Semi-weekly herald., 1908-04-27
ATTORNEYS OUTLINE
LINE OF ACTION
Tell what They Expect to Prove and Disprove
- -..GeO. Goodman First Witness
Called by Prosecution

The jury in the Mason Wander weld
trial having been secured little afte
O'Clock yesterday afternoon, at 3:3
District Attorney Pulliam began t,
outline the prosecutions side of tn,
case. There was not a large crowd IL
the court room at the time, as interes
in the trial had tagged on account o.
the slow work OF getting a jury ant
there had been nothing for the spec
tators TO hear except the monotonous
examination of jurors. And then II
was not expected by many that a jury
would be obtained so soon. After the
prosecution and the defense had out.
lined their cases court adjourned at 8
O'Clock until o'clock this morning.
In outlining the case to the jury Mr..
Pulliam stated that the state would
attempt to show that Joseph A. Walker
a government secret service agent was
shot and killed by the defendants. VIM.
Mason and Joseph Vanderweide while
III The discharge of his duty. and that
the killing was cold blooded murder.
The state would show that Walker, in
company with J. f. Chapson, Thos.
Harper. and T. J. Callahan. special
employe, were making an examination
of the underground workings beneath
the air shaft of the Porter Fuel Com
pany's mine ut Hesperus, on Nov 3, in
connection with the obtaining of evi-
dence to be used in the prosecution by
the government of the alleged land
fraud cases; that Walker remained on
top of the ground at the air shaft
which is about mile from the mouth
OF the tunnel, near Hesperus; that the
other three men descended the shaft
by means OF rope ladder; that the
three men who descended the shaft
had been through the workings and
went back to the air shaft and found
the rope at the bottom: that Harper,
having worked in mines was able to
riimb up out of the smart, anu wneu
he arrived at the top he found Walker
lying down; his eyes had CLASSY
stare; he felt of his heart and saw he
was dead; he examined his personal
effects and did not miss thing: Har-
per then let the rope ladder down. hav-
ing brought 1t up with him, and the
other men came up. Callaghan started
for town and Chapson and Harper re-
manned and guarded Walkers body.
Evidence would be introduced to show
that Mason and Vanderweide ordered
men to guard at the mouth of the tun-
mel, believing that after throwing the
rope down the shaft the men would
be forced to come out of the mine at
the main entrance. Stress was laid
on the fact that that II would beshown
that Mason borrowed a revolver of a
bartender in Jack Cunningham's sal
oon In Hesperus the night before the
shooting, the two defendants having
been there and taken some drinks that
night. Ii would be shown that Walkers S
revolver, was found foot and half
from his body with the trigger rest
ing or an empty shell. that the shell
had not been emptied recently; that
Walker did not lay the gun where ii
was found Mr.. Pulliam described how
the body lay and claimed that clots OF
blond were found eight or ten feet
awEy from where the body lay when
found, showing that the body had been
moved after falling; his hat was found
stwenty feet away; that Walker was
struck by six buckshot. one passing
sideways through the wrist,two enter
ing the neck from the side, one o
which cut the juglar vein, while thre,
<entered the left side and shoulder,
little TO the back of the side, showini
that he could not have been facing th'
defendants or In the act of shooting
at them as they claimed.
Bel. b. Russell outlined the cas-
for the defense. He recited that VII
lam Mason has been resident @
southwest Colorado for 20 years and G
y La Plata county for Is years, havin
been superintendent Of the Hesperu
property the past 16 years; Marie
man with an adopted daughter, who
married.; man who has always stoo
high, and whose word and business fl
tegrity has never been questioned. II
stated that Mr.. vanderweide had bee
Il resident Of La Plata county abo'
years, working In the local smelt'
about four years and then a year Il
the Boston coal company. and the pa
four years at the Hesperus propert
His wife conducted the mine boardiI
house at the time Of the tragedy. l
has q little girl five years old. No Of
had ever heard of him having any trc
BILE before. This WIS the first til
anything discrsditabls had ever b.