Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-01-19
Strong Evidence Against Shep-
rard Given.
HE ADMITTED HIS Gull
To Several Parties When He Was
First Arrested in beer LODGE
What He Said at That Time.

Yesterday was a busy day in the Shep-
pard murder case and a great deal of tes-
timony was given, although only three
witnesses were examined. 1t was only a
few moments after 1870 p. M, when a jury
was secured. Judge Powell of Deer Lodge
was the first witness. He testified to nav
ing been notified on Sunday, November e,
that Benson's body was found in the rIv-
er. He went down to see it. He found it
lying in the Deer Lodge river, about 500
yards south of the depot, about halfway
between the old depot and the new depot.
The stream was very low, as it always
is at that time of the year. 1t was not
more than three or four feet deep in its
deepest part. The stream has a dark
brown, muddy appearance.
He had been notified of the finding of
the body at about $50 o'clock in the af-
ternoon. He went down to the river. Thu
body was lying in the stream, on its back
parallel with the stream, the head being
down stream and the feet pointing to-
ward the railroad bridge. The body was
clothed in a dark coat, corduroy trousers
and colored shirt. 1t was lying with the
face upward at the time he saw it. The
body was eight or ten feet from the south
bank when he first saw it. The stream at
that point is about 120 feet wide. There
was a pole, said the witness, the smaller
end of what had been used as a fence pole.
One end Of the pole was attached to the
clothing on the body by a spike. There
was also. a piece of an old iron nail in the
end Of the pole. The other end of the pole
was lying on the bank of the river. The
pole was II or 13 feet long. The end of the
pole rested on the body. as there was not
sufficient water at the point to carry the
pole away.
The next time he saw the body Of Ben
son was at the undertaking rooms. He
had seen Sheppard on the bridge shortly
after the body was found.
After Sheppard was arrested he saw
him in jail. Il told him he was charged
with killing John Benson" He said: Il did
it. / might just as we'll acknowledge it,"
After he pleaded guilty to the charge,
I said: When did you do this; when did
you kill BensOn?' He said: Saturday
night / asked him where it had occurred
and he said on the railroad bridge. l ask
ed him what he struck him with. He said
with a club.
He said he thought Benson was coming
Out Oh llle river. L asked MIN II ne intend
ed to help Benson out of the river. He said
Benson was still calling him names and he
could not stand that. He further said
that Benson had a club and he thought
Benson was going to hit him, but he got
in the first lick"
The next witness was Dave Sheffield
who had arrested Sheppard.
After reading the complaint to him,
witness had asked him whether he was
guilty or not guilty. He replied that he
was guilty.
DR.. w. NJ. Howsley, who performed the
autopsy on Benson's body. was called
next. He had found the wound on the
head. He said the wound was about pa
inches long and half an inch in depth. 1t
had been made by a dull instrument of
some kind. Under certain circumstance
it could produce death by conclusion. At
ter his first examination, he was instruct
ed to find out whether or not death had
been caused by drowning. He first took
out the lungs. They were devoid of water
and We're light and full of air. The heart
contained thickened black blood. The
stomach was almost empty, containing
only about four ounces of food. No wat
er was present in the stomach. 1t was the
witness opinion that the body was dead
before it struck the water.
Mr.. Walsh, counsel for the defendant
then moved to strike out the evidence
given by Mr.. Powell with reference to the
confession. Mr.. Walsh's motion was ar
gued at length this morning and was
finally ordered stricken out by Judge
Napton.
The first witness this morning was Ike
Z. Sheldon of Garrison. He was in Deer
Lodge the morning of the murder of John
Benson, November 6. At daylight that
morning he saw Sheppard near the bridge