The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1904-11-26
IN THE WITNESS CHAIR.
An illustrative Instance of Strange
Things Witnesses Some
times Do.


chair and the spell of court surroundings
men TO strange things sometimes. SYM
pathies become excited by the progress
OF the case, sluggish memories wake up
and previously forgotten circumstances
are suddenly recalled In the minds OF
witnesses. A rather unusual instance OF
this is among the stories told by Lawyer
Charles H. Mitchell, says the Chicago
Daily News. A pretty widow figures In
the same case with the awakened mem
cry. but 1t has never been proved that
they were cause and effect.
1T was damage suit" said Mr.
Mitchell, brought against the owner
OF vacant lot, q defective hand-rail in
front Of which had caused, as we wanted
to prove. the death Of citizen. The
suit was brought by the widow and fam
lily. and they needed the money they were
asking for. The husband and father who
had lost his life, had started home one
dark and stormy night; reaching the
sidewalk In front OF this vacant lot, he
felt his way in the darkness by means OF
the railings He came to place where
the rail was broken He missed his hold
and fell distance of. IL or IA feet, his
head and shoulders striking on a great
rock
He lay unconscious In the storm and
darkness for several hours. When he
regained his senses and called for help
no one heard him. Then, though In
great pain, he had managed to drag him.
self home, only few rods distant, and
toward morning he was found uncon-
scious on the back steps. He rallied
enough to tell how he had been hurt, and
then he died.
Il had plenty Of trouble in preparing
the case for trial. could find no one
who had seen anything of the accident.
But l found one man who lived near the
place, his window looking out on the
vacant lot. He told me that he had heard
a sound of groaning from this direction
on the night In question, but nothing
more could get out Of him. When the
trial came on, endeavored to put IL evil
tence the dying statement of the victim.
but this the court very properly refused
to admit
This made the case look very bad for
the widow, as had hoped for very little
from the taciturn person who had heard |
the groans. His actions, however, had |
excited my curiosity. He had haunted |
the courtroom constantly for three days |
and had seen my Intellectual efforts to
Introduce the dead mans statement
"'On the night of the accident be-
gan my taciturn man, when he was final
ly called to the witness chair, L heard |
groans outside my window The same
language he had usedto me before. Then |
my witness struck new line of talk tina. |
took me completely by surprise.
peered out to see the cause said
he, and discerned dark form crawling
along the ground toward the house of the
deceased. ! dressed myself and went out
to render what help could. When got
to the place the creeping thing was gone.
Se esemfR1r9Rbi a traced in the soft, wet
OF tho premises Of the d eaaa tlh lialb big rock
His evidence was clear and convinc-
Ing and was not shaken in the cross-ex-
animation. II won the case. With the
proceeds of the judgment the widow
bought home where she now lives, free
from want.
why did the witness change his tes-
timony? Was 1t merely case of sud-
denly awakened memory or an aroused
conscience or newly born desire to help
the widow and fatherless children? |
never found out. The widow, however,
remains widow STILL"