The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1896-03-31
JUDGE JAMES w. GREEN
Concluded from Second Page.)

Newfoundland dog While, on the 9TH
er hand, the photograph of Hillmon
and all the evidence shows that he had
straight hair, slightly wavy at the
ends.
Il shall now, gentlemen, discuss the
evidence on both sides as to the iden-
tity of the body brought to Lawrence,
and l shall commence with the plant
ifs deposition as taken at Medicine
Lodge, and in this connection I will
call your attention to the fact that
whenever one is told that any of our
friends are dead and we are invited to
view the body we do SO with a reverent
awe-we do not make a close inspection
of the body as we never question the
identiy-we simply pass the body, gaze
at it slightly and come away. And so
when John H. Brown told the people
that the body was that of his friend
HflmOn, they took it for granted it was
the man who called himself Hillmon.
Or that 1t was the body of the man
whom they saw passing with the man
whom they subsequently met, and who
called himself John H. Brown. And
in giving this testimony they were no
doubt honest. But let US suppose that
these men were told that Hflmon had
been insured for S25, 600; that there was
a very great probability that the body
was not that of Hillmon, but some
other person, and we would have
heard the very same witnesses coming
into court and even more Stronly teS-
tifying that the body was not that of
the man who called himself Hillmon,
or that of the man who accompanied
the person whom they subsequently
learned called himself John H Brown.
I submit the evidence of the Medicine
Lodge dispositions is of little, if any,
value In this connection it must be
remembered that not a single one of
these witnesses knew Hillmon at all.
Instead of being Hillmon it might have
been Walters and Brown whom ~they
saw together Their lack of knowledge
&c 1lTTy tod NV f11n in z 71n
school teacher who testified that when
teaching school he accidentally hap
pened to look out of the window and
saw passing on the road at some dis
lance a wagon with two men in it.
and then some days after on seeing a
body at Medicine Lodge tells you gen
tlemen that the fleeing glimpse he got
of the men in the wagon, that he was
able to identity the body as that of
one of those men. This is a fair sam
pie of the Medicine Lodge testimony
for the plaintiff.
Both sides are agreed that the body
taken to Lawrence measured feet 73s
inches; that the body had a perfect and
complete set of teeth; that it had a
large mole on it's back; that it's feet
were 1012 inches in length; that it was
free from scars on the body, hands and
head. So far, both sides agree. And
the only question in dispute between
the plaintiff and ourselves is the de-
scriptiOn of John w. Hil1mon. They
claim JnaJ ne was D rect LIZ 1ncneS.
that he had a perfect set of teeth; that
he neither smoked nor chewed, and
that his feet were as long as the ca
daver. We claim that Hillmon was
only feet inches; that he had i'm
perfect, decayed or missing teeth;
that he had a foot inches long; that
he had a scar on his hand between
sorefnger and thumb, and that he had
LAS to the question of height, the
plaintiff has only two witnesses who
testified that they measured Hillmon;
one is the plaintiff herself, who swears
now that she measured him and he
was feet liz inches; while to Selig
and Griffith and the coroner's jury she
did not know his height, and had never
measured him. VIII you believe Mrs.
Hilmon now. and say that these other
six witnesses who testify as to what
she said seventeen years ago are per-
jurers? The second WitneS who SWearS
he measured Hillmon is John Eldridge.
He says he measured Hillmon in the
presence of WiSeman, when Wiseman
insured Hillmon in the Connecticut
Mutual in October, 1878; While Wise
man did not come to Lawrence until
December 8, 1873, was not an agent of
the Connecticut Mutual, but was agent
of the Mutual Life, New York. I have
no doubt, gentleman, that if Mr.. Ed
ridge had been properly posted as to
what he was to testify to, that he
would have made the measurement in
December and for the Mutual Life,
and not in October and for the Con-
necticut Mutual. The other one or two
Hnlmon intimately, had never meas
ured him; had only met him casually
once or twice, and they come before
YOU gentlemen, and say they think
was anywhere from feet, inches,
to 5 feet, IL inches, and generally ac-
cOu1panied such by saying he was as
tall as they were or a little taller, with
of
exact height.
ION the other hand we have Wise
man measuring Hillmon; we have DR..
Miller measuring Hillmon; we have DR..
Stewart measuring Hillmon; we have
Mr.. Bittell measuring Hillmon; we
have Mr.. braves measuring Hillmon;
we have Selig measuring Hillmon, and
all of them testify that the measure
ment was feet 9. And thre are other
for years, and they testify
they think his height was in the neigh
borbood of feet 9.
us the evidence of all those witnesses
who measured Billmon to be set aside
because Mrs. Hillmon now swears that
she measured Hillmon and he was
feet 111a, while seventeen years ago
she testified she did not know his
height, and had never measured him?
I'VE now come to the question of the
teeth. Mrs. Hillmon now testifies, and
she is the only witness who does so,
that Hillmon had a complete set of
teeth; but seventeen years ago she
stated to Mr.. Griffith and Selig, and
swore at the coroner's inquest that she
lid not know anything about Hillmon's
teeth. It is true there are one or two
other witnesses who testify that they
do not know whether Hillmon had de-
cayed, defective, missing teeth. but
their evidence is purely negative, and
it is no evidence that he did not have
such teeth.
ION the other hand we have testify
ing for the defendants, Hillmon's
brother, his sister, his two brothers-in-
law his cousin, and his lifelong
friends, testffying to the fact that he
either had decaYed teeth. imperfect