Fergus County Democrat., 1908-06-23


week or ten days prior to the fire.
Thursday morning Nordahl was re-
called to stand and testified that the
Schleuters had three guns in their
house. In reply to a question by
Juror Ornbaum, witness stated that
while he and witness Lugo had never
had any particular trouble but that
his cattle had occasionally gone up
to the Williams place on which Lugo
lived and that the latter had driven
the cattle away for a distance of three
or four miles.
F. w. Norton, by deposition-Wa
with Nordahl when he was in Lew
istown last winter and observed that
his moustache had been singed as if
| by cigar or cigarette.
States Rebuttal.
In rebuttal, the state placed w.
Bart, Warren c. Niles, ]. G. Row.
ton, John Lugo and Mrs. Anderson
on the stand Bart testified that the
pile of wood which Nordahl burned
on January 10th was four feet wide
and one foot high. Niles saw rope
on Nordahl's saddle which looked as
if it had blood on it, Rowton testi-
fed that defendants horse, Mig,
stood all right when he was ridden
out for the purpose of observing the
horses tracks. John Lugo testified
that he had not done anything with
| Nordahl's clothes when he went to
get the overshoes. Had no unfriend-
ly feelings against Nordahl. Mrs.
| Anderson never knew of Mrs.
Schleuter doing any fancy work such
as that on hat lining shown by Nor
dahl.
Juror Ornbaum had DR.. Attix and
| Winess Luga demonstrated just the
manner in which the hair was at
tached to the overshoe. Sheriff
! Martin was instructed to pour half
pint of coal oil on an overshoe so
that the jury might see the condition
of the shoe after a lapse of several
hours.
! Adjournment was then taken until
1890 o'clock Friday morning
Argument BY Attorneys.
Never in the history of criminal
case in Fergus county have more
brilliant addresses been delivered be-
fore a jury than those of Attorneys
Huntoon and Belden for the defense
and Ayers and Smith for the state.
Frank f. Smith opened for the
Estate and his address was certainly
a fine one. He painted an impressive
word picture of the defenseless
mother and four children living in
one Of the most remote sections Of
our county, utterly without protec-
ton since the death of the husband
and father and finally the victims Of
the foulest crime which darkens the
pages of the criminal history of Fer
gus county. He went over the facts
in the case, leaving, however, the
more exhaustive summary of the tes-
timony to County Attorney Ayers.
i O. w. Belden followed for the de-
fense and put up a strong plea for
his client that there was nothing in
the testimony to prove that Bertha
Schleuter was ever murdered and
much less to prove that Nordahl was
guilty of the crime if that was the
manner of her death.
q Attorney Huntoon, for the defense
!, spoke for over an hour. laid the de-
, fendant's case before the jury with
!, his usual adroitness. He showed thai
the defendant had not apparent evi-
dence which had been used to con.
meet his name with the commission
of the crime, that he had relied
, simply upon the knowledge of his
own innocence. The speaker stated
that the state had never established
) the corpus delicti and even could they
have shown that murder had beer
! committed, there was absolutel,
! nothing in the testimony to prove
: Nordahl's connection with the crime
5 Ayers Closes Argument.
! The effort of County Attorne.
r Ayers in closing the argument TO
| the state was the most effective o
5 his career as public prosecutor
5 He had every fact connected will
: the case at his tongues tip and hi
r summary of the evidence tending tt
| connect Nordahl with the murder o
r Martha Schleuter was mastery, logi
a cal and convincing. Without max
: ing any attempt at oratory, his dead
!, ly earnestness carried conviction t.
E the hearts of all who heard him.
: First Degree Murder.
The jury went out shortly after
r o'clock and at l2:4O announced tina
|