The herald., 1897-01-21

by trouble and he brooded over his
wrongs until his mind gave way in a
frenzy, and he committed the deed.
1t would be shown, also, that insanity
runs In the Barthelman family. The
attoreny was very eloquent
Then he began his case by introducing
a number of depositions. The first was
that of Simon Barthelman, taken at
Rochester, N. Y, January IL, 1897. The
deponent said he is a cousin of the de-
fendant. who lived for awhile at Roch-
ester, where deponent saw him daily
during a period of two weeks, and al
most as often during the three years he
was there. While defendant was men,
Der of deponent's family about two
weeks, deponent observed the actions
and conduct of defendant to convince
him that he was of unsound mind and
of abnormal nature. One sure sign the
deponent thongh proved this was that
while he and defendant would be talk
ing politics the defendant would sud
denly change the subject and talk of
his old home in Germany. Deponent
found defendant one night with lamp
in his hand wandering about the house.
when asked what he was doing replied
he was looking for burglars The next
day when this incident was referred to
the latter denied that he had done the
thing This convinced deponent that
john was crazy.
The defendant left Rochester be-
tween two days. A letter was received
from him dated at Cincinnati asking
that his trunk be sent to him. which
was done. The trunk was sent back
again to Rochester, and defendant then
wrote and asked that a portion of its
contents be sent to him.
The next depcnent heard from de-
fendant was a letter from San Diego
asking for some more personal effects.
which were sent to him. He afterward
declared he had never received the
package, although the express compa-
ny's books showed that he had. These
facts led deponent to believe that de-
fendant was of unsound mind
Deponent knew that members of the
Barthelman family We're of unsound
mind. He had been told by his father
that Barthelmans father and grand
mother were of unsound mind and he
knows that the defendants sister. Mary
Marseniak is Of unsound mind has an
eXcitable nature and is cranky. Some
of the interrogations In this deposition
were objected to by the prosecution, as
the opinions given were not those of eX-
perts or of those who had intimate
knowledge of the facts.
The next deposition was that of Val
entine arthelman, brother OF the de-
fendant, taken in Rochester on Jan
uary II. He, like his brother, is a ma
tive of Bavaria. Deponent said though
he was his fathers favorite son the old
man had taken him while only years
of age, hung him with a rope and let
him stay there until somebody came and
took him down. The old man once
took an ak and chopped up trunk be-
longing to deponents sister, and then,
with the same ak, pursued the girl as
though to kill her. At times the old
man tried to kill his third wife, with
whom he was then living. One day the
father went to a bed room, ripped open
a feather bed letting the feathers loose
to the four winds of heaven, and when
asked why he did it, said it was "only
The old man also tried to
club his second wife. and also the priest
who tried to protect her Deponent
further said that defendant, John f.
had had two falls while he
was a child. both times alighting on his
head. one time on a barn floor and an
other time In a bucket of water. In de-
ponent's opinion the unsoundness of the
fathers mind was only paroXysmal and
accompanied a fit of anger.
Then followed the deposition of Mary
the sister of unsound mind.
who deposed as to the crankiness of her
whole family. Robert Houston, fruit
raiser of Pen Yam, \. Y, deposed that
the defendant had worked for him and
had shown signs of crankiness
This ended the dispositions. which
were intended to prove that insanity ran
in the Barthelman family. The first
witness put on the stand for the de-
fense was +. w. Lickenthaler who tes-
titled that defendant had often told him
Of his troubles with his wife and had
often cried in the recital Before this
witness had completed his testimony
the hour Of adjournment arrived. The
case will be nearly completed today.