The San Francisco call., 1909-11-14

TO show the unsoundness of Alma Bells
mind at the time of the shooting and to
demonstrate her hysterical condition.
The jury box in the trial was but
two-thirds fun when court adjourned
at noon. today Two jurors were final
ly sworn, making eight in the box
The men sworn today were J. ]. Phil
lips and Marcus Thomson of Lincoln.
The remaining four are to be taken
from a new locality. For the most
part, the men in the box are ranchers
from the southern end of the county
At court today Judge Arnot appointed
as elisor Clarence Mckinley of the
Michigan Bluff country, and he has
been instructed TO go into the mining
districts, the famous old pioneer set
Elements of Last Chance, Michigan
Bluff, Butchers Ranch, Todds Valley,
Forest Hill and Boullon for the venire.
The rancher is to be succeeded in the
jury box Sby the grizzled prospector,
miner and pocket hunter. men of the
same type as old pike" Bell, father
of the accused girl.
A panel of 90 was ordered for the
sufficient reason that it would be diff
ficult to find many more competent
jurors in the high mountain districts.
ALMA'S MOTHER IN COURT
The court session was quiet this
morning Old Mrs Bell. the stoical
mother of Alma, was in court again,
sitting simply, rigidly by the side of
her daughter who is on trial for mur
der The two women talked but lit
tie Alma showed some little feminine
attention to her parent, readjusting
the neckband of the aged woman's
faded black waist. The pathos of the
old woman's austere' manner is the
most terrible thing in the trial. That
the old woman can feel, is known. She 4
collapsed utterly when she first learned
of her daughters deed but now she
sits with her lips firm and tightly
drawn, listening dumbly and with an
inscrutable face to the brisk examina-
ton of jurors and to the lightness
which sometimes marks the proceed
ings.
There is a crude pathos, too in some
of the things which Alma does. Yes
terday some friend sent her bunch
of flowers Today this primitive girl
prepared the flowers to be placed on
the grave of the man she loved and
killed. She wrote the following note,
with the quotation marks as shown:
Compliments from Alma Bell for
her lover God may we rest y
The lines yet each man kills the
things he loves seems applicable to
her at times.
This was an suspicious day for the
girl The unwritten law was favor
ite statute with veniremen called, and
only one man was temporarily passed.
Favor Unwritten Law
A. c. Fleming of Forest Hill favored
the unwritten law. r. p Dixon of
Forest Hill, when asked his views on
the unwritten law replied solemnly:
Il have always believed in it since the
fiT11a of cfu H. y,
Marcus Thomson of Lincoln was passed
as the twelfth man needed to fiji the
box before peremptory challenge would
be exercised. Then the peremptories
We're taken and four men excused
There was humorous situation
when H. Newton, an old man of the
type sought by the defense, was called
his hearing was good enough to pass
him, and Attorney Prewett for the de-
fense examined in actor tone Of
voice, and the talesman answered
quickly and intelligently, qualifying
under that portion of the examination.
District Attorney Tuttle started to ex-
anime the old man in a lowered tone,
and Newton could not hear word.
He was excused
Under the law the court proceedings
have TO stop at IL noon Saturday, and
when it was near that hour the bailiff
put the hands of the clock back to
11:30, but even this trick on Father
lime did not avail. When adjourn
ment came the defense had three per-
emptory challenges to hand the prose-
cution.
One interesting bit of evidence to be
presented in Alma Bells favor will bel
a collection of the livery stable bills
she contracted while her infatuation
for Joe Armes was at its height. The
girl then worked in an Auburn restau-
rant and after her work was over she
would take a buggy from the stable
and drive out to the Armes place and
there remain with her lover. w. s.
Crosby, a liveryman, will be.called TO
testify to that fact, and to present the
accounts of the girl for buggy hire as
a measurement of her love