Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-08-31
DEMPSEY
ACTS QUEERLY
HIS FELLOW PRISONERS DECLARE
THAT THE wIFE-MURDERER
SEES "BANSHEES."
OF BALLOONS
AND FLYING MACHINES.
Men Who Worked With Him Believed
Him 1nsane-Examination in
Progress.

OF the so names Of men drawn from
the jury box yesterday for duty as spe-
Gals in the Dempsey insanity case, a re-
turn was made on sixteen by the sheriff
and all cave one appeared in court this
morning to be examined as to their. quail
lications to serve on the jury.
j. +. Cluse was the first to fall under
the rapid fire OF the county attorney.
Without waiting for his interrogation to
score a bullseye he promptly said he had
made up his mind about the case and it
would take a lot Of convincing testimony
to make him change 1t.
w ask that Mr.. Cluse be excused
Tor cause said the county attorney.
"Are you one of that class of men that
always make up their mind about a case
before they get into court?" asked the
Judge, addressing Mr.. Cluse.
mind before hand replied Mr.. Cluse.
""The challenge is sustained-you are
excused"
After the state had examined all of the
men and accepted them the prisoners
counsel began operations. His work
met with no obstruction until the ques-
tioning of Charles O'Brien was COM
menced. Mr.. O'Brien said he had read
of the case in the newspapers.
"Mr O'Brien, do you always believe
. that which you read in newspapers"
! asked Attorney Morrin.
mo, sir: I do not. Their accounts are
wrong. I know they are wrong" was
the reply. Then Mr.. OHBrien smiled and
all others in the room smiled with him.
When the cross-examinatlon Of the
twelve men had been finished III behalf of
the defense the question Of the right to
make peremptory challenges was raised
by the county attorney with the result
that no challenges were made. The
county attorney maintained hat the ac-
ton of the jury was merely advisory to
the court, and that the modus operandi
of selecting its members differs from
that sanctioned by law in riminal
cases.
The jury is composed of the following:
Charles Wedlake, Charlie O'lsrien, Pc
ter Doble, Thomas Scadden. James
Byrne. Daniel Hart, w. c.. orion, John
Weston, E.. A. Smith. Andrew Donnelly,
Thomas O'Connell ard Swend Carlson.
suspend the rule limiting the number of
witnesses to six on a side, but the judge
refused to comply, saying that six was
as good as sixty and if he set aside the
rule there would be no end to the testi-
mony.
In his opening statement NJ. Morrin
said he expected to show that for four
= years prior to the commission of the
crime of which Dempsey had been con-
victed Dempsey had been insane and if
he succeeded in demonstrating this fact
he would expect the Jury to pronounce
{ him insane. Some of the testimony, he
said, would be given by guests of Sheriff
Regain and some by others who had
known Dempsey several years. Two of
inmates of the county Jail were F. w.
Stephenso nand Thomas Keyes.
A. M. Johnson, boss ropeman in the en-
ploy of the Anaconda company, said he
had known Dempsey about six years
and had seen him three times since his
trial. Dempsey had worked for him, he
said, four different times and while no
fault could be found with his work he al
ways imagined some one was imposing
on him and made complaint about it. Two
years ago last February he had fired
: Dempsey because he believed him to be
insane. One morning he had opened the
door of the rope room and exclaimed:
Its all off with the big Swede!' AS
witness had never done anything TIC
Dempsey he knew not what he meant and
looked upon his action with suspicion,
} He had then put DempSey-out4 OF the
J room. Dempsey, he said, was always
I complaining about the alleged action Of
! other towards him.
} On cross examination Johnson said
that when Dempsey opened the door OF
the office and shouted: Its all off with
: the big Swede.'# He considered Demp-
} sey's remarks personal. The witness had
often heard the same expression from
others on the hill. AS the condition OF
Dempsey at the time he gave ~utterance
to the exclamation he knew not whether
he was drunk or sober, but thought he
could not have been very drunk If drunk
! at all. as he was supposed to have work
} ed all night. Johnson said further thai
I he lad seen Dempsey in the Jail and con-
I Guided from his language he was insane
! He expressed a decided belief that Demp-
} sey was insane and then defined insanity
! as a condition in which the one suspect
{ ed of being so afflicted has no sense. He
! said he did not know whether dempsey
} was capable of distinguishing between 9
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