Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-02-17
! Testimony Regarding the Watch In
Eiibbs' Pocket Taken at the
s. Morning Session.

" SetA y sAALe1C - WIS u1uICulG 10 5COIupT4-
hend the many hypothetical questions
that were put to her, covering distance,
time, and multitude Of other detail.
She stated to Justice Tibbils that her
head aehed SO that it was difficult for
her to understand and she gave every
evidence of complete WEAKNESS, after
the two days Of close examination and
lcross-examination. Justice Tibbils
therefore ordered an adjournment Of
the case until this morning at 10
o'clock. Mrs. Hibbs was practically
the only witness on the stand Friday
and Saturday of last week, and the
strain was severe. Her examination
was not yet Concluded Saturday after
noon, but the attorneys stabed they
hoped to conclude with her testimony
this morning. St4s &C.,
# The cross-examination and redirect
examination OF the witness Saturday
afternoon covered nearly every pos
sible range Of questioning in connec-
ton with the case. The witness was
taken again over all the details Of the
morning Of the accident. Many hy-
pothetfeal Questions were put to3 her,
Relative to the action of May IN bring
ing the milk bucket into the house,
and the witness was asked whethersit
would not have been easier for her
shnsbandsto have taken the pail to the
well and washed itzthan to leave it to
bring into the house. The customs
OF May and Hibbs in going out to and
coming in from the barn were asked
about: She was piled with questions
as q rapidly as they could be framed
and their answers taken down,
until the. adjournment of court at half
past tive .. So s ,s
When the hearing was resumed this
morning, Mrs. Hibbs, because. Of her
illness, was excused from the stand
after she had identified asdiary belong
ing to her late husband, and the hands
writing init as his. The diary was
received in evidence over the objec-
tions Of the defense, and contained
only few entries prior to the date
of the death Of Hibbs beginning with
the Saturday when May came there
The witness was also shown; ;as monkey
wrench and askedeif that was the one
she had seen at the well but could not
positively identify it,. g
Miss Bertha Owen was called to the
stand and testified that she had gone
to the ranch Sunday, February 2. She
stated that while there she had not
seen any experiments made with the
bucket or barrel with reference to
whether It would sink, and did not see
ANYTHING that would tend to show the,
cause of the death Of Hibbs.
Fred Strauss was then called to the
stand and brought with him the watch
that was found in Hibbs pocket after
his death and which it appears from
testimony had stopped at twenty-five
minutes after nine The watch had
been brought to him by Mr.. Hibbs, ST.,
and when he got It there was rust on
the steel parts Of the works showing
that in his opinion immersion in
water caused the stoppage. He said
the watch had evidently been wound
the night before and there was power
in the main spring to have run it for
some time had 1t not been stopped in
some way: The principal testimony
given by this witness was whether the
watch would stop Immediately upon
being immersed In water. 1t could
not be stated with any degree Of GER
tainty, he said. whether the watch had
stopped ait once or whether It had run
some time. In his opinion the watch
would have run for some time after
being Immersed In water, but what
length Of time he could not say. The.
cases Of this watch were somwhat
loose.
The object Of this testimony. appar-y
entity, Is to controvert the statements
made that because the watch had
stopped at 9:22 ii was an Indication
that Hibbs had fallen into the well at
that time, and as May was In the
house at that time, according to the
ssss is4Ss