Arizona republican., 1904-02-25
STORY OF GENERAL COLBY.
Drank Posen in Court to Save ;
 Murderess.

Brigadier General Leonard w. Col by. who is under charges in connec- tion with alleged misappropriatioI. funds belonging to the Nebras ska mil itia. has figured in the public eye or several occasions. Many years ago he bought the white Arabian stallion which was presented General Grant by the Sultan of Turkey. This spread hi' fame abroad throughout the land anC the horse became the center of attrac ton in every parade in which Colby took part-and he missed few west O the Missorr! river.
 But Colbys greatest claim to notor- iety rests on the fact that he is prob ably the only lawyer who ever swal. lowed deadly poison in order to obtain clients acquittal. At this time hs was q struggling lawyer in Beatrice Nebraska. He was called upon to Ge fend a woman accused of killing her husband by poisoning him with ar seniC. The evidence was practically conclusive and there was hardly flaw in the case presented by the pro5ecu- ton. The husbands body had beer exhumed, and the poison found and placed in a bottle.
 There was indubitable proof tha' the woman had administered the pois on. and General Colby did not contes' this point. He merely laid stress or the contention that the man had dief- from natural causes, and that the pols- on found in his stomach was not suffic- tent to cause his death. On this point however, his expert testimony was rather weak. and he had to impress the jury by some other method.
 Colby's office was a building adjoin ing the court house. When he entered the court house after the noon recess to make his argument for the defense he appeared little bit more nervous than usual, but this was attributed to the highstrurr temperament tha' seems characteristic of the born orator His speech was eloquent ad the perora ton dramatic.
 Gentlemen of the jury he said in summing up, T contend that the pois- on my client is said to have admins tered to her husband was not enough to kill any man. to say nothing of one possessing his constitution. He 1iej from some other cause. If that poison would have killed him it would kill me.
 There is not enough poison there to NH ti h4Lltl. VIII piONt. lO SOsi tilclA there is not enough to kill man ''
 Before anyone could prevent him he pulled out the cork. threw back his head and drained the bottle. Then he stood before the jury. his black eye flashing, and thundered out: Gentlemen of the jury if the poison kills me you can convict my client, but If live-as l shall you will have 10 bring in a verdict in her favor" With a parting bow to the judge and the twelve men in the jury box he walked rapidly out of the court house to his office. where he locked himself in. In twenty minutes he was back in the court room smiling and confident. It took the jury about three minutes to bring in q verdict of acquittal. A few days after it leaked out that General Colby had doctor in his office and that the physician had removed the poison-enough to have killed ten men-with . stomach pump. Of course there was an uproar. but the law says a prisoners life cannot be twice placed jeopardy. Colby had destroyed the only evidence upon which conviction could be secured in event of another tri3l.-New York Press.