Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1901-04-30
7 { SECOND WEEK


tac VI: ~ ANA carried thcA to the sta
tiou whcn Eastman WAS locke q ~. Ar
t"r Eastman had reached the station
fc achnuwlcdnc1 that aourlr had
taken place after the shot was fired.
Tho little lcaGcn bullet which haa
figured rs 4 mite III II evidence IN the
,a \. ana ground which ccnt~rs the
G..atrr part w TIE governments case,
Ua~ again put into evidence. this
morning II Was identified by Ca!ef Il
Iul,c 'lnycs cs Tile unc tafan from
tfo icdy ~ Grogar. W!irors Was pres
mt st IN, autopsy md pointed out 10
jlir jurors several additional marks n
Identification. particularly very fine
groove running lon-,tudinally.
Witness s.: III that the police knew on
Tile night NJ the shooting that two
center firc and on rim fire rcvoIvcrs
had lcen used He said that no one
thought anything about IL" fact that
;hc bullet might tx from a center fire
9 volyer until after the hearing in the
lower court. where Eastman was &C
quilted.
a government witness under cross
pariron,ed frequently with the pistol
which Eastman said he had in his
hand Al the time OF the shooting and
that the cylinder Of the pistol turned
with great difficulty. At full cock the
cylinder would not turn at an. and it
was only by holding the hammer back
very deIiCatcly that il could be made
IN rcvolye. This corroborated East
ul-n's description az the affafr in his
nlTny statements.
chief GLOVES became somewhat con-
fused over the cylinder If the large re
volyc.. IN which was found a loaded
cartridge ard could not tell whether il
had beer rcvolvcd before 4s had it.
Deputy Chief Batchelderej3 charge
Of tho station wncrc EaStflan WAS
locked W aftor the shooting. satexhis
version ~ the early mornftrs soelsf in
tie ccIl room. when EastnfAEAir ~ ntifted
for the first time that there hid bea3a
scntn" Eastman asked vitIexS II The
affair Was not looking prcttTEseriel
and the deputy then asked hfns7 1rhat
he VI ould say if he was told that ssy1na.i
had seen him struggling with GrQEan
over \ large revolver. EaStmanEIcr
Piled that 1t wasn't Il large revoiHsTs
il was a small one. At first Eastman
said there was no scuflc but soon aft
ter said there was orc.
The little bullet again made its APP
pcaranre ana the defense apparently
sought to shake the testimony as to
i,v i.,cntity. but the deputy said that
il WAS the one which was taken from
Grrt5anS body at the autopsy.
.,..S .,f =
morning was Police Inspector James
G.. Murray Of Cambridge. who mas
practically had charge OF the case since
last July. All the weapons. the cloth
ing of the two men and finally the lit
til bullet had been in his possession
and his description Of the many jour
roys which he made with tho bullet to
Bridgeport, New Haven. Springfield,
Lowell ANA New York. We're eagerly
listened to. At the numerous cities he
interviewed experts of the different
firearms and cartridge companies and
at Lowell he showed the reviewers.
He said that two weeks after rccCiV-
ing the bullet from the medical ex-
aminer, he marked it With minute
scratch ana with the aid Of a mn cnify-
ing glass the scratch was pointed out
to tho jury. The bullet was weighed 4
number Of times, as Wen as measured
ana compared with bullets from other
cartridges The different companies
gave different weights to tho bullet.
Carrying from SO to Sil2 grains. He had
experimental frequently with the pts
tolls for burning and penetration.
Under INSTRUMENTATION. Ec said thu
he had great difficulty in firing the OF
brass pistol or the one which Eastman
said he had in his hand vixen il went Of
accidentally ana shot Grogln. Tho ham
mcr worked successfully only at fun cocIs
while the trigger spring was very easy.
There was considerable trouble with tho
cylinder and at times il would not re-
Volvc. II was q very delicate operation
the hammer would release the cylinder,
In fact, in order to make tho cylinder re-
volvc at all the hammer must be he'd
back with the thumb
This statement of the witness corrohn-
rated almost fully the claim made by
Eastman in his numerous statements
that the cylinder of the OH revolver
worked with difficulty and that 1t WIS
while he was trying to rcVolNr il il went
of No effort was made h The govern
mCnt to show up these experiments i'll
the direct examination.
After the noon recess. tho Witness :cSti-
fed that one OF his trims To Lowell was
made at the request of the defence IL
said that NJ times the trigger q. tho old
revolver worked very well hut ordinarily
Ii went too easily.
The government was about to mt Mr.
Oliver. the s;enograoher Of tho grand i'll
ry, upon the stand to read the testimony
of Eastman before that body. when thu
defence asked for consult n ion with Tho
government counsel as to this evidenca
and its admission. After being ont half
IN hour the court decided I'M; tie evl-
lence offered by the government from III,
report of the proceedings
before the grand Jury where Eastman
testified was not competent and ruled il
nut.
There were no arguments in open court
rs To the admissibili;v of the grand iur.-
and the rulings that 1T was
rot competent was received without con-
nent by tn" government 4 physician IN
he neighborinS jfiil where Eastman occu-
,ied cell, testified that about two