The San Francisco call., 1896-07-04

The defense was conducted by General
Robert a. Frederick AMI Mr.. Van Wyck
of CrIttenden & Van Wyck.
Mr.. Crittenden, who represents Lillian in
her suit for damages, could not appear,
being under the ban for contempt of
court.
The first witness was Attorney A. G.
Barnett. He was IN the courtroom at the
time of the shooting and before. He no.
ticed Miss Ashley sitting outside the rail
near Mr.. Baldwin. She was looking in
her lap, and was smiling. He described
the bearing of the attorneys in the trial
toward each other as being notably pleas
ant.
They were questioning the witness, Lii
ian Ashley, about the photographs with
the curled hair, and there was some pleas
ant repartee. Suddenly Miss Ashley arose
with her two hands clasped about the re-
volver and. still smiling, fired. He de-
scribed the scene of confusion that fol-
lowed. Miss Ashley, as Mr.. Unruh grasped
her hands, began to cry with something
like terror.
Henry A. Highton, Mr.. Baldwin's attor-
ney, was the next witness. He was ques
toned particularly as to Miss Ashley
having taken a seat away from her sister
and near Mr. Baldwin during the last two
or three DAYS of the trial. He had spoken
ticed that she was reading book, which
he took to be the Bible, and he considered
her doing so as being mere pose.
q. A. Lee, a reporter on the Report was
the most mportant witness for the prose-
cution. He interviewed Miss Ashley almost
Immediately upon her being booked in
the City Prison. She said to him, as he
testified Il tried to do a Christian act,
tried to kill seducer; l tried to Kill the
man who ruined my sister. l failed. 1t
was Gods will"
Mr.. Lee was asked as to whether Miss
Ashley appeared to be in state of mental
distress or excitement at the time. He
said that that was matter of opinion,
but to him she appeared TO be one of the
coolest persons he had ever seen und er
such circumstances.
James R. McElroy, clerk in Judge
Slack's court, told the story of the shoot
ing again. While Unruh was wrestling
with the woman for possession of the re-
volver he sprang to him and demanded
the weapon. When Unruh secured it he
handed it over to the witness. 1t con-
tained four loaded cartridges and one
empty shell. The white handled revolver
was shown him and he identified it.
To Mr.. McElroy Miss Ashley seemed a
quiet and rather innocent young woman.
He had remarked, after hearing her tes-
tify in her sisters behalf, that she was
ratner llgnL. by tnat lie ala not mean
that she was mentally unbalanced, but
only that e had not much force
II. A. Unruh, E. J. Baldwin's business
agent, told tie story again.
He had been suspicious of Miss Ashley
since she took the seat near and to the
back of his chief. He was facing the
Judge when the shot was fired, and SPRING
ing up he saw the woman with smoking
revolver held with botf hands within two
or three feet of Luck" Baldwin's head.
He sprang forward, grasped the weapon,
turned its muZZle toward the ceiling, and
tried to loosen her grip upon it. She re-
sisted. He heard some one behind him
crying, "Let that woman alonel Let that
woman alonel" This neryedl him to a
greater effort and he wrested the weapon
from the woman's hands.
The witness described how Miss Ashley
sat with the handbag in her lap, in which
she carried her Bible and her revolver to-
gether. He said be had long had a sus-
picion of the contents of that bag.
Judge Slack told the story again. In
the confusion that followed the shooting
there were other actors, he said, who took
his attention from the principals (referring
to Mr.. Crittenden and his reyolyerl.
Judge Slack testified that while Emma
Ashley was on the stand as witness in
the case before him he had noticed a
queer look in her eye. He could not say
that it was an unnatural look
She attracted his attention again when
she changed her seat in the courtroom,
chiefly from the fact OF her eating candy