The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-28
DEAD MANS TALE
Of SHOOTING WAS
GIVEN TO JURY
]. F. Ross, in Dying Declara-
ton, Said He Had Not
Threatened Cooper
DESCRIBES EVENTS WHICH LEO
Up T0FATAL AFFAIR ON FARM
Dramatic Moments of Trial Reached
TOday-Widow Sobs as Prosecutor
Reads Husbands Story-Adopted
Child Goes ON Witness Stand.

Reads Husbands Story-Adopted
Child Goes ON Witness Stand.
James Frank Ross dying declara.
ton in which no declares that the
shooting Of himself by McLain Cooper
was without provocation. that he had
made no threats against the defend
ant, that the relations between him
self and McLain up to the day before
the shooting had been of friendly
nature, was read to the jury that is
trying the Trail county young man on
. charge of murder in the first de-
gree.
The reading of this statement, COM
posed of seven typewriter pages, furn-
ished a dramatic feature Of the trial.
and the court room, densely packed.
heard the entire story of the affair
leading up to his death as related by
the victim.
Only a few feet from States At
torney Lynche of Trail county. as he
read the statement. sat the widow.
Mrs Mary Ross. During the first
part of the recital of events she fol-
lowed closely. but as the statement
advanced and reached the shooting it.
self, she broke down and wept.
At the defendants side of the table
sat the young man accused of the
murder. He followed the statement
closely throughout, as did his father.
seated at his side. A little back from
them sat Mrs. Cooper, the mother in
to whose home this tragedy has
thrown such n deep shadow, and the
defendants sister.
Little Girl on tho Stand
Immediately the reading of the
statement had been concluded. Ethel,
the 11-year-old daughter of Mr.. and
Mrs. Ross. was called to the stand.
and In her childish manner she told
some of the things which she had
knowledge of in connection with the
shooting.
Objection Overuled
When the statement was offered in
evidence Counsel Tracy Bangs for the
defense objected. but the objection
was overruled by Judge Templeton.
Here Is the story of the affair as
told by Ross:
Dying Declaration j. +,
My name is James Franklin Ross.
i was less than year old. Ny faith
ary Is. 1870. wasn't thera over nine
months. less than a year. My mother
died and my father moved away when
was les sthan a year old: My faith
., had been dead some years. He died
Ohio We moved to Lafayette. Ind. We
were there only a short time and went
to Missouri. l was something like
four years old when we moved to
Missouri. From Missouri we went to
Independence. Kansas. where lived In
the country on farm. MY father was
a farmer. ! left home when L was
thirteen years old and came up to
Storm Lake. Iowa, where worked on
a farm. I was at Storm Lake, Iowa,
about two years working on a farm
all the time. From there l came up
to st. Paul and was travelling around
through Wisconsin,, Minnesota and Da-
kota. back and forth, working in the
woods and taking in the harvest and
have worked on farms mostly; nearly
all my life has been spent on a farm,
except winters, working in the woods.
came to North Dakota in 1883, I
think, in the fall of 1888, for har-
vesting and threshing. was in Mon
tana a couple of years teaming, haul
ing supplies up in the mountains. With
in Montana have lived in North Da-
kota. Minnesota and Wisconsin. Dur
ing these different times have work.
ed on farm in the summer time and
in the winter time in the woods. I
am a married man. My wife's name
was Mary Terway. We were married
in June, 1904. wouldn't just say the
day. it slipped my memory. have
been married only once. l know Har-
~ ]. Cooper. I have known him
about two years and a half. I worked
for him about that long on the farm.
He has farm of his own. He has two
sections and q half out here. He did
have a quarter right out here. His
farm Is two miles south and about
six miles west from Hillsboro. The
other quarter that he had was a half
mile south and one mile west. That
is sold. 1t was sold while was work
ing on the other farm. the farm 1
described as being two miles south
and six miles west. Mr.. Cooper is a
married man and has family: his
wife. two daughters. and one son. the
sons name is McLain s. Cooper. He
lived on thsi farm, the quarter, the
first six months worked for him and
then he boarded here in town and
then he sold the quarter and then he
went on the Sutton farm. where he
was superintendent. In 1910 1 was
on the two places and Harry ]. Cooper
was on the Sutton farm until February
and then he moved to town-to Hills
boro. and then I chased around from
one farm to the other. From about
the middle of November. 1910 and on
during the time l was there, he was
not at the farm. He was in Florida
and Georgia. His wife and youngest
daughter were with him. The other
daughter is married and living up here
at Inkster, North Dakota. The boy,
McLain Cooper was on. the west farm
during the time that Harry j. Cooper
was down south. He boarded with us
on the farm. My wife was working
on the Cooper farm. was foreman
there. 1 was foreman two years. I
was not foreman the first six months
was there. but after 1 had been there !
six months I was hired as a foreman
on the farm. Harry J. Cooper never
was on the farm during the time I
was foreman. except that he would
drive out to the farm once in a while.
McLain Cooper, during the timo I was
foreman on the farm, was there from
April last year until this spring. II
dist church. I was working on the
Cooper farm on the 10th day of March, |
the 11th was the day quit work about
half past seven. The 10th of March,