Valdez daily prospector., 1918-04-12
"YOU SHO' DID"

The case at bar was that of a negro charged with having murdered his wife On the witness stand was gen. tleman of colored persuasion, testi- flying, so he thought. for the prosecu- tion. At the preliminary examination he had remembered very little about the matter; in fact, about the only testimony he gave was his name, age, address, and occupation. and the fact that he had heard a shot, and had lies looked in de room" some time after. and had seen the body of the deceased lying on the floor. Beyond that he knew nothing of the case.
 At the trial, however. he demon strated an amazing knowledge of the entire affair. Under the questioning of the district attorney he described the exact position of the body. the wall paper, how the curtains hung, the flyspecks on the ceiling, the To- cation of the furniture. the bullet holes in the wall, and the entire con- tents of the room, in @ most accurate fashion, even remembering that the spout of the teakettle was pointing northeast.
 Upon being cross-examined by counsel for the defense, he stuttered and foundered about in most laugh able manner. Finally counsel for the defense asked him if his memory was not much better now than 1t had been at the preliminary examination. to which he replied that he thought eft was some bettah." Thereupon counsel for the defense read his testimony taken at the preliminary examination wherein he had stated on oath that he had then told everything he knew with reference to the case. Counsel for the defense continued:
 'Is it not fact that some one from the district attorneys office took you down there to that house and showed you the position in which this furni- ture was supposed to have been at the time of the shooting? Is 1t not true that some one has told you what to testify to at this trial. or has refresh ed" your memory in some very ma terial way?"
 No response.
 "Is it not true, as certain as you live, that these bullet holes you des- cribe so glibly were pointed out to| you by some one interested in the prosecution of this case, and that you had never seen or heard of them until day or two ago?"
 The district attorney could bear it no longer. He rose to his feet. his face white with anger. and, looking as naughty and aggressive as fat, bald-headed man five and half feet tall can ever look, he gazed straight into the face of the negro. and, in a most sarcastic manner, said:
 "I suppose I am the man who took you down there to that house and pointed out all these things to you! suppose I am the man who showed you these bullet holes that you had never seen before, and who caused you in some very material way to commit perjury in the trial of this case! I suppose I am the man. eh?"
 The negro jumped out of the wit ness chair, thumped his fist down on the reporters table. and beloved:
 "You sho' did! You sho' did!"
 The bailiff banged loudly for order, and the judge, with dark scowl on his face, ordered that short recess be taken. Some one went into the judges chambers five minutes later, and found him, the dignified judge, lying on a couch convulsed with laughter, and trying very hard to ar ticulate:
 "You sho' did! You sho' did!"