Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-11-21
Il Will Be Known Before the
End Of the Week,
RAPID PROGRESS MADE
In the Presentation of Testimony To-
cay-Not So Strong as
\ Formerly.

The trial of G. r. Shadwell, charged
with the killing of Martin James O'Con-
nor on the morning of January II, 1898,
was commenced in earnest in Judge
Clancy's court this morning. Before
taking up the case the judge discharged
the jurymen not engaged in the case,
telling them to report for duty again at
8 o'clock Saturday morning.
A minute or two before the county at
torney began his opening statement At
torney 8. S. Thresher, one of the pris-
oner's counsel, whose illness prevented
him from taking part in the work of
getting a jury, entered the room and
shook hands with the prisoner. He
then sat down beside the latter.
Mr.. Connolly ~recounted the trouble
between O'Connor and Shadwell and the
subsequent shooting of the former by
the latter. He said among other things
that the two men had been engaged in
a game of poker in the back room Of
Kelly & lIgan's saloon at No. 10 East
Park street and a dispute in reference
to the manner in which the game was be-
ing played arose between them. The
alteration had grown in intensity as
time progressed and resulted in Shadwell
going out, procuring a gun, returning
and shooting OConnor dead.
After the county attorney hau inish-
ed his statement the d~ei&a1ant's u
SCI GG-lA IL od1u 4SoSA 80
until after the close of the states side.
The following witnesses for the prose-
cution We're then called: Martin Mac
dougal, 4. NJ. Anderson, Joseph Clancy,
Fred. Shinborn Henry Hickman, Jack
Conner, r. H. Brady. Antoine Rocheleu,
Patrick Kelly. Frank Warren, P. B.
Handlan, Sol Levy, DR.. p. ]. Sheerin n
Martin MCGOWAN.
Witnesses for the sefense We're then
called and sworn. The list included
pn~t T ~ TSrroH 1QIlo1fo 111i,1C
Levy, George Over, S. Herbert, Anton
G%orondo, Jack Albright, George Snled-
ley. Joe %Shadwell and Mrs. %Shadwell,
mother of the prisoner.
The customary rule of excluding from
the room all the witnesses say the one
giving testimony was enforced at the re-
quest of the defense. and in doing it the
Judge said it was an old custom-it APP
peared in the book of Daniel.
Patrick NJ. Kelly of 121 West Copper
street. one of the pronrietors of the sa-
loon in which the killing took place. was
called first. He described the interior
of the building as it appeared at that
time, laying special attention to the
architectural design of the rear room in
which the card came was conducted. He
could. not say what was going on in the
room on the morning Of the tragedy, for
he was not there. He knew the defend
ant and had seen him pass out and in
between 5 and 6 o'clock that morning.
He was OUT about Is mute The at
tention Of the witness had been first at
tracted to the room by a shot followed
by an inordinate desire of persons to get
out, and some that We're out to get into
the place. Witness had stepped to the
door and whistled for the police and
nearly all on the force responded. Shad-
we'll was arrested by them. O'Connor
was then lying dead or his face in the
rear room. He had known O'Connor ,
about q year. !
On cross-examination Kelly said he
had been in business at that place six
or seven months and O'Connor had Sc
cured permission from the firm to con-
duct the game. He had ben operating it
about four months. There were two
tables in the room.
On redirect examination Kelly said
that when sl1adwen was leaving the sa-
loon before the killing he walked as if
he was going somewhere. He had also
walked that way on the return trip.
DR.. F. J.. Sheerin testified as to the
result of a post mr.tem examination
held BY him on the body of O'Connor.
The bullet, he said, had entered the right
sid Of the face at a point midway be-
tween the ear and hin.
While describing the point of entrance
counsel for the defense objected, but the !
court saiG:
stop. I don't want to hear any petty !
technical objections in this case"
The doctor then described the course
of the ball, saying it had severed the
onmon carotid artery and struck the
p~neumogastric nerve, which controlled
the action of the heart to a considerable
extent. With such a wound the person
receiving it could not possibly live more
a minute. O'Connor. he said. was
a man about 80 or 35 years old and
weighed 165 or 40 pounds.
During the croSs-examination the wit !
ness showed the fury where the bullet
entered O'Connor's face and the place
at which it was taken from the back.
nor was bending forward at the time the
was fred.
Fred Shinborn. one of the players in
the game. testified that he was in the
room at the time the trouble arose: that
was engaged in taking the
of the game of cards. He ac-
cnsed Shadwell of cheating and told him
the head with a chair.
did he hit him with the chair?" asked
one of the Jurors.
mo, sir" was the reply. :
After O'Connor told Shadwell he would
strike him with a chair Shadwell got UP :,
and quit the room, said the witness, leay-
Ing his overcoat hanging over the back
the chalr on which he had been sitting
and a stack of chips on the table In front
Of him. He was gone fifteen or twenty
minutes. On his return he sat down and
called for his chips. but O'Connor told
him he could not play In the game any
more.
Shadwell hen said If he could not play
no one else could. He had a pack of
cards in his hands and O'connor reached
for it. Shadwcll then arose, jerked his
vest omen n pulled q gun from his waist
belt. r1p to that time O'Connor had not,
said the witness, attempted to do any
thing more han take the cards from
Ia 6x..nll hui NH N TIA nxo A..llaa |