The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-03-08
A CHARGE OF PERJURY
j. w. Bacher Arrested and Placed
in Jail.
SUPPOSED TO BE LANEY
The Latter the Author of the Sensational
Deposition in the Shafer Case-It Is
Thought That Bacher Imper-
sonated Him in Seattle.

j. w. Bacher was arrested at noon
yesterday and is now in the county jail
under a charge of perjury Back Of the
charge are certain facts and suspicious
that may develop into real sensation.
The facts upon which the arrest was
made have been under investigation by
the county attorney since the trial Of
Joseph Shafer, last November for the
murder of John Hawkins, and. in fact,
the arrest grew out of some matters
connected with that trial Shafers de-
Tense was self-defense. and about his
strongest testimony on that point was
contained in a deposition made by one
Ed Laney at Seattle before ". w. Bolt
jer, a notary public. the state being
represented at the examination by
William Parmerlee assistant prosecut-
ing attorney at Seattle. The trial of
Shafer was several times postponed on
the request of the defendants attor
neys. f. S. Booth and NJ L. Wines, in
order to have time TO get the deposit
ton. The county attorney. or rather
Mr.. Connolly. the chief deputy. made
an offer to put up the expense neces-
sary to bring Ianey to Butte to tes-
tify personally, but for some reason the
offer could not be accepted. The depo-
sition, however, was taken and read at
the trial
1t stated that Laney was IS years
of age, common laborer. and that
during July and August, 1897 he was
in Anaconda and Butte following the
races. where he met Hawkins. Con-
corning the latter, Laney's deposition
said:
Il met him in East Park street and
he was going towards the track ami
he asked me If | was going down to
the track and ! told him No. not to-
night and then he asked me IL | had
a gun. I told him yes, and he asked
me to lend it to him. so l let him have
the gun, and he asked me where l
was going and i told him | did not
know Then | says You are pretty
late going to the track He said he
was not going to the track. and then
| asked him what he wss going TO
do with the gun. He told me he had
a fight with a niger out at Columbia
gardens and he had been trying to get
gun all night; he said If he saw
him again he would kin the - -
-, sure / says to him, You had
not better do that; you had better give
me that gun back, and he SAYS No, |
won't do it.. He says. I won't let that
niger run over me: he is a -
- So | went on a little way and
] was thinking about letting him have
that gun, and If he would kill anybody
with it, ii would be my gun, so ] went
over to him again. ran after him, he
was not going very fast-I ran after
him and | says to him. You better let
me have the gun. | don't know but
what l will go down to the track lie
said he would not take $50 for this gun.
/ asked him why. | tried to persuade
him not to do anything and go to the
track but he would not do II. ! asked
him then who the niger was that he
was after, and he told me it was yell
low --- - Shafer 1t was a
black handled 3S Smith & Wesson gun.
| bought a 3S Smith e. Wesson. lie
told me he had a fight that he was
going after Shafer. that he was going
to kill him if he saw him.
Continuing, the deposition said that
Laney wandered about the lower part
of town and went up Galley" street.
where he went into a colored saloon,
where he heard some one call another
man joe and then Laney inquired for
Shafer and the latter was pointed out
to him. whereupon he warned Shafer
and told him what Hawkins had done
and said. Laney then left the saloon
and later met Hawkins again and he
again demanded the gun, which was
refused him.
The prosecuting attorney became
SUSPICIOUS concerning the deposition,
and especially as the testimony de-
veloped that the gun alleged to have
been taken from Hawkins after the
murder was not a Smith & Wesson at
all. and a determined investigation was
instituted and carried on until yester-
day when Bacher was arrested at his
room AT 106 South Wyoming street by
Under Sheriff Murphy, and the officers
declare that they have proof eonelu-
sive and beyond all doubt that Bacher
impersonated the fictitious Ianey, and
that he left Butte and went to Seattle
for the purpose of making the deposit
ton and for no other reason and that