The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1898-02-23
QUICK WITTED PATSY.
HOW HE SAVED THE DAY FOR
HIMSELF AND HIS LAWYER.

Though tlessly Signed an Affidavit With .
Name He swore Was Not His Own-But
He Won the Judge and His Point by HIS
Explanation.
My first case came at Florence, Ala,
a few months after I was licensed,
writes Attorney b. NJ. Jackson. The
sheriff there Captain w I. White,
now dead gallant Confederate soldier
and one of natures noblemen, met me
on the street and told me there was a
man confined in the county jail who
wished to see me.
was then 2 years DID, but would
readily have passed for IL The client
name was Patrick Donovan, but he was
commonly called Patsy Donovan. Co
ing to the Jail, found a man from 30
to 50 years old, an intelligent. nice
looking, devil may care Irishman.
When l entered, he greeted me with
GOOD evening, miss - Pretending not
to have heard him address me as miss
and assuming much dignity, | told him
l was the lawyer whom the sheriff had
promised to send him. For answer he
exclaimed, "WelI, I'll be ID" and
burst out MISUNDERSTANDING uproar-
iously. | was irritated to a degree by
this reception. Il beg pardon, judge,
it's go. You do look pretty young,
but Tom (the sheriff. says you are a
daisy. Get me out of here, and my
folks, who've get plenty, will pay you
well for your trouble
He told me his story. He was 8 skill
ed mechanic from Keokuk, Ia. and had
been employed by the government in
constructing lock on the Mussel Shoals
canal, near Florence. He had shot the
physician in charge Of those works.
This physician was a hrCther of the
United States engineer il control Of the
canal construction, and it was evident
that the prosecution would be bitter,
sparlng no pains or expense to secure
conviction, eutaiIng long peuitentiary
sentence. The doctor and my client
were both men Of reckless courage and
oyerbearlng temper, both sometimes
looked on the wine when it was red.
and both, | inferred, We're striving fer
the favor C the same woman. A clash
between them soon came They had a
savage quarrel at their boarding house
at dinner. The doctor being armed and
my client unarmed, the latter had to
submit to unlimited abuse and would
have been shot but for the interference
of several men who We're present. Soon
after nightfall of the same day nv
client went to the doctors office and
room, about mile distant and
IN secluded place, and, knocking on
the door, was hidden by the doctor to
come in. Entering, he found the doctor
putting on shirt, and thus for the
moment disabled, and remarking, "You
had the drop on me this morning, but
We got it on you now, fired, striking
the doctor IN the neck and inficting
dangerous but not fatal wound.
The case soon came on for trial.
While the defendants version of the
occurrence as he had given it to me was
very different from the one in the fore
going, yet it was so improbable in itself
and so inconsistent with the attendant
that it looked as if a SEN
tence ct ten years was inevitable if the
case was then tried. To gain a post
ponement an objection was interposed
to'the competency Of the court on the
ground that he was related by affinity
to the prosecutor. This failed. Next an
earnest effort was made for a continu-
ance. The state fought this aggressive
ly, thus giving warning of what was to
come, and it, too, failed.
In sheer desperation then whispered
to my client, "Your real name is Pat
rick, not Patsy, isn't it?" The indict-
ment named him Patsy Donovan Then,
moving to quash the indictment for the
missioner, 1 wrote out the defendants
affidavit in SUPPORT. The affidavit stated
that the defeEalIt' name was Patrick
and that he was commonly known and
called by this name and not by the
name Of Patsy Donovan. He took the
affidavit and read, or seemed to read, it
carefully and. going to the clerk s desk,
swore to it snd signed it Patsy Done
van This CT course, was the way he
usually signed his name, but he never
reflected that to sign it Patsy this time
was to afford the strongest evidence of