The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-03-25

corning her age was based upon what
her mother had told her.
The cross-examination failed to
shake the testimony of the witness
and elected nothing new, except that
she had written to Clark for the mon
ey, as she had grown tired of living
in Missoula and wanted to come back
to Billings, where she had lived with
her parents prior to their removal to
Missoula. She said, further that Clark
had always been kind and good to her
and she had no feeling of animosity
toward him.
Father Gives Testimony.
G. T. Rowe, father of the complain
ant, was called, after the attorney for
the defendant, Glib Lane, had made an
Intellectual attempt to introduce the
testimony of H. l.. Wilson, a steno-
grapher, who took the evidence at the
preliminary hearing, which was never
signed by the complainant because the
hearing was not concluded. Mr.. Lane
said he sought to establish the fact
that the copy which he exhibited was
a true transcript Of the testimony
given at that time by the complaining
witness, in order that he might ask
her some questions that would prove
that her answers at that time were
not the same as she had made on the
trial in chief.
The court overruled the motion and
told MI. Wilson to step aside. 1t was
then that the father was called.
After saying he knew Isabelle
| Wright and also the defendant, he
was asked as to the age of the com
planning witness, whose father he
said he was. Fa replied that she was
born March 2E 1886, near Buffalo
Gap, S. D., and then produced a bible
containing the family record. 1t show
ed an entry of the daughters birth
and he said he had made it the morn
ing after she was born.
Other Witnesses.
Officer Hayden testified to having
taken the complainant to the Office of
the county attorney and also establish
ed the venue, something which up to
this time could not be done because
of the limited knowledge of the com
plainant.
Captain Babcock, postmaster, testi-
fed that he had sold the defendant a
money order, and T. E. Burke, city
ticket agent of the Northern Pacific,
identified the defendant as the man
who had made a deposit with him
fer a ticket from Missoula to Billings.
He said the date Of the transaction
was February Il.
Mrs. Charles Ii Finger, a daughter
of the prisoner. testified to the fact
that Clark had brought the complain
| ing witness to their house. She said
| she had assigned the visitor to a room
upstairs and as far as she knew she
had slept there the three nights she
remained in the house. The witness
! denied that she had told the COM
| p~lainant to sleep downstairs after the
first night, a contradiction of the testi-
mony given by Mrs. Wright, who said
that by direction Of Mrs. Litzinger
| she had slept downstairs after her
first night in the house.
This closed the states case.
A Weak Defense.
The defense made was a surprise
to almost everybody in the court room.
Charles Litzinger. son-in-law of the
defendant, was called and beyond at
tempting to establish the defendants
good character he was asked but lit
| tie. Under cross-examination he adj
mitted that he had never heard any
body express an opinion as to Clark's
standing for morality, integrity, etc.
Uriah A. Wright, husband of the
complaining witness, testified that his
wife's mother had told him Isabelle
was 16 years of age, at the time they
were married. Cross examined he adj
mitted that he had to obtain the con-
sent of his wife's father in order to
secure a marriage license.
Mrs. Rowe's Surprise.
Mrs. C. F. Rowe, mother of the COM
planning witness, was now called and
if her appearance for the defense
created a surprise among the on
lockers, her testimony proved no less
surprising to the defense. She said
her daughter was Is years of age,
would be 16 March "a. Shown the
bible introduced by her husband, she
said she recognized it and also the
entry recording the birth of Isabelle.
She said she had seen her husband
make it the morning after the child
was born, which was about midnight
of thu pirbf hoforo