The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-02-20
TO KILL DEWEY.
Witness Testifies of a Threat
Made by d. p. Berry.
Told of Defendants Generosity
In Paying Claims.

Kansas City. Mo-, Feb. 2O.-A special
to the Star from Norton, Kan, says:
Andrew F. Habercamp, testifying to-
day for the defense in the trial of
Chauncey Dewey and his cowboys,
Mcbride and Wilson, charged with the
murder of Burchard Berry, said that
Daniel P. Berry had told him that he
intended to kill Dewey and that he al
ways went armed.
Habercamp, who lived near the Dew
ey ranch, said that Dan Berry had in
1901, told him that Dewey's cattle had
gone into his cane and that Chauncey
Dewey had paid him for the cane de-
stroyed, paying more than it was
worth.
Others testified as to the good char
acter of the defendants.
Norton, Kas. Feb. 2o.-During the
session of the trial of Chauncey Dewey
and his two employees Friday Constable
Charles Pritchett of Bird City and
Washington Hatcher, sheriff of Norton
county. went to the Grier hotel and
arrested seven other Dewey cowboys,
one at a time, who were with Chaun-
cey Dewey on the day the shooting of
the BerryS occurred.
The men arrested were Thomas
O'Neil, Charles Wilson, Ben Slater, Ed
ward Tucker, Albert Winship, James
Armentrout and Fred Dye. Each was
served with three warrants, issued by
justice of the peace In Cheyenne
county, for the killing of Burch Berry,
Daniel P. Berry and Alpheus Berry,
making 81 warrants for murder. All of
these men are in town at witnesses for
the defense.
Judge Geiger Immediately issued an
order that the men should not be re
moved from here until allowed to teSti-
fy in the present trial. Each man
furnished $1,000 bond and was releas-
ed.
That this move on the part of the
state is unpopular is evidenced by ex-
pressions heard on the streets. While
the states attorneys may not have had
in mind the removal of the men from
here to prevent their testifying for the
defense, yet that is the general opinion.
! 1t is argued that the warrants should
not have been served until the end OF
the trial until each had testified.
Now that the defense of Dewey, Will
son and Mcbride is well started, the
interest in the trial, which Jagged con-
siderably after the members of the
Berry family had told their side of the
tragedy, has materially increased. The
crowd in the court room was even lar
ger than Thursday, when it was sup
posed that the capacity of the room
had been reached. AS usual many
school girls were present. OF this
Judge Geiger took judicial notice in
the afternoon by suggesting that the
younger element remain away, as the
|
for their ears. He also said that be-
cause of a large amount of scarlet fe-
Yer here, the danger of an epidemic
was increased by the young misses be-
ing brought in contact with all classes
of persons in a poorly ventilated
crowded room.
Most of the afternoon was consumed
by the introduction of testimony re-
garding the general reputation of the
defendants Those who testified for
10 in T Van
deusen, Sixteenth field battery, United
States artillery, Fort Leavenworth,
whose stable sergeant Mcbride was;
Lieutenant L. w; PTunty' Fourth
worth. For Dewey, Cyrus Anderson,
secretary of state railroad commission
ers; Jonah Nichols, postmaster, Atwood,
Kan; George S. Murphy, banker Ill
Manhattan; R. G. Gillette: motel keep
er in Manhattan; E. r. Nichols, presi-
dent of the State Agricultural college
| in Manhattan; ]. P. Floersch, banker in
Manhattan. Captain Vandeusen was
called as an expert on f1rearIns, put
because of numerous objections he did
| NOT finish his testimony. He will be
recalled. If Captain Vandeusen'S tesu-
mony is permitted to get before the
] iurv 1t will be great advantage to the
defense.
| of Birch Berry have black stains on
the brass part of them, but the ammu-
milton taken from Burchs belt is COW
cred with vertigris. It is understood
that the stains on the cartridges taken
from the revolver were caused from
fresh powder stains in the pistol, but
the green on the other cartridges was
caused by moisture on the copper or
brass of the she'll
barrel of the pistol showed evidences
of being hastily cleaned, but that the
chambers of the cylinder still showed
the signs of powder burns.
If these matters can be estaDhsned II
will go a long way toward proving
that Burch Berry used his revolver and
that after the Deweys rode away the
barrel of the pistol was cleaned. reload
ed and the pistol replaced IN the hois-
ter.
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