Year: 1877

CrOsssExamtnatfOn of Eliza PinlxBtOns


Senator Mcdonald, of Indiana consumed
between three and four hours yesterday in
cross examining this unfortunate woman.
SO far as it was an attempt to break the
force of her direct testimony in the most
minute particular, it was an absolute fail
ure. The Senator had secured an early ad.
journment of the committee on the previous
day, after Mrs. Pinkston had given her d.
rect testimony, to give the case careful
study, and had devoted the night to COM
parison of that testimony with that which
she gave before the Returning Board and
that given by her in the case against George
Phillips and Tom Lyons before the First
Municipal Police Court. Senator Mo
Donald questioned the witness as to
nearly every circumstance of the slight.
est Importance in her life, and especially as
to every detail during the three weeks
which extended from the night of the trag-
edy to the day on which she arrived in Mon
roe and sought the protection of United
States officers. 1t would by no means be
surprising if person of more than ordinary
intelligence, who had passed through so
horrible an experience as that of Eliza
Pinkston, should be unable to remember
exactly whether q certain event of slight
Importance had occurred before or after
another event of similar unimportance.
But the witness in this case was in no in
stance puzzled as to the order of the events
which she had narrated, and the cross ex-
animation only served to brig out with
additional clearness the horrible and dis
gustiug details OF the crime. She was in
her direct testimony very clear as to the
tact of Henry Pinkston having been firm
and persistent Republican, detailing the
conversations which she had with him in
regard to attending Democratic and Repub-
lican meetings the week before he was
killed.


The attempt to diminish the force of Eliza
Pinkston's statement by producing evidence
that her character is bad can not by any
means be considered as successful. When it
is taken into confederation that most of the
evidence in that direction comes from par
ties who are either implicated or are friends
of those implicated by her in the wrongs
which she has already endured, the evi-
dence can not have great weight. When
questioned yesterday by Senator Mcdonald,
as to the alleged fact of her twin children
being found in fence corner where they
had been thrown to be destroyed, previous
to her marriage with Henry Pinkston, she
exhibited no little indignation and declared
that the father of the children, a white man,
stood at her bedside when they were born,
and when they died he buried them decent
ly sin nice coffin"


Even, however, if she were the worst
woman in the world, which she certainly
does not appear to be, that would not give
the slightest character to the Outrages and
indignities which she has suffered, and
which depend upon no further evidence
than the undisputed fact of her husband
and childs death and her own wounds.
Whether the parties whom she alleges com
mitted the crime, or others, are the guilty
ones, this fact is patent: That no effort was
made by the people in that neighborhoOd to
bring to justice the inhuman wretohes who
had done deed which, as Governor Palmer
said, was "a disgrace to humanity" and
has shocked civilization everywhere. No
reasonable excuse can be offered for this
apathy.


While it would not, perhaps, be proper to
say that this tragedy is one of the objects
of the Democratic party, it certainly is one
of the legitimate results of the bulldozing,
rifle club campaign which was carried on
by the Democratic party in this State last
summer and fall.