The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-19
LESS LAW THAN WIT.
VOW TRIALS WERE ONCE con-
Quoted IN NEW MEXICO.


-. Not Ask the Mercy of God Upon the
soul of a Condemned Murderer.
Lacking Evidence, Another Law
yer Resorts TO Strategy.
New Mexico Letter in Chicago Times
sitting in patio Of the Commercial hotel
the other day enjoying a fragrant Next
can cigar with Don Eugene Van p. who
has served several times as sheriff O..
Dona Ana county, The conversation turned
upon noted criminal trials. and the at
torneys who figured in them. Western
courts. as You must understand. are very
poor places for the exploitation Of an at
torney's knowledge OF legal technicalities.
as the western people have a rough. rude
way Of getting tired of laws DELAYS. and
not only settling with the culprit, but
also making it exceedingly sultry for
those who would in the east be called
roxy" and 'shrewd'' for their DELAYS of
justice by winding the sinuous folds of
legal practice and continuance about the
case until the circumstances have been
forgotten or the witnesses have disap-
peared.
II remember said Don Eugene, "once
. bOnt eighteen years ago when a gruff old
fellow Of the name Of Brown, "Hoodoo
Brown, % the boys called him, was on the
bench in Los Vegas. A Mexican of the
name Of Jose Maria Cisneros had muir
dered whole family in cold blood, and
had quietly gone to bed in the room with
the corpses Of his victims lying on the
floor, and slept till morning When ne was
arrested he had put on an air of bravado
and levtty, and had often during the
weeks thar preceded his trial Disguised
and shocked his fellow prisoners with his
ccld-bloooed stories of his crimes When
he was brought into court for trial his
bullying manner was. n possible, more
pronounced than ever, and when at last
no was brought forward for sentence, he
came up before the luuge with a sardoaic
smile on his lips and a threatening CLEAN
IN his eye Judge Brown fancied himself
quite an orator, and in all his decisions,
sentences and DEGREES rather affected a
spread-eagle style which, in this case,
proved very effective.
He began in this way: Prisoner at
the bar stand up! Jose Maria Cisneros,
you have been tried at the bar of this
court for one of the most atrocious muir
ders ever committed by mortal man, and
found guilty. Your devillsh nature. when
once il had tasted blood couu spare
neither age nor sex, mother or babe. Jose
Maria, 1t is winter now in the vegas"
and the snowbird chirps where the lark
made his nest, and the wolves and the
winds wall nightly over the dead beau
ties of the year that is passing. Nature
is wrapped in a shroud OF white and laid
N d frozen tomb, but it will not be so
always. only a few weeks more ana the
bosom of the earth Will heave with an
awakening sigh and the flowers will peep
out of their hiding places while the warm
south wind dallies with them and coaxes
them out into the sunlight; but you won't
see any of that, Jose Mariai The little
children will play in the fields and wade
m the streams, calling to each other in
tnelr JOY, but you won't hear them, Jose
Maria. The trees Will bloom and bear
their harvest of golden fruit the vine will
5s burdened with clusters Of sweet grapes,
but you won't eat OF the fruit or drink of
the wine, Jose Maria, for you won't be
mere, for it's the sentence OF this court
that you be confined in the county Jail of
san Miguel county until Jan. "A, and on
lhat date, between the hours of a. m.
and p. m, that you be taken from thence
and at some point in Las Vegas be pub
licly hanged by the neck until you are
dead"
Then after a pause: Jose Maria, it is
customary for judge to add to such a
sentence, And may God have mercy on
your soul!' but If / thought God Almighty
would have any mercy on as cold-blooded
. brute as you would never cast my eyes
toward his throne save in contempt 7
won't say it. Sheriff, take away the pris-
oner" AS the words of the judge fell
slowly from his lips the light had been
dying in the court room and the CLEAN
had paled in the prisoners eve, the sar-
donic smile had relaxed until, as the
Judge declared in tones that were full of
suppressed adherence and detestation.
~ won't say it," the prisoner fell on his
knees and begged and prayed the judge
10 break his word. He seemed to attach
a superstitious faith to those perfunctory
words, and, as the sheriff and his deputies
dragged him cursing and praying from the
court room, the last words we heard
were. %, JeUz por Ell amor de Diosn
ooh, judge, for the love Of GodD
That was tragic, old. man. Cant you
tell me something to take away the shud-
ders?"
Wen, I have seen a few comical things
IN my day, IN admit" said Don Eugene
Now there was the s. trial; that was
great"
You see, a Mexican man we call Sa-
lszar-as he was we'll related, and his
kin are rather touchy about him yet
Killed man whom he had forbidden
70 meet his daughter; just took a double
oarrelcd shotgun and went into a neigh
boris house, where the young fellow was
sitting with the girl in his lap and blew
'hG-top OF his head on. Col Rynerson
was prosecuting attorney at the time and
Col Fountain was employed by the de-
Tense, thus putting the two leading
criminal lawyers against each other in
2 battle royal
Col Fountain soon found that if he
rcned upon facts and evidence to clear
II even postpone the fate of his client
he would be up a tree; 50 he cast about
Tor other means of getting his man off,
but apparently to no purpose.
At last the day of the trial came and
ina court room was crowded The exam
nation of the witnesses for the prosecu-
ton was over, and Col. Fountain arose
and addressed the court. Said he: May
il pleas the court: If anyone had told me
that an attorney of the standing and rep
utation Of Col Rynerson would stoop so
low, for the sake OF the peltry praise
that might come to him for the convic-
ion of my poor client here, as to brow
beat and intimidate my witnesses, sun
born others { say it boldly, and thus
peocure the absence OF any testimony
which might be used in our favor, I