The San Francisco call., 1897-02-17

saw the check book in the prisoners pos
session before Octo Der 28?'
Coproy explained that he thonght he
had been asked if his sister wrote down
the address before that date. He was
sure his sister never saw the prisoner
after Septem Der 10. 1896, because she was
with the witness during that period
The court allowed the depositions in
the Lee Weller case to be admitted ami
the reading dispensed with, except in the
case OF witnesses present, who might be
examined orally.
effect that the prisoner when asked by the
witness IN the MarshaPs office, "How
about this young man PrestoE?" replied
that he had met him at the railway sta
ton. Then" continued Eagan," asked
him how about the old English miner? ?
He knew, said, too much about pros
pectlng for you."
sion OF evidence about the old English
MINER
The objection was allowed.
Detective Eagan gave way to the Aus
tralian detective Roche, who swore to the
dispositions taken before the magistrates
in New South Wales and the chief con-
sulaT officer of the United States. He as
sured Mr.. Cormac, albeit Mr. Black OBJ
iected, that he was familiar with the pen
atty OF murder provided by section 9 OF
the New South Wales Grim inal law amend
ment act. He described the search for
Prsston's body and it's exhumation.
Though he had never seen Preston alive
he identified the body by means of a
photograph. The BODY was carefully
buried at q varying depth of two and
three feet. The earth ABOVE seemed TO
have been s.noothed over with a spade
and some dry sand sprinkled over it. A
towel, tightly knotted, was passed under
one shoulder and over the other, and had
presumably been used to pull it into the
hole. The wound in Preston's head the
witness attributed TO rife bullet. The
direction of the wound was downward
from the back. No rife was found near
the locality at the time the body was ex-
humed. There was no indication that
death had been suicidal.
Mr.. Cormac, ignoring Mr.. Blacks pro-
test. asked the witness if the articles
found in the prisoners possession were
necessary evidence at the trial of the case.
"They are very material evidence" was
the reply. He then identified, from de-
scriptions furnished him, a coat and vest
as having been Preston's property
''There is g piece set in the back OF the
vest" he went on, indicating the spot
land the coat Is much too small for the
prisoner. Preston weighed $50 pounds" /"
Mr.. Black suggested that it might be
we'll tor the prisoner to try on the coat.
Ashe jumped up with apparent alacrity,
and after divesting himself of his blue
serge coat, put on the other, which was
obviously an i'll fit.
Much too small in the chest" declared
the witness emphatically. THAT coat
was never made for him"
At Mr.. Blacks request, Roche examin ed
through magnifying glass a loose piece
of tweed cloth also found among the pris-
oner's effects, and expressed his opinion
that the coat and vest were of different
material.
Mr.. Black asked that all the foregoing
testimony concerning the Identification
o. clothing be stricken out, as it was
clearly shown that the witness sources of
information were hearsay. The court re-
fused to grant the motion.
The witness, still replying to MIR. Black,
stated that he obtained the prisoners sig
nature 10 the list OF property without hav-
ing told the prisoner that he wanted it as
a check upon the clerk. The officers
failed to find the bullet which killed
Preston, and in his opinion the bullets
found among the prisoners baggage we're
not small enough to have inflicted the
wound.
James J. Groom of Groom & Hogan,
fashionable hatters, was called 10 produce
an acknowledgment signed by the pris-
oner in the name of Butler, which the
latter gave on receipt of brand-new at
in exchange for the prisoners old one.
The witness informed Mr. Black that
when signing the acknowledgment the
prisoner remarked that Butler was the
name he was known by in San Francisco.