The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-05-11
Charged With The Murder Of
 James McCIurkin
COURT HOUSE CROWDED
Evidence Tends To Show That Crime Was Committed To Cover Theft of Cotton Seed From
 Dead Mans Mill.
By HARRY w. AYERS.

AnniSt0n, May W.-NeAeF Wllnln the history of Calhoun county has a case att tracted such widespread interest as has that of Erwin Pope, who has been brought back from Gadsden and placed on trial before Judge Thomas W. Coleman in the city court for the alleged murder of James B. McClurkin, a well-l1nown mill Ter and farmer. near Oxford on the morning of April 20.
 To allay an aroused public sentiment Judge Coleman called a special session of the city court grand jury. Pope was indicted and his trial is being pushed In the presence of the largest crowd that has ever been in the court room, an assemblage composed of both whites and blacks, intelligent citizens and curiosity seekers, all watching every turn of the case with an absorbing interest. There was no vacant seat and many stood on the bannisters.
 It was after noon before the jury had been drawn. The two regular panels and venre of 50 extra men were soon ex- hausted, and only eight men were ,se- cured. Sixteen more were summoned and by l o'clock four more had been selected.
 Solicitor Tunstall Is assisted by State Senator Fred L. Blackmon, one of the abest criminal lawyers in the state; but the case is being hard fought by Attor- neys Sensabaugh and Neil P. Sterne for the defense, every point being stub bornly fought. and it now seems that the case will not nearly be so one- sided as it was feared.
 The court took recess at 6 o'clock.
 Williams On Stand.
 As soon as the jury had been drawn, the indictment was read by Solicitor Tun- stall It was in four counts and named as the weapons with which McClurkin was killed piece of wood, a rock, a stone and a weapon the character of which is unknown.
 Dr. B. Dudley Williams of Oxford was the first witness introduced by the state. He testified that he saw the dead body of McClurlxin as it lay in the field after the murder. and after examination found that the back part of the skull had been fractured. two big holes in the forehead, one on the side of the head. the nose broken, one eye out and several other injuries, death, in his opinion having re- suited from the fracture in the back of the head. He said he had seen the stone, which was exhibited and identified, and had also witnessed the bloody shoes of the defendant. He said the shoes were wet when found, and had been scraped and washed This was objected to by the defense as the conclusion of a witness
 Nothing new was brought out in the ss-exanination, and in the redirect examination the shoes were examined un- der a microscope. Having dried the blood spots, he said, were not so appar- ent. Under re-examination, he was some what confused as to the date of the inquest. and could not say positively whether or not the blood stains indi- cated human blood or the blood of an irrational animal.
 Other Witnesses Introduced.
 Amos Montgomery. a tenant on Popes farm Hubert Montgomery. a small boy. and Robert Smart, another tenant, were introduced and they described the clothes worn by Pope on the day preceding the murder and told of contracts they had made with him for the delivery of cot ton seed and other stuff on the day fol- lowing the murder. alleging that the de- liveries were never made, it being al- legged by the state that Pope killed Me Clurkin to cover up an attempted rob bery of the latters mill, where a large quantity of corn and cotton seed had just been stored
 The elder Montgomery testified that Pope was the only man living immediate
 
 ing a one-horse wagon similar to the one found near the scene of the mur- der. On cross-eXamination Smart ad- mitted that he had at one time de- nied seeing Pope on the day before the murder, and said that he had been threat ened by Deputy Sheriff Eason with ar rest for telling a lie, he having testi- fled before the coroner's jury that he had seen the defendant To reconcile the two statements he said he had forgotten.
 Lon Bradford, half-witted negro, whom it is said Pope tried to frfghten out of sleeping in the mill. was the next wit ness called, after J. c. Davis, a white man, had testified to seeing Pope going to the mill with small load of corn the day before the murder. The negro said that Pope had brought the corn to the mill and admitted that the defendant had tried to dissuade him from sleeping in the mill He said there was a large amount of corn in the mill, but no cot ton seed. An effort to shake his testi- mony proved futile.
 Miss McClurkin Affected. Miss Rachel McClurkin, a sister of the l deceased, was the next witness called. She was accompanied by friends, and on taking the stand she told her story in trembling voice, broken occasionally by bitter sobs She told of having cotton seed and sorghum seed in the ginhouse near the mill and said she had seen Pope going in that direction on the aft ernoon before the murder. Late in the night she heard noise at the mill and awakened her brother she said, who fol- lowed on a mule wagon which was be- ing driven along a rough road. Her brother never returned. This story was corroborated by John Dodgen young | man who lived in the same house.
 States Chief Witness. | The chief witness for the state was 1 John Body, in front of whose house the | murder was committed. He stated that l he had heard the blows that were rained | upon MeClurkin and says that he heard | the latter call Popes name. Tn order | that he might not forget the name he 1 says he struck match and wrote it | twice upon piece of paper. His mother, | an ante-belum nanny, eorroborated his | story but says she was so badly scared l she "disreinembers' the details. l Seab Eason. deputy sheriff, will be the l chief witness introduced tomorrow. He 1 will testify to finding the bloody shoes | covered up under hay in Pope's stable 1 and to the finding of the brass buttons l near an old wash pot, where it is alleged 1 Pope's clothes were cleansed 1 The Jail was guarded by special dep | uties tonight.