Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, April 11, 1907, Page 1

THE BEMIDJI DATILY PION NKESOTA mi VOLUME 4. NUMBER 298 BEMIDJ1, MINNESOTA, THURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 11, 1907. TEN CENTS PER WEEK FOURNIER ON STAND IN HIS OWN BEHALF; FAMOUS DAHL MURDER CASE NEARS CLOSE Defense Tried Hard to Impeach Evidence of State’s Witness- es---H. J. Loud Attempted to Contradict Evidence of A. J. Westerchill, State’s Expert on Ammuni- Late yesterday afternoon, af- ter the Pioneer had gone to press, the state began the intro- duction of testimony to show how loneg Paul Fournier had worked during the spring of 1904 from the beginning of March until June, when the search for the bodies of the Dahl’s became active and the bodies were later found. The introducing of the testi- mony was vigorously opposed by the defendant’s counsel, but with a few restrictions the entire testimony was recorded. It was shown that [fournier bad worked on drives and on the Rad Lake and the amouunt he had received was just $58.15. This was followed by testi- mony of Mrs. Eogene Cald- well that Fournier had at least seven or eight ten dollar bills when he returned from working on ths drives, about June 10, two months after the Dahl’s were killed. The defense entered an objec- tion to this testimony, on the ground that the crime of killing the Dahl’s was supposed to have been committed on April 7 and June 10 was too remote to be relevant. County Attorney Funkley stated that the state proposed to show that the amount of money that Fournier would'have earned up to the time of coming back from the Tamarack river was much less than he had shown and that the amount shown was more than be could possibly give account for. The court over-ruted the ob- jection of the defense. It was shown that Fournier had bought stuff that amnunted to $46 and that he displayed seven or eight ten dollar bills which he could not have come by through work. Mr. Emerson was called and testified to selling a horse to Fournier. Testimony was also introduced showing that Fournier was at Caldwell’s conyersation turnad to the dis. appearance of the Dahl’s, Cald- well had said that it was up to him (Caldwel ), Wesley and Four- nier as to the disappearance of the Dahl’s, and vhat he was inno- cent, and that Fournier’s face had colored terribly at the ac cusation. Thomas Haydn testified that he had worked with Fournier on the Blackduck river in the spring of 1904, Saw him there in Juae, 1904, and Fournier had talked about the Dahl’s. Paul had said the old man had got the girl out of the country. Later, Haydn had worked with Fournier at the same place in the spring of 1905, and when reference was made to “Shorty” Wesley leaving the country, Haydn had told Feur- nier that he had read in a paper that “Shorty’’ had been found. Fournier had said thas it would make no difference and that he knew how to keep his wmouth shut. When told that ‘‘Shorty” had been found on Battle River with old man Dahl’s watch and the girl’s ring on him, Fournier had said he thought the —— knew better than that. The defense worked with Haydn and mixed him somewhat, house and that when| tion and Firearms troduce testimony connecting Fournier with a pair of overalls found near the body of Miss Aagot Dahl. There was red paint on the overalls and Mr. Funkley tried to show that the paint was at Martindale’s when Fournier was working there, thereby showing ownership. This was considered too remote and was not allowed by the court, on objection by the attor- neys for the defendant. Deputy Sheriff John Bailey testified to finding a coat and cap in Four- nier’s shanty, on which there was red paint, and an effort was made to connect this fact with the case against Fournier, but this evidence was also thrown out,. John Gilstad, who was deputy sheriff in the spring and summer of 1904, again related the circum- stance of being at Caldwell’s and when the subject of the disap- pearance of the Dahl’s was taken up that Fournier acted very sus- piciously and when Caldwell stated thatit was up to him, *‘Shorty”’ and Fournier, the latter had turned purple and changed the subiect. M rs. Eugere Caldwell corro- Gilstad. Mrs. Ike Halvorson told of be- toteroad to old man Dahl’s shanty, after the disappearance of the Dahl’s and seeing tracks leading part way to the old man’s shanty. The tracks were larger than those made by Mrs. Halvorson’s foot, she wearing rubber boots. Court adjourned until this morning at 9. MORNING SESSION Hugh Dean was recalled and identifigl the time checks with which he paid Paul Fournier while the latter was working for him, for the purpose of correct- ing his testimony of yesterday, showing the wannigan account. Cross-examined, witness was somewhat mixed, butstuck to original statement'of havizg paid Fournier $58.15 cash. William Butler re-called. On direct examination reiter- ated that he took Paul Fournier from Buena Vistato his claim, and that he was to receive $5, which was never paid. Dr. Marcum re-called. Direct examination. Shown cap identified as belong- ing to N.O. Dahl. Found hole in skull, and also found hole in cap car. burn. in. powder been fired at close range. 