Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-07-21
S mess jacket, also that he was

going to clean up the reservation.
Rocker. Utley and l conferred as to
the ACCESSIBILITY of calling the COM
manding officer. We decided not 10 do
so. and then started in the direction
taken by Sutton.
ION the way we heard several shots,
three or four. 1 saw several flashes.
saw several men grouped around a
figure lying In white shirt on the
I'm the crowd as I came up were
Utley and Serg De Hart. They were
sitting on Sutton's left arm and side,
trying to get a revolver away from him.
Adams was standing on the right side,
struggling to hit Sutton.
Il ordered Adams back. I caught
Sutton by the RICH arm.
There was shot just before did
so. I heard some one say, Ny God.
he has shot Rocker
Sutton Self-Slain, Says Bevans.
It think it was Adams.
II felt Sutton's right arm squirm In
an effort to pull the pistol from under
his body as I was trying to hold him
down. The arm came out. There was
fash and shot Lieut.. Utley. Sergt.
De Hart and were trying to hold him.
Sutton sank back. Willing took the
revolver out OF Sutton's right hand. A
doctor was sent for. / do not recall
whether !! gave the order. but the doc
tor came
This statement was made without in
terruption, in a clear. earnest tone, the
author of 1t leaning forward. looking
directly at the white uniformed figure
of the gray-haired president OF the court.
1t was listened to intently by everybody
in the room.
Mrs Sutton. the mother Of the dead
lieutenant. attired in mourning gar
ments. and her strikingly pretty daugh,,
black sailor hat. never took their eyes
from the thin. intellectual face of the
witness. who is a nephew of United
States Senator Rayner of Maryland.
Adams, sitting three feet away from
Bevans, smiled as the words of the lat
ter seemed to show Adams exact con-
nection with the death OF Lieut.. SUIT
ton. The navy widows" manifested
their sat sfaction at the favorable turn
of the evidence toward Adams. who APP
among both the men and women OF the
sea service.
The first question asked Bevans was:
What was the condition OF Adams.
Utley, Rocker and Osterman as regards
sobriety?"
The answer. which elected another
murmur of approval from the navy
widows" was:
Every officer there, as far as I could
determine. was perfectly sober"
What was the condition Of Lieut.. SUIT
ton?'
HE did not appear to be drunk"
Beyans testified in answer to questions
by Maj. Leonard that he saw Osterman
before the shooting Logan. He did not
know that Osterman had been fighting
with Sutton.
Questioned closely by Maj. Leonard, he
repeated the statements In detail he had
made in his narrative, with some addi-
tions. He had never had any trouble
with Sutton
Hc knew Sutton had one revolver. Until
.ae night of the fight he had never seen
him with more than one revolver. No
otter man concerned with the trouble that
resulted in the death Of Lieut. Sutton was
armed. he said.
Osterman Corroborates Adams.
The testimony OF Osterman was mainly
corroborative OF that OF Adams. In a
pleasant, well modulated voice and with
q good deal more control over himself
than Adams had shown. Osterman de-
tailed the Incidents OF his ride with
Adams, Sutton and Utley from Carvel
Hall to the marine camp; the effort made
by Sutton to compel the others to remain
in the automobile until the barracks was
reached: of -utton's abuse of Adams; of
mas own fight with Sutton In trying to
pacify him: Of Sutton's threat to kill after
the fist fight: Of some one calling out that
Rocker had been killed.; of tho fash
that followed and the killing of Sutton
himself.
When he was asked by Maj Leon
ard what the relations were between
Sutton and his fellow-offlcers. Osterman
replied frankly that Sutton was not
popular. He had done several things
that offended his fellow-officers
He had once "shot up the camp" That
was In January. 3D.. when one night
Osterman had been awakened by shoot
ing In the company street. He found
that Sutton had done 1T. He admitted
that he was personally not friendly with
Sutton.
When he was turned over to Mr..
Davis for cross-examination Osterman
glanced for the first time at the mother
and sister of thu dead Sutton. They
were scarcely an arms length away. He
replied. with some show of feeling. that
he had never discussed with his fellow
officers any plan to chast!se Sutton for
his offenses.
We were not accepting his tSutton' 81
hospitality he replied, when asked
why he did not drink the whisky SUIT
ton offered from the bottle he carried
when he entered the room at Carvel
Hall.
He said the first he saw of Sutton on
the night OF the tragedy was in the
lounglng room at the hotel Sutton was
talking with a young lady" Oster-
man did not know the young lady He
did not recoliect ever having seen her
before or since.
Sutton With Miss Stewart.
The testimony AZ the first inquiry