Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-02-10
ADJOURNED 70 THURSDAY
Hearing Of the May Case Adjourned
After One Days Hearing to Thurs
day This Week.
B. F. scovil Was on the Stand All
Saturday Afternoon and Exhaus-
lively Examined.
State Has Several More Witnesses to
Put on the Stand Before Exami-
nation cnmpleted.

I. Only two witnesses were examined
in the preliminary hearing of the May
case before Justice Tibbils Saturday.
B. F. Scovil of Mckenzie was on the.
witness stand all of the afternoon, for
the greater part of the time under
examination by Attorney Regis
ter for the defense. Mr.. Scovil's tes-
timony was descriptive of the events
happening at the Hibbs ranch on the
morning Of the death Of Harry Hibbs.
He testified to the same state of facts
brought out on the examination at the
coroner'sj inquest, stating when he ar
rived at the Hibbs ranch and how he
had been informed of the death of
young Hibbs. Much of his testimony
was qualified with statements that the
witness did not exactly remember
many of the details. He thought he
had arrived at the Hibbs ranch about
10 o'clock, and there was no one there
at thetime he arrived but Mrs. Hibbs,
Jeff May and the man Iverson, who
helped take the body from the well,
came shortly after he arrived. At
torney Register sought to bring out the
conversation had between Scovil and
Mrs. Hibbs, when, Scovil first arrived,
but the state objected to this as not
having been made in the presence Of
the defendant and as self-serving tes-
timony. Attorney Register said he
thought such an objection might be a
good one if made by the defendant but
hardly thought it came with good
grace from the state after a whole
morning spent by the state in bring
ing out theories and possibilities, and
very few facts. ii The defense brought
out from the witness the statement
that from what he saw when he first
arrived there he concluded that some
thing was wrong, and the state had
this remark stricken out as conclu-
sion Of the witness. Mr.. Scovil told
of putting his horses in the barn, and
said that he had seen no cows there
The defense asked if Mrs,s1ibbs might
not have let the cows out and if she
had not preceded the witness to the
barn, and he admitted she had but
said he thought she went there to turn
some colts out. The witness stated
that May had told him, he thought
Hibs had fallen into the we'll acci-
dentally, and that May had advanced
his theories as to how he might have
fallen in. Mr.. Scovil told of seeing
a mark on the table in the frost as
though a foot or something had slipped
there, but could not tell just what.
He told also Of the pool of blood near
the curbing, and the size Of it as it
appeared to him. The state brought
out from the witness that he had not
seen May kneel down near the pool
of blood and lay his mittens near it
when he fixed the pulley, as May testi-
fled at the coroner's inquest to explain
the blood stains on his trousers and
mittens, but the defense on the other
hand brought out that May might
have done this and the witness not
have noticed him. In fact the wit
ness admitted that in the excitement
OF the morning there were many things
to which he had not given any partic-.
ular attention, and that might have
escaped his notice. The matter Of
the piece Of the curbing with blood
on It, which was found near the gran
ary of the place, was also brought out
in testimony. Mr.. Scovil said Iver-
son had taken a piece Of board from
the curbing and they had put it under
Iibbs body when he was carried into
the house. There was a blanket
about the body also, and the board
was under that. The defense en-
deavored to bring out that Hibbs
might have bled while being carried
into the house, or as he was being
taken from the well and the blood
have gotten on the board in that way,
but the witness said he thought he
would have noticed II much blood had
flowed From IIihhc S3{ q n g !, e,S 1,.,d ,,.,+