily "batchinp' AT the station il
the absence of their families. and whsi
| supper time came they investigated tin
| package. Gardner having been transferre
TO another run, and finding That it was
bottle labeled sherry wine, they con
cluded to help themselves to it. The!
each took small drink, as they noticed
! the bitter taste, but each got a fatal dose
| Thompson died in lew minutes, bu
Martin fingered for several hours. Boil
! men died in great agony, with all tat
! symptoms OF strychnine poisoning.
An analysis showed that the bottle con
tanned seventy grains of strychnine-
enough to kill q hundred men. Bushy
when arrested, said that he only waited
to make Gardner sick a while so he coult
get some work.