Arizona republican., 1904-04-30
THE TERRITORY RESTS
A Sudden Move in the Zapeda Murder
 Trial.

The defense in the Zap2da murder I case was surprised by the suddenness with which the territory rested. Late in the afternoon District Attorney Ba- ker and Assistant Bullard asked for a recess that they might hold a confer ence. At the end of it they announced that they would rest, The court direct ed the attorneys for the defense to proceed with their evidence. Judge , Street replied that he had not supposed | that the prosecution would finish so soon and that the evidence for the de- fense had not been arranged. He ask ed for an adjournment until this morn- ing. The court said the case had al- ready consumed a great deal of time and urged that there be no further de- lay. He suggested that there might be a night session but the attorneys for the defense did not want one.
 It was decided to proceed with the case at once and Captain Alexander made a statement to the jury disclos- ing a part at least of the defense. As had been expected the name of the wife 1 of Macdonald, the victim of Zapeda, was introduced Captain Alexander said it would be shown that more than a month prior to the time of the kill l tel kept by Zapeda at Sentinel. She had been brought there by her husband and was on her way to Gila Bend; that at the same time a young man had | stopped at the hotel; that Macdonald returned to Agua Caliente put about 8 o'clock that night he unexpectedly came back to Sentinel and broke into | the room occupied by his wife and | found her talking to this young man. He drew gun threatening to kill both of them. The wife fled from the room and took refuge in the part of the ho- | tel occupied by the family of Zapeda. | Finally he went away taking lis wife | back to Agua CaUente. The young man spent the night at an Indian camp.
 When this happened Zapeda was away from home. On his return he made some inquiry about it but could not gather all the details of the trou- ble. A few days before the killing Mrs. ! MacDoncld again stopped at the hotel 1 at Sentinel on her way to Gila Bend ' and Zapeda asked her about the oc- currence of the month before. The train was then nearly ready to start | and she did not have time to tell him but promised to do so on her return. A short time before the killing Zapeda wrote to her at Gila Bend asking her to stop and tell him about the trouble He made some mention of money for her expenses.
 She sent this letter to her husband and he received it on the day of the killing. Captain Alexander said that the defense would prove that at the time Zapeda entered the saloon of Mac- ] T0nra I'd he bo ald was in possession of the letter but | that he had gone into the saloon to ] collect for some merchandise he had brought over from Sentinel that morn ing. There would also be satisfactory explanations of many things that had been related by the witnesses for the | territory.
 If this statement can be substantial ed it would be shown that Zapeda did not go into the saloon for the purpose of murder; that Macdonald ha6 a gun somewhere and that he was given to the use of a gun.
 | In the course of the day several wit nesses for the territory were examined Most Of them had testified at the pre- | liminary examination SO that there evil dence was not new. J. H. Root, the justice of the peace at Agua Caliente, said that he saw Zapeda on his way to the saloon a few minutes before he heard the shot. He walked unsteadily as If he had been drinking. He soon | after returned and told MT Root that he had shot Macdonald in self defense MT. Root thereupon hurried to the sa- loon and what he saw there had been told by several of the other witnesses. He prepared the dying statement of Macdonald and in the course cf his l evidence the statement was admitted | to the jury.
 There were four new witnesses. They were Mir. and Mrs. l.. F. Bruce, J. w. Burg and John Beckett. ti.e latter a 1 Southern Pacific engineer. MT. and Mrs. Bruce were at the Wills house and they said that Zapeda came there af- ter the shooting and said that he had shot to kill: that when he drew his gun, "he meant business"
 J. w. Burg said that he heard Za- peda say of Macdonald after the shoot ing, "The - - will go down to his grave.'
 Beckett overheard a conversation on telephone in which Zapeda, who was still in Agua Caliente after the shoot ing assured his friends in Sentinel that ''he was all right; there are some men 1 here who think they are brave but 1 they are not so brave when you call | them down.
 There is a possibility that the case will progress so far today that the ar guments may be begun.
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