Birmingham state herald., 1895-10-12
DURANT'S TRIAL.
Attorney Barnes Is Making it Pretty Warm for Him, But He Is Hard to
 Trip Up.

San Francisco Oct. u.-Theodore Du- rant, while losing none of his coolness and self-possession and without being made to contradict himself in any way, did not fare well in his struggle With District Attorney Barnes today as yes- terday. asa.f
 Barnes had reserved his most telling points for the close and he brought them with good effect. There were in his in- terogations today broad intimations of rebuttal testimony of very important, and, in one case, sensational nature and he expects next week to complete the net which in his direct examination he partly wove around the accused man.
 When proceedings opened this morning Durant was confronted with statements alleged to have been made 10 two report CTS, n Wnicn he saIu that on the aIter- noon Of the murder ne had arrived atIne cnurcn between 4 ana 4:oU o clock. lie admitted that he had made statements to the reporters, but said he had been misunderstood. The tune referred to was his trip from the college to the church and not his arrival at the church. he said he had stated the time he left col lege to be between and 4:50 o'clock.
 When he came down from the space above the ceiling to the Sunday school B, ist, was playing, Durant sald he looked through the glass in the door and saw King before stepping through the door way. When it was called to his atten- tion that the glass was stained he insist ed that he could SC the outline of King s form through the color space in 1t. King had testified that he was the first to speak at that meeting, and that 'Durant walked to the middle of the room before replying. This Durant denied. He said If King spoke first he did not hear him, but he himself opened the conversation. Durant's college note book is one with an adjustable cover and he was asked if he had not made 1t that way to enable him to insert lectures. He said that he had not. and added that he had used the cover for more than a year. He made the remarkable statement that he had, on the day of his arrest, forgotten that he had notes of Dr. Cheney's lecture on the afternoon of April 8, though he re- membered it up to the time of his ar rest and it again occurred to him three days later
 The sensation of the day was produced when Durant was asked if he had not, on December 22 of last month shown to Miss Carrie Cunningham, a reporter, an envelope containing a statement not to be opened except in the event of his con- viction. He denied having done so Barnes then asked him: Did you on the 5th of October in cell No. of the county pail, in a conversation with Miss Cunningham say when you were at work on the sunburners you heard a noise and followed up to the belfry and saw the dead body of Blanche Lamont on the sec ond landing, and did you say that she was murdered on the second landing of the belfry?"
 There was a story brought to me by Miss Cunningham" said Durant, which like the sweet pea girl story, purported to be a rumor which she had heard about town to the effect that I heard a noise while fixing the gas and that followed the noise to the landing above to see what 1t was and discovered what you make reference to. I neither affirmed nor denied 1t. She said she would say nothing about this until 1t could be proven"
 Now" added Durant dramatically, "I ask for the proof to come forward This concluded Durant's cross-exam- inatiOn. The case went over till Tuesday