The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1903-10-14

Lexington, Oct. 9.-The defense closed
its case in the trial OF James H. Till
man this afternoon and the State COM
menced it's testimony in reply. The
prisoner was on the witness stand until
the recess for dinner at 100 p. m. and
again for a few minutes after the re-
cess. No noticeable change appeared in
his demeanor from that of yesterday;
he has displayed the same composure
that has characterized his behavior
throughout the trial, and wen when in
the cross examination he was con-
fronted with o letter addressed to the
late editor in 1892, written by himself
and containing a more or less direct
contradiction to a positive statement
he had just uttered, 1t did not seem to
discomfort him. The letter and the
statements appear in the stenographic
report. Asked to illustrate the
in which he drew his pistol, the pris-
oner complied readily and displayed a
familiarity with the weapon In evil
dence, the weapon with which he shot
Mr.. Gonzales, which was interesting to
prisoner appeared distinctly graceful in
the manipulation of the deadly instru-
ment which is still q comparative
stranger even to experts In handling
firearms In South Carolina. AS far as
the audience could judge, the prison.
er's mastery of its fine points was suf-
ficiently exempli1ed. There was no
awkwardness. no hesitation, and seem
ingiy no reluctance. Indeed, from the
prisoners point of view there was pos
sibly no reason for any. Mr.. Bellinger
was courteous but unsparing in his
cross examination, and the prisoner
was courteous in his replies. What
Mr.. Bellinger accomplished and what
the prisoners chief counsel and law
partner, MI. Croft, accomplished, for
their respective sides to the contro-
versy, and what the prisoner himself
accomplished In the results OF hia or
deal, are fully disclosed In the detailed
report.
w. II. Hyatt, head fireman and as
sistant to the engineer at the State
small sensation, He swore, and swore
1t with emphasis on his cross examine
tinn, that the late editor or The state
was four and O half feet tall or less.
He also swore that OF the day preced-
ing the shooting he saw Mr.. Gonzales
spit" with a pistol. a little pistol which
might have been q 32-calibre pistol,
showing from his hip pocket. did Mr..
Gonzales wear giasses?" he was asked
He was sure that he did not on that
occasion" He was also sure thai the
ttiih Nv Il w WAC AiIs oOhiEdtC2f
but he could not recall whether or not
he had a moustache, or the color of his
hair. he was four and q half feet tall or
less, and he was certain hat he did not
wear glasses that day. Later Mr.. Mel
son inquired of the witness how the
height Of the man he saw compared
with his height, and the witness said
that IL was about the same. Neverthe-
less, four N a half feet was the fig
ure he had mentioned and which h
stuck to manfully under Mr.. Craw-
ford's supye but insistent questions.
When tho court opened h prisoner
wasson the stand and an argument OF
some length took place as to whether
or not he should be permitted to deny
the truth OF the editorial charges made
against him. Attorneys for the de-
Tense made impassioned speeches pro-
testing against the denial to the pris-
oner of the opportunity to defend his
good name from these charges, be-
fore the court and In evidence. Mr.. Bel
finger made the point that IL the evi-
Sence OF the truth or falsity of the ed