Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-11-01
SWEAR BRIGGS
IS RIGHT MAN
Train Porter Who Assaulted
Alex Bowie is Positively
Identified.
PR, .IMlNARY HEARING CONTINUED

That r. II. Briggs, porter of Santa
Fe tourist car No. $3.50, is the negro
who committed the |dastardly assault
upon Hon. Alex. Bowie, president of
the Caledonian Coal company Of Cal
lup, as the latter was in the act OF
boarding westbound train No. / at the
local station on the night Of October
%, there now seems to be little doubt,
Briggs, who was arrested at Las We
gas on Saturday and brought to Albu-
querque and lodged in the county Jail
charged with the crime, was given a
preliminary hearing yesterday after
moo at 4 o'clock, before Police Judge
A. j. Crawford. The main point be-
fore the court, as explained by Judge
Crawford, was whether there were any
witnesses who could positively ident-
ify Briggs as the nan who committed
the assault on Mr.. Bowie.
Mr.. Bowie was the first witness
placed on the stand. He related the
details of the assault as heretofore
published in The Citizen, but could
o swear that Briggs was the nan
who slugged him, However, he
thought he looked very much like the
negro, but still he was not positive
enough about the identification to
make oath that the defendant was the
guilty party.
Judge Ellsworth ingalls,. who was
standing on the platform at the time
of the assault, and who saw it, was
the mex witness. Judge ingalls, was
quite sure that Briggs was the right
man, but he said he could not swear
that Briggs was the man. He said
that Briggs was the only porter on
train No. / that night, who in any way
resembled the negro who committed
the assault, as he saw all the porters
on the train when a search was being
made for the culprit after the assault
had been committed.
The most important witness for the
prosecution was F. NJ. Clough, general
foreman of bridges and buildings on
the Rio Grande division of the Santa
Fe. Mr.. Clough was standing talking
to Judge Ingalls, at the time Mr.. Bowie
passed on his way to the train. His
attention was called to Mr.. Bowie by
the odd looking case he carried, which
contained a number of maps. The wit
ness related infinitely how Mr.. Bowie
accidentally struck the train porter
on the leg, whereupon the negro turn
ed and struck the plaintiff a stunning
blow, partly telling him to the plat
form. Mr.. Clough said that he watch
ed the train porter after the assault,
and he passed within a few feet OF
him and boarded the text to the last
car on the train, which car later
proved to be car No. $3.50. When
asked by the court If he could identify
the man who committed the assault,
Mr.. Clough turned to Brigss and said:
5"I can positively identify the de-
PENDANT as the man. He is the zone
who committed stheA assault am
sure."o TN
Station Master Wells then testified
to how MIR. Bowie hunted him up and
reported that he had been assaulted
by one of the porters on the train,
and requested that the man be ar
rested. Wells %thereupon accompanied
him through the train, and when they
reached the next to the last car, Mr..
Bowie stopped and pointed out Briggs
as the man whom he thought had as
saulted him. Wells said that Briggs
was greatly excited and could hardly
talk, and denied that he had been off
his car. The witness further testified
that another porter standing by Briggs
~corroborated the statement Of the de-
PENDANT as to his not being off the car,
as did also a passenger on the car.
DR.. Kilgore, of Vann's drug store,
who dressed the injuries of Mr.. Bowie
after the assault, testified as to the
nature of the wounds, and gave it as
his opinion that the wounds over the
eye had been made with knucks or
a bunch of keys.
This closed the testimony, and At.
torney Lester, in behalf of his client,
asked the court for more time in
which to introduce some evidence for
the defense. He wishes Z present the
evidence of another train porter on
the train the night Of the assault, and
also to try and get the evidence OF
several passengers to prove that
Briggs could o be the man, as he
never left the car.
Judge Crawford granted the request,
and ordered that Briggs be recommit-
ted to the county jail to await the
continuance Of the hearing.