The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-29

he had swum ashore after the girls death
he stopped long enough TO take OF his
wet clothes, put on some dry ones, which
he had in a suit case, and put the wet ones
appearance on the stand was also not one
which would seem likely to impress the jury
favorably.
PRISONERS LACK OF FEELING.
His apparent lack of feeling in describing
Grace Browns death and the events which
led up to IL and his manner of receiving and
answering the District Attorneys questions
did not add to any good impression which
he might have nae upon the jury. Aside
from this. however, his story held together
well and did not alter enough on the cross
examination which he got to-day 10 cast
any serious doubtsu upon its truth.
The prosecution finished their Ease this
morning much earlier than had been ex-
pected by those in attendance on the trial,
and it came rather as a surprise when Mr..
Thomas got up to begin the opening OF the
defence's case. He said that the District
Attorney had not proved he assertions
az to an eyewitness, and added that the only
eyewitness Of the crime, h defendant him.
self, would come to the stand and tell the
story which would prove him innocent OF
the crime with which he was charged. His
actions after the crime would be accounted
for. he said, because there was such a thing
as mental and moral cowardice. His OPEN
ing address took less than half an hour,
and the moment he had finished he said:
Chester Gillette to the n
GILLETTE TAKES THE STAND.
Immediately there was a craning Of
necks and a disturbance in the court room
which took the gavel Of the Judge n the
STATS of the bailifs to subdue. Gillette
walked quickly to the stand, n before
he had been in it a minute was in the same
rNaftWa which hA haa naaaNVNal In tho chair
by his counsel, ~crouching down so that he
sat almost on his shoulder blades, with his
elbow on the arm of his chair and his chin
resting in his hand.
Question by question Mr.. Mills led him to
talk of his life before he came to Cortland.
He il % years old, he said, and was born in
Nevada. He had left home when he was
IA years old and had worked in California,
and from there, when he was IS, had taken
passage to the Hawaiian Islands. After
that he mad attended Oberlin College and
worked as brakeman on the Chicago, Mil
waukee and st. Paul Railroad until he had
come to Cortland TO work in his uncle's skirt
factory. He told of having met Grace Brown
and having become closely acquainted with
her. Then Mr.. Mills led him on to tell Of
the journey that he and Grace Brown had
made from De Ruyter to Utica. Ii bore out
the testimony which the prosecution had
brought out to a great extent. On the train
JDcT6 GllleJUe mao met NllSB 1dtTlCh AIlu
Miss Westcott, and talked with them about
meeting them at Seventh Lake the following
week. For that reason, he said, on arrival
at Canastota they had decided not TO go to
Fourth Lake, but TO go on from Utica some
where else.
@Grace asked me where the girls were
going" said Gillette, and / said to v
enth Lake" When we got to Utica Grace
said to me Don't let's go to Fourth Lake.
it's too near those g%irls.''
The District Attorney, during the morn
ing session, had objected to the admission
Of testimony of conversations between
Gillette and Grace Brown and had been
temporarily upheld, but for some unknown
reason he Immediately withdrew his OBJ
lection when the afternoon session opened.
THE TRIP TO BIC LAKE.
Step by step Gillette told his story OF
There, he said, they had decided to go to
Fourth Lake. after all, because the girl
was disappointed in Upper Lake. At
Grace Browns suggestion, he said, they
had decided to stop at Big Moose Lake
on the way. He told every Incident of the
Journey to the barest detail until they got
to the Hotel Glenmore at Big Moose. He
had planned to go around the lake in the
steamer be said, but finding that he could
not be back in time for dinner had decided
to take a rowboat and see the lax that
way. He had taken his baggage with him,
he said, after a talk with Mr.. Morrison,
the proprietor, about the a~dvisability of
leaving Il in the office. IL consisted, he said,
of a suit case, with a tennis racquet strapped
to it, an umbrella, which was also on the
suit case, and a light top coat.
just before they had left Grace Brown
had taken of her hat and put IL on the
hotel rack. Then they had got into the
boat and started up the south shore OF
the lake to see some points OF interest OF
which the hotel proprietor had told them.
At this point the noon recess was taken
and the crowd was left with bated breath
waiting for the crisis OF the story. When
the afternoon session opened the court
room was crammed to the doors and there
were hundreds outside who were shut out
trying unnecessarily to get in.
LANDED TO IA LUNCH
Gillette told OF having rowed around
| the lake exploring its various hooks unit
1 O'Clock, when he and the girl went ashore
to eat their lunch, which he had in his va
lise. in the shade. .
@The ground was DAMP he said, $50 I
hxed my suit case against a tree for a seal
and put my overcoat bach Of her. l had
nv undercoat of at the time and when
we went into the boat again l left them
both with my valise and umbrella on the
Shore
All the afternoon he and the girl had
rowed around the lake, he said, reading
talking and picking water lilies for amuse-
ment. Twice again they had landed, once
on a Inc beach, where a man nad come
ashore and gone into the woods with an
axe, and once near the outlet OF the lake
where they had also met a mar and woman
as they returned to the o They hao
also met a man and woman in a rowboat
as they had gone up into Punky Bay e
explore it. Then shortly after 9 O'Clock
they had come again into South Bay. SooI
after this the death Of Grace Brown 90
CURED.
THE ALLEGED SUICIDE.
we stayed in Punky Bay : he said, fol
a short time, rowing around the shore anc
reading a bit. Then we came out anc
started toward the point where we left the
suit case, going around by the east en-
to get some pond lilies. We got them anc
then let the boat drift. We got to talking
about what we on ght to do. asked hei
what she thought we ought to do. and she
said We will go back TO Fourth Lake
tomorrow and then decide l told heI
that / thou ght we had better go to her home
and tell her father and mother. She SAID
she could not tell her mother and begar
to cry. | said l would tell her father, anc
she said, You don't know my father OF
YOU would not say that Then l said
what shall we dor She stood up in the boat
aauip0 I'M end IL now and nittinQ heI