The herald., 1895-11-27
COlOred POis0ner 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. J. 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 JUDI re
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 well filled, thers being quite num-
Der of coored people among those pres
cnt.
Deputy District Attorney McComas said
that the people elscted to try Bus5y 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 short time after recJnvening in the
afternoon, the urv to try the case being
as follows: Frank Gerling, {. G Burdick,
Stephen Alden. r. b. Russell, Ii. A.
Barraclougn, Il. A. House, ". P. Car
penteT, j. l.. Fetterman, W. F. Hall L.
H. Dalton, II. G. Houne and A. a. Bay
ley.
But three witnesses were examined
during the afternoon. M. d. Thompson
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
'dortored" wine was INTENDED. The wit
ncsses all testified substantially as they
did ut the preliminary examination.
The crime for which Busby is now on
trial for murder IS pecul ar one, am.
his attorneys think they will be able 20
IL 10 - .ta1 tzI Ill
is alive and we'll, while if 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.
Busny met chair car porter named
Sandy Gardner at Redondo and quss-
toned him as to how to proceed to get a
jon such as ne held. Gardner told him
to put in his application, and when there
was a vacancy he would probably be sent
for. This was all that passed at the
time. On the 18th Of Septembef BusDy
met small boy named Edward Eccles, IL
whom he gave a package, a 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
it to Gardner, who ran on the char car
on tho San bernardino and Redlands
train. The boy was paid 10 cents and
uellVeTeu luo pdTCeI, W Dusty
| 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 agent
/ at the station, ana Martin was the fore
I man OF the gravel pit, The men werS
temporarily "batchinp" at the station il
the absence Of their families, and whsr
| supper time came they investigated TIM
package. Gardner having been transferred
TO another run, and finding tnat it was
bottle labeled sherry wine, they con
cluded to help themselves to it. They
each took small drink, as they noticed
the bitter taste, but each got a fatal dose
/ Thompson died in a few minutes, bu
Martin fingered for several hours. Both
men died in great agony, with all the
! symptoms OF strychnine poisoning.
i An analysis showed that the bottle con
tanned seventy grains of strychnine-
! enough to kill a hundred men. Bushy
/ when arrested, said that he only wa.tec
to make Gardner sick while so ne coulc
get some work.