The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-04-24
FACTS AS RELATED BY WITNESSES
State Presents Its Side of the Killing of John p
Mcbride by Lewis M. Haden on Evening
of November I8, 1902.

against the city for the recovery OF
damages for the death of his son.
At first he said he had not thought
about the matter, but finally admitted
that he had consulted several attor
neys and they had told him he had
no cause of action against the city.
Fred Morse, at whose house the
deceased was before he was shot, was
called next. He said that he lived in
Second avenue south, between TWEEN.
ty-ffth and Twenty-sixth streets, and
had met the deceased for the first
time four days before his death. On
the night Of November Is Mcbride
came to his house at 6:15 O'Clock and
left at 8:O5. He fixed the time of the
d~eceaseds' arrival by the fact that he,
the witness, was lying ON a couch at
the time and looked up at the clock,
while the time or departure was sim
ilarly fixed.
When Mcbride was prepared to
leave witness said he gave him di-
rections as to the route he should
take going home, Mcbride not being
familiar with the city. The next time
he saw the deceased was at st. Vim
cents hospital, in the presence OF sew
eral persons.
On cross-examination Morse was
asked if he had not testified at the
coroner's inquest that it was between
6 and $50 o'clock when Mcbride en-
tered his house. The witness could
not remember. He was also asked ii
he had not stated in John Christ's sa-
Icon that a party was organizing for
the purpose of lynching Hayden. The
witness denied having made such a
statement, but said he had heard 9TH
ers say such a party was organizing
and added that he had no pity for
Hayden.
Mrs. Fred Morse testified that her
husband met Mcbride at the door and
admitted him. She did not know the
exact time of the deceased's arrival,
but said it was after supper, a meal
they concluded about $3.50 o'clock, and
they were about to sit down in the sit
ting room. After McBride's arrival
she remained only a few minutes in
the room where he was and then went
into her bedroom. When Mcbride was
leaving she heard him ask her hus-
band what time it was and heard
Morse reply that it was five minutes
past eight. AS near as she could re.
member it was tour minutes after Nc.
Pride left the house that she heard a
shot.
Charles Ayres. now a resident OF
Gardiner, but recently OF Billings,
testified that November Is he was en-
ployed in Deckert's barbershop and
lived in South Twenty-seventh street.
1t was about $40 o'clock that evening
when he left the shop to go home. He
walked south on Twenty-seventh
street to Minnesota avenue where he
stopped to make a purchase between
Twenty-seventh and Twenty-eighth
streets. This took him about 10 min
utes, and he returned to Twenty
seventh street, down which he went
on his way home. When at the cor
ner OF First avenue south, he saw
man running down the middle of the
street. Immediately before this he
saw another standing at the corner of
the two streets who was looking to-
ward the east.
Continuing, the witness said he
crossed Twenty-seventh street, which
is 80 feet wide, and then walked about
so feet south, when he heard a shot.
He looked about him, but saw nobody
and then proceeded home.
Nothing not brought out on direct
examination vas revealed by the
cross-examination.
E. R. Kyle was employed in the
Mills building, at the corne of Min
nesOta avenue and Twenty-seventh
street, on the night of the shooting.
He left the building about $3.50 and
went directly toward his home, on the
west side. of Twenty-seventh street
and about two blocks from the place
where he worked. When nee some
small buildings between Minnesota
avanna and hiS homo he heard a shot |