Rocky Ford enterprise., 1908-05-01
THE WALKER MURDER CASE
Is OPENED AT DURANGO
JURY SECURED HUNDRED vENlREMEN BEEN
AHMED STATEMENTS PRosEcU.
roN DEFENSE.

that 1t was impossible for him to have
been facing the person who shot him.
as claimed by the defense.
James l.. Russell. chief counsel for
the defense. then made his opening
statement. outlining what the defense
will try TO prove. He said that Mason
has been resident of southwestern
Colorado for twenty.three years and OF
La Plata county for eighteen years. He
WAS superintendent Of the Hesperus
mine for sixteen years. is married. has
an adopted daughter married. stood
high In the community In which he 30
long resided. and that his word and
business integrity have never been
questioned.
He said Vanderweide. the other de-
fendant. has been n resident OF La
Plata county for nine years. worked In
local smeltcr four years. one year In
the Boston coal mine and four years
at the Herperus property. His wife
ran the boarding house at his property
at the time OF the tragedy. He has
daughter five years old. and that be-
fore this affair he was never known to
have been In any trouble. This In the
first time that anything discreditable
had been charged to either OF the two
defendants. he declared.
Attorney Russell declared the evi.
dsnce will further 20 To show that the
Porter Fuel Company held patents to
the land and that the government
agents were trcspasscrs thereon: that
there was no occasion for the secret
service men To steal onto the property.
M no government agent had ever been
refused admittancc TO the mine.
The ground In qucstion In close to
the dividing line Of tho agricultural
AREA and the coal land. and as evidence
will. he said. show. somc years ago \
ninn named brown took up a coal land
claim. which WIS contested by n home.
steadcr. who won. as Brown could not
show that there was coal on his land.
Russell said Mason for n number Of
years was game warden and the owl
dcncc will show that he was aecus.
toned TO carrying a .un as coyotes
were numerous and sometimes other
game. This time he had no KUN and
lie borrowed one at saloon the night
before because he had large sum Of
money on his person and wanted the
weapon for protection on the way
home.
Sunday morning. he said. Mason
thought he heard noise In the dircc.
tiou Of the licspcruS mine and asked
vandcrwcids TO 20 with him and In.
vcntisatc. IN II sounded like some one
blasting and shooting. vandcrwcide
took his doublc.barrcicd shotgun.
loaded with bird shot and buckHhot
and they took the trail and road until
In sight Of tho shaft. near which they
saw a man.
He said the evidence will show that
they did not recognize Walker. know
that he was a government cmpioyc.
nor what he wak doinE thcrc. and they
went farther to Investigate. as any
,ampcrin. with the air shaft might
prove disastrous TO no, only the mine.
but tho men who were working inside.
when near the shaft. he said.
Walker called TO them to halt. but they
paid no attention To this. not thinking
that the man would shoot: that Walk
or called second time for them TO
halt. at the same time firing u shot
In the direction OF Mason. but that the
shot went wild and that II was ~
Walker was In the act OF firing the sc.
ond tirnc at Mason that vandcrwcidc
shot and killed him In order To save
Maaon's life.
The evidence will further. he de-
clarcd. show that Mason and Waller.
wcidc then went to Hcspcrua and iola
what had occurred and after tclcphon.
Ing To tho sheriff a; Durango. started
toward that city and were later met
and placed under arrest.
The defense also dcnica. he said.
that Walkers body was moved py
Mason and vandcrwcidc. but that Il
was moved by someone else. and that
when the officers arrived they found
n coat lying over the body.