The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-05-20


 court ftime and again. Many remained in the room during dinner hour rather than lose their right to the precious chair and square foot of space
 crowding every inch of space in the court room. double-record throng perched about the judges rostrurn. and about the jury box even on the shoul- ders of the jurymen. because of lack of space elsewhere. standing on benches and wir .ow-sfils. Justling elbows with judge and attorneys. the crowd came most of Clanton.s and a goodiy part of Chiffon County humanity. so intense was the interest.
 Mrs. Pope. to the casual glance, was lese perturbed than the woman specta- tors. She sat between her attorneys, stiff. sombre figure. clad in the black habit as before, wearing the same fiat black hat of worn velvet which had marked her clothing since her incar- ceration: in all, the same typical wo- man of the very small form.
 But she had lost much Of the stolid- ity at which all had remarked at the time of her preliminary>trial A sort Of repressed nervousness was apparent. At times the nervousness drove from her face the heat flush. to place there a pallor.
 She was more restless than before. too. Perhaps 1t was the heat of the crowded room which. at times, was stihfng, but the former stony. calm was gone. She seemed more interest ed. but not anxious. nor perturbed. Mrs. Pope's brother, who scame to aid her cause from Texas several weeks ago sat immediately behind her, an interested spectator. He had worked hard in her behalf since his arrival.
 From round the corner of the judge's rostrum peeped her husband, diminu- tive man.
 At the opening of the trial this morning there was threat of contin- uance, when the defense asked that postponement be taken until tomorrow morning. Important testimony, they told, must be gathered by that time The attorneys for the defense wanted the time to look into the evidence.
 Jury Drawn Quickly.
 Judge Pearson. however. stood for an immediate start.
 The jury was drawn in short order. The special venire of fifty was far from exhausted when the twelve chosen men were seated in the jury box.
 odd incidents accompanied the drawing of the jury. As to one. the name of Robinson Henry was called : The venireman responding. ventured that his name was Henry Robinson. The jury commission. in selecting the venire, had reversed it. There was some question as to whether Mfr. Robinson could serve. Deputy Sheriff Jackson solved 1t. T served him front'ards," he ex- piained II
 That he was thus summoned properly made 1t simple. As Mir. Robinson. he was selected a juryman.
 Again the name of James S. Atchison, farmer, of Beat 3, was called. Two men responded, both James S. Atchi- son. farmers. of Beat 3, and both sum- moned though only one, James s. Atehi- son. was on tho veDire>
 Again, problem came up:
 Take your choice. gentlemen" in- vited Judge Pearson.
 But 1t wasn't necessary. for 1t was revealed that only one had been prop erly summoned, and. therefore, only he could serve.
 The jury as selected. Is: T. w. Rutherford, 8. ]. Lovelady. William Maddox, IsaacNWaidrop. Henry Robin son, B. M. Martin, W NJ. Aldridge, Hugh Morgan, James s. Atchison, G. M. Driver. Prentiss Murphy, W. A.. Weaver.
 After dinner recess. the taking of evidence was begun. Dr. Sam Wooley, the first witness. had examined the body of Mrs. Mary Jane King, the murdered woman, soon after the death.
 He told that the fatal wound was one on the throat Of Mrs. King. made by sharp weapon, which had slashed the throat from ear to ear, in, a gash fully two inches deep. The windpipe, jugular vein. trorfeai arteries, and every vital vessel twas severed.
 He told that about the house of Mrs. King, in the yard, were signs of loosenedy earth, in a track, as If @ heavy body had been dragged The track started at the front door and went around the house to the back door.
 The body. said pr. wooley. lay in the room, several feet from the win dow.-in a pool of blood. There was blood, according to his evidence on the exterior of the house, just below the window.
 George Moore, member of the coro- ner's jury. who sat in inquest over the body, was the next witness. He told of the dragging marks and of an ap- parently newly-dug hole of the appear ance of grave, dug several hundred feet from the house
 In this grave. and imprinted in the sandy soil of the contiguous land, were footprints, he testified.
 Many Objections.
 At this juncturee there ensued a mass of detailed testimony. Moore had vers tured that the shoe of Mrs. Pope had been obtained and that 1t had it the tracks about the grave. Objections were interpolated by the counsel for the defense at every ex- pression as to the similarity between the track and the shoe print. Most of the objections were Averruled by Judge Pearson, who allowed the witness to tell exactly what he did, and not his conclusions.
 The defense, on cross examination. endeavored to impeach the testimony as to the similarity of track and shoe. showing by the witness that no accu- rate measurement of either, or careful scrutiny, had been made.
 Detailed testimony began here. Graphic Illustrations of the Pope house. in which the murder was done, and of the location of the supposed grave, were accomplished. by means of books and umbrellas, and maps.
 The defense here interJected what will probably turn out to be it's trump card before the, end-testimony with the endeavor to show that Woodson Pope, the estranged husband of the woman, had been mixed up with the murder.
 On cross examination it was asked MT. Moore where Woodson Pope was and what he had done soon after the murder. The answers, however. were plhinly unsatisfactory.