Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1911-04-01
WOMAN The STAR WITNESS
RooMING HOUSE LANDLADY
GIVES MOST DAMAGING
EVIDENCE
DEFENSE NOW BEINGIHEARD
JUDGE ROBERTS LIMITS ITS
OPENING STATEMENT TO
THIRTY MINUTES

Ration, n. NJ, April 1.-The prose-
cution in the French robbery case
concluded its testimony late yester-
day afternoon, and upon the request
of counsel for the defendants, Judge
Roberts adjourned court until this
morning at S:45 o'clock, stating that
he would give defendants counsel Is
minutes in which to make their open
ing statement Of the defense, and
commence the taking Of evidence at
o'clock.
At the conclusion of the testimony
of Chas. Lowther yesterday, in which
Lowther detailed at length the con-
versation he had with Humphreys.
and how the latter proposed to him
that he join him in holding up the
pay roll of the Dawson mines, some
weeks before the robbery, which he
refused to do, counsel for the terri
tory, proceeded to introduce large
number of witnesses to prove the
flight of the robbers from the scene
of the hold-up, eastward, towards the
town of Folsom in Union county.
Five or six ranchmen testified to
seeing three horsmen riding in an
easterly direction from French, on
the evening Of May 14th. but none of
them could identify the two defend
ants, except two sheepmen, who were
herding their flocks, near the travel
ed road which leads from French to
Folsom. Leandro Montoya, sheep
man. testified that on the night of
May IA, two strange men came into
his sheep camp, which was located
on the plains about midway between
French and Folsom, and that the
taller of the two men walked into his
camp and asked him if he could give
him and his partner something to
eat. The witness replied that he
could and the two men came up to
his tent and had supper by his camp
fire. He stated that he was sitting
opposite one of the men for sometime
and noticed him particularly, and, he
identified J. B. Humphreys as that
man. He could not identify the COM
panion of Humphreys or give a de.
scription of him.
Benjamin Sherrod, cashier of the
Ration National Bank and G. A. Ny
hus, assistant cashier of the First
National Bank, testified that in their
opinion the signature to the letter
written by J. H. Humphreys to
Charles J. Lowther, was the genuine
signature of Humphreys, comparing
the same with an admitted signature
of Humphreys which was attached
to some of the pleadings in the
case.
Mrs. Alice Smith, wife of the agent
at French, identified the large
sledge hammer that was used by the
robbers in breaking the lock from
the strong box containing the money.
1t was proved by the territory that
shortly before the robbery Henry
Farr purchased handle for a sledge
hammer or axe from the F1oersheim
Mercantile company, at Springer and
three of the clerks of the Floersheim
store testified that the handle in the
sledge was similar to the ones kept
in their store, but despite long ex-
animation by Attorney Spiess, none
of them would say that the handle in
the sledge was the one purchased by
Farr. They testified that it was sim
liar, but could not positively identify
it as the one Farr purchased. Other
witnesses testified to seeing Farr and
Humphreys together in Springer and
vicinity shortly before the robbery.
Farr had claimed all along that he
barely knew Humphreys, and when
he was questioned by Ben Williams
the day after the hold-up as to the