Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1895-12-06

to testify by the court. He said that he
first became acquainted with the de-
PENDANT about October, 1894. He met
him in his fathers store in Dickinson,
and agreed to go to work for him for SIS
a month dnring the winter, but he was
to have more wages in the following
spring. Witness had workedin Fargo at
the Columbia hotel and for the Western
Union telegraph company. Had also
gone to school at Fargo. Was born in
Germany: but lived in Fargo six years.
His testimony from this point was sub
stantially as follows: 1T knew Ed Sew
erson after I went to the Wadsworths; he
was not working for the Wadsworths
when I went there except in assisting
them with work that I could not do; he
used to go hunting sometimes: I re-
member the day that Ed Severson was
killed; it was the 21st of December last
on a Friday; 1 had a conversation with
MIR. Wadsworth on the day before that;
it was in the evening after I came in
from cutting cedar; the conversation oc-
Cured in the barn; there are two barns
at the place: it was the one nearest the
house. l was feeding the horses when
Wadsworth came in; he asked me if I
wanted to kill Ed; I told him no, what
did l want to kill Ed for; he said he
would give me 500 if I would do it; I
said-No sir, I would not kill him; we
had some more conversation but I don't.
remember what it was; about half an
hour after that I had another converse
ton with Mr.. Wadsworth; he took me
into the hay NOW and asked me again if
| wanted to kill Ed: I said I did not; he
offered me 500 again if I would do it
and l said no I would not kill him, and
then he offered me 5000; I asked him
when he would pay me and told me he
would pay me the next spring some
time when he sold his horses; he told me
| could buy horses and a wagon with
the money, and he would set me up in a
ranch and help me out in everything;
finally | agreed to do it: then we ate
supper together; after the first converse
ton with Wadsworth I told Ed that
Wadsworth wanted me to kill him, and
Ed laughed; he did not say anything;
after the last conversation I asked
Wadsworth when I should kill Ed and
he said the next morning; I asked him
what with and he said Eds gun; I wa
to kill him down at the lower barn in
the morning when he went to feed his
horse: it was dark that night, the Goth
when we ate supper: we all ate supper
together-Mr. and Mrs. Wadsworth, Ed
and myself; I slept with Ed that night
and got up before Ed did the
next morning at 6 O'Clock: I built
the fire after I got up: when l
got up Severson was still in bed: after
l had made the fire Mr.. Wadsworth
came out, and I went into the shed and
got Eds gun: l went into the shed first
and Mr.. Wadsworth followed me; he
told me to get the gun; the gun was
hanging on the wall: he asked me if
there was a shell in it, and I said there
was: it was a rifle; / took the gun and
started down to the lower barn, and he
came with me: Mr.. Wadsworth told me
to brace up, as I was nervous, and I
did: it is probably about 200 feet from
the house to the lower barn; we went
through the corral gates to get to the
barn; he went in through the door, and
L fastened the door on the outside and
climbed over the door: I put the gun
up to my shoulder and could not aim
with it, and Mr.. Wadsworth told me to
rest it on the horn of a saddle that
hung at the left hand of the door as
you enter the stable: I placed the
muzzle of the gun over the horn of the
saddle, and Mr. Wadsworth said that
was all right; he told me that when
he touched me 1 was to fire and shoot
Ed: Mr.. Wadsworth was standing be-
hind me at the time he told me to fire
when he touched me: after a little bit
we heard Ed come in to the first corral
door, and Wadsworth told me to get
ready, and I got ready: I could see Ed
through the cracks of the stable walls;
when Ed came Wadsworth punched
me and I pulled the trigger, and the
gun went off and Ed said ugh! UghD
twice, and fell on the ground: I began
to cry and he asked me what [ was cry
ing for, and he told me to take the
shell out of the gun and to throw it
over the fence, which 1 did: he fell
right where he was shot; after that we
carried him out of stable door where he
fell into the corral, perhaps about twenty
feet; Mr.. Wadsworth got hold of his
collar with his left hand and I got be-
tween Eds legs and carried him that
way into the corral: we placed his hat
the way it was when he fell, and put
one of his mits under him; before we
carried him out we turned him round