Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-09-12

4
Name He sworO 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. L. 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 81 years old, but would
readily have passed for II. The clients
name was Patrick Donovan, but he was
commonly called Patsy Donovan. Go
ing TO the Jail, / found a man from 30
TO 80 years old, an intelligent. nice
looking, devil may care Irishman.
When 1 entered, he greeted me with
GOOD evening, miss. " Pretending not
TO have heard him address me st::miss"
and assuming much dignity, told him
/ was the lawyer whom the sheriff had
promised to send him. For answer he
exclaimed, well, I'll be id" and
burst out laughing-laughing uproar-
iously. was irritated TO a degree by
this reception. II 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 got plenty, will pay you
well for your trouble. -
He told me his story. He was a 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 n brother of the
United States engineer in control of the
canal construction, and it was evident
that the prosecution would be bitter,
sparing no pains or expense TO secure
conviction, entailing long penitentiary
sentence. The doctor and my client
We're both men of reckless courage and
overbearing temper, both sometimes
looked on the wine when it was red,
and both, inferred, were striving for
the favor of the same woman. A clash
between them soon came. They had
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 were present. Soon
after nightfall of the same day my
client went to the doctors Office and
sleeping room, about a 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 a shirt, and thus for the
disabled, and, remarking, lyon
A.. Il 49,
I've got it on you now," fired, striking
the doctor in the neck and infiicting a
dangerous but not fatal wound.
The case soon came ON for trial.
While the defendants version of the
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 SELL
tence of 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 |
misnomer, 1 wrote out the defendants
in support. The affidavit stated !
that the defendants name was Patrick /
md that he was commonly known and 1
Jailed 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 clerks desk, |
swore to it and signed it "Patsy Done
van. This, of course, was the way he
usually signed his name, but he never
that to sign it Patsy this time
was to afford the strongest evidence Of
the falsity of the affidavit.
Arguing the case without looking at
the affidavit, didn't see how he had
signed it, but the state attorney had
loticed the signature and in his reply /
allied the courts attention to it. This
disclosure raised a storm of laughter
md jeering in the courtroom. was
,onfounded and at the end of my re-
sources. Not so was Patsy. Realizing
lis peril, that the slip was his own and
hat he alone could retrieve it, he spoke
put, not whit abashed: 81 signed it
Patsy out of pure respect for your honor. :
It's not for me to give the lie TO your
lonor's court papers Your honor's
court paper says I'm Patsy, and I'll sign
t Patsy until your honor gives me leave
% write my own true name"
The court sustained the motion from
pure admiration for Patsy. We now
lad time to look about us. A few
months later the case was tried, the
ury failing to agree. The bail bond,
which had been fixed at high figure,
vas then reduced to a reasonable sum.
lie gave the bond, saying he had "lost