The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-11


Read Their Testimony.
The testimony of G.. w. McGaw. who,
as trainmaster of the Seaboard Air
Line, testified in the former trial rela-
! tive to the passage of trains over his
| line at the place where Taylor was
| found, was read, as McGaw is no long
| er in the state; and the testimony of
Tom Johnson, a negro who has since
! died, while serving a term in Jail for
| burglary took the same course. The
! chief facts of the latter's testimony was
! that he had seen the two Potters start
! out on the morning of the day Bour-
! quin and Taylor were killed; that each
| had a gun strapped to his Wheel and
| that they had with them two dogs,
one red looking and the other white
| spotted"
| Following this statement, John Rock
! er was put on the stand and questioned
| as to the shells that he had loaded for
! Potter the night before the killing. The
most minute description of powders,
wads, shot and styles of loading was
secured, the felt wad, the black-edged
wad, the pink-edged wad, split, and
cardboard wad receiving the same at
tention that they did on the former
trial. Certain wads, found at the scene
of the killing, and certain buckshot,
which played an important part in the
former trial were admitted as evidence.
The whole question of why Potter
should have got Rocker to load five
shells for him was thoroughly threshed
out. The solicitor general wanted to
know if it wasn't because people be-
lieved that they got better, or more
certain, results when they used the
shells loaded by Rocker, but Rocker
thought they called on him because
they didn't want to buy a whole box
Of shells at one time.
Threats Made by Potter.
William Dukes testified to meeting
Potter in the vicinity of Bodiford's
house on the morning of the killing,
witness himself being on his way to
Savannah to see his mother, and Hart
ridge Smith, another white witness,
told of a talk of hunting that he and
some other persons had had with Pot
ter some two to four weeks prior to
the killing at which time Potter when
being twitted with being afraid of
Bourquin, denied that he was afraid
and said that if the old - - -
referring to Bourquin) ever got in his
way he would kill him.
The testimony of Mr.. John H. Fox,
another of the states witnesses who
has died since the former trial. was
read and a wad, found by Mr.. Fox at
the place where Taylor's body was dis
covered, was introduced as evidence.
Mr.. Marion Lucas testified that in
| conversation with Potter, Potter told
him that he had not been hunting on
the day Bourquin was killed, but that
If he had been he would have been in
the very place where the shooting took
place, that he said if he knew who
killed Bourquin he wouldn't tell, and
that if the man were found he would
-. ~. 1-E- l.
Mr.. Albert Wylly told of a state :!
ment Potter had once made to him,
on Dec. %, 1895, in which he said that
If Bourquin ever killed his dogs he'd
kill Bourquin. Later, Oct. 6, 1902, Pot
ter had visited the office and said that
he had changed his mode of life and
wished to withdraw his remark, as he
held no feeling against Bourquin and
would do him no harm.
The last and by far one of the most
| important witnesses was Mr.. C. B.
Westcott, who was on the stand for
nearly an hour. The witness had visit
ed the scene of the killing in an effort
to secure evidence against the slayers,
and had made a most minute examina-
| ton of the scene and everything con-
nected with the killing. He told about
the angle at which the shots are sup
| posed to have been fired into the buggy,
| the two sets of tracks that led to the
scene of the murder, identified pho
tographs of the buggy and the scene
and diagrams of the footprints, which
| he had made after measuring the
tracks with piece of straw.
He said that afterward when he and
some of the other county officers had
| taken Potter from his house to the of
flee of the solicitor general, they had
| purposely caused Potter to walk through
some wet sand newly turned up at his
house, and that witness had then ex-
amined the tracks made by Potter and
! found them to agree with those of
which he had made a copy at the kill
| ing.
Just before the recess for the night
was taken George w. Saunders was
put on the stand, and told of having
been the owner of a black and tan
hound, which Potter had borrowed. but
which he had returned on the night
of the day the homicide was commit
| ted.
|