Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-10-18

| South PARIS, Me-, Oct. II.-TeStlmOnN
as To the discovery of two pieces Of
fuse near the scene of the explosion
| of the dynamite house at the Paris
| Hill mine was brought out by the State
| today in the trial of Wallace G. Ever
EFT, charged with the murder of Edgar
| l.. Radcliffe. This testimony was CIV
wellyn ]. Lewis and Charles Howe, and
| as it has been one of the points OF
evidence which the State has careful
| ly guarded from the public, it came
as a surprise to many in the supreme
court room.
Lewis and Howe said that they We're
engaged in Il search of the ruins sub
sCGuent to the explosion, and found
| the two pieces of unburned fuse with
| in 20 feet of the place where the dyna-
mite shed stood.
The more important witness of the
two was Howe and he occupied the
stand most of the afternoon He told
| IN detail of the search he made and be
sides relating the story of the finding
count Of the discovery Of the jack
knife, which the State alleges was
used in cutting Radclffe's throat. pre-
sumahlv after the explosion had failed
to kill him.
According to HOWe'S testimony. Ever
EFT was the man who found this al
legged weapon in the ruins. The man
who is now accused of murder was
1
James Gibbs, another mine employe,
| in an effort to find the foot which was
| missing from Radclffe's body after
| the explosion.
| Howe testified that Everett reached
over to pick up q, damper valve. which
had come from the funnel in the shantN
ruins and in doing so displaced some
tleaves. and revealed the knife. 1t had
la blade three inches long and was oil
the clasp variety. about half the blade
and half the handle being stained with
blood. 1t was open when found
| The witness said that Everett cX-
| claimed as he picked up the knife:
| Il never saw that knife before.
wonder what the boy could be doing
| with that He must have used it to pull
the staple. Let's look for his pocket
book
After that, according to Howe. Ever
EFT said he was going to take possess
sion of the knife. but by advice OF
Howe he eventually returned it to the
spot where he had found it. The fol-
lowing day, Everett again took the
knife in the presence of Howe and
Gibbs and carried it to Paris Hill,
| where he delivered it to some one in
charge of the explosion investiga-
ton.
Other evidence by Howe on which
the State seemed to lay great stress
/ without, however, bringing out clearly
the trend of it, was his statement as
to the finding of four distinct blood
spots on the ground near the scene of
the explosion. One of these was do
i scribed as being is feet south of the
dynamite house. and the others near
er to the hole in the sand, caused by
the explosion but all to the south of it,.
The knife. according to the witness,
was found about three feet and three
inches from the faint blood spot
marking the place where Radcliffas
body was found by the authorities. The
witness marked each of the four blood
spots by driving Il stake into the
ground.
Both Howe and Gibbs testified that
| they had been to Everett's shanty at
| the mine, and had bought liquor of
| him. Everett had told them that Rad
| cliffe had said he was going to do him
tEverctD M, but according to the wit
ncsses. Everett did not seem to be
afraid Of the alleged threat.
In reference to the stories Of sew
| cral mysterious breaks committed at
| the mine storchouses. James Gibbs tes-
| tilted that on tn" morning after one IF
! these breaks at the dynamite store
house. he looked under the building
and found there 1G sticks of dynamite
the exact number that was missing
| from the storchousc after the break.
The witness said that Everett had
! charge of the dynamite and had 4 key
| to the dynamite house
In telling of the search Of the ruins
after the explosion, Gibbs said that
Everett showed him the spot where
Radcliffe's body was found. and lying
down on the ground illustrated exactly
/ the position of the body.