Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1902-12-12

Incidents Of the Morning that Hibbs'
Death Occurred are Related
BY Witness.
The talking Of testimony i'm the May
case began in district court this morn
ing. The jury under charge of the
bailifs returned from the Hibbs ranch
at a title after 6 o'clock Last evening.
The weather had moderated somewhat
and lin court this morning members of
the jury stated to the court that they
had had a comfortable trip, all things
considered. They stopped over might
at the Ross ranch on the first day out,
going to the Hibbs place in the morn
ing and viewing the we'll and sur
The opening address of States At
torney Allen to the jury this morning
occupied but a few minutes. He be-
gam by asking the members of the jury
to consider the evidence presented to
them dispassionately and without fear
sympathy, The evidence in the
would be largely circumstantial.
The state could not bring any eye wit
ness to the death Of Harry Hibbs, nor
any n who saw May strike the blow
OF push Hibbs into the we'll, ais the
state claims was done. The last nan
who saw Hibbs alive was the defend
ant. The first statements on the
death of Hibbs had come from the
mouth of the defendant. 1t would
not require a long time to present the
evidence. The members of the jury
had cen the well for themselves.
h were two main facts that the
state would present to the jury in the
case. The first was the well itself
and its surroundings. The other. was
the skull of the deceased, showing the
cause of death. After these two facts
would come statements made by the
defendant, which the state would show
to be false. The state would show
the statement made by the defendant
OF seeing the body on the bucket in
the well, a statement which the state
would show to be impossible as the
truth, for the reason that the bucket
IN the well would sink the minute the
ropes and pulley were released. For
merly there was a different bn1cket in
the well, that. did not sink, but at the
time of Hibbs death it would be shown
that the bucket would sink immedi-
altely, SO that when the defendant
claimed to have seen the body on the
bucket the bucket would be far under
water. Another circumstance to be
shown was that there had been a large
pool of blood nea the well, and that
the defendant had stated to a stranger
who visited the ranch after the acct
dent where the blood was and how il
came to be there. Subsequently the
defendant had removed theb blood. and
when h coroner visited the ranch he
was shown the we'll and surrounding s
by The defendant but no mention was
made of the blood. Other contradic-
tory statements would be shown. and
the impossibility Of the fracture off the
skull occurring in an accident would
be Shown also. AS to the motive, the
state would say nothing about that at
the present time, but would let that
unfold itself as the evidence in the
case progressed. =%l
County Surveyor John Harold was
the first witness called, to identify a
diagram and plat of the well and The
surroundings at the ranch. His tes-
|timony was brief. The defense on
cross-examination inquired as to the
existence of a jog in the. curbing below
the surface OF the ground, which the
witness stated he had not observed, if
there was one, and to the best OF his
knowledge there was none.
Mrs. Maytie E. Hibbs, widow of
Harry G.. Hibbs was then called ito the
stand. she testified that n had
last seen her husband alive on the
morning Of january 10, last. She
thought lit was about 8 o'clock when
she last saw him. She next saw him
when they brought him into the house
after the body had been taken out of
the well. Further questioning by the
states attorney brought out that she
had seen a piece of his coat" on the
we'll bucket in the well, when May
first told her that he believed her hus-
band was i'm the well. She said She
saw the coat but that wasn't him."
States Attorney Allen asked if she had
stated at the coroner's inquest and
lat the preliminary examination that
she had seen the body OF her husband
in Fha 'vrnaJ All tha Tor, nf the u1otar