0. C. Rood re-called. On direct midji on July 27 or 28, that of N. O. Dahl. but he stuck to the principal part of his story. The state attempted to in- A. J. Westerchill called. Direct examination by Funk- ley. borated the testimony given by’ ing on the trail leading from the! cap corresponding to hole in top of skull identified as N. O.!Dahl’s entering the back of skull above Witness testified there were burns on the cap where the bul- let holes were shown, and that one of the burns was a powder Cross-examination by Scru‘ch- If the burn testified to isa burn shot must have examination Mr. Rood testified to being in Be- 1904, at undertaking rooms, and identi- tied a body lying there as being The witness stated that at the present time he is traveling in the interests of the Peters Cart- ridge Company of Cincinnati, for the purpose of demonstrating as well as advertising the superior qualities of their shells and cart- ridges. His demonstration work consists of fancy rifle, pistol and shot gun shooting; he has been with this firm a little over two years, has had extensive experi- ence in shooting the various cal- ibres being a decided fire-arm enthusiast, while his practice has not been confined solely to giving fancy exhibitions of shoot- g, but he has had actual and extensive experience in killing various game with rifles of nearly all the standard calibres and therefor is well posted as to their action on flesh and bone tissues, not only that but he 1s well post- ed on the various breech pres- sures and trejectories of the var- ious calibres of modern sporting rifles from a practical stand- point. His testimony indicated that the chief difference be- tween a 38-40 and a 303 savage, lies in the difference of velocity of the two calibres. The velocity of a 88-40 being |about 1250 feet per second, while { that of a 308 is nearly 1840 feet per second. The 303 savage hav- ling a sharp pointed bullet will enter a given substance more easily and will leave a smaller hole at its point of entrance than the .38-40,which en account of its greater diameter lower velocity as well as a fiat point will enter with a crushing force leaving a ragged hole at the point of en- trance much more so than the 303, because the great velocity at which the .303 travels does not give it time to mushroom on first impact with either flesh or bone, for instance in shooting a .303 into wood the first one half inch of its penetration will show scarcely any mushrooning of the bullet, same being the case in shooting the bullet into a quart- erinch plate of machine steel, there being scarcely any differ- lence in the diameter of the open- ing at the point of entrance and the point of exit. The tearing power of a.303 can be best demonstrated by shooting at a can of water or to- matoes. The bullet entering the can will leave a hole, but slightly lar- ger than its own diameter, but the instant it comes in contact with the contents of the can,such as water or tomatoes, it will send these flying in every dir- ection wlth such force as to tear the can wide open, and the water will disappear in a mist. The reason for this is that the striking power of the cartridge being about 1400 pounds per inch. Itseems that this water or tomatoes, will be put under such pressure at the instant of the impact with the bullet, and such pressure, of course is sufficient to tear the can. Therefore, while the tearing power of a .303 will be a great deal stronger after it has en- tered a given substance its point of entrance will be a great deal smaller than of the 38 40 The point of a 88-40 will be scarcely any larger than its point of entrance, unless it has lmet with serious resistence, | while the point of exit .308, will be several times its original diameter even in flesh, provid- ing the soft point bullet is used. The testimony of the expert was strongly corroborative of the theory of the state, that the holes in theskull of N. O. Dahl could not have been wade by a 303 Savage bullet, but were made by a 38-40 bullet, the same kind that was used in the rifle belong- ing to William Krueger, which was in the possession of Wesley and Fournier on April 7, 1904. Wm. Butler called. Mr. Fank- ley referred witness back to time when Butler took Fournier to his claim, Fourvier said he would pay Butler later. Object- ed to. Court reserved decision. State offered in evidence, rings, belonging to Mr. Dahl and daughter, cap of N. O. Dahl, skull of N. O. Dahl, gun of Wm. Krueger, piece of coat cut from garment worn by Aagot Dahl, also hatpin, which were allowed without obijection. A pair of pants found in Paul Fournier’s cabin were identified by Mrs. Caldwell as belonging to Paul Fournier, but cross.ex- amined said she was not sure just which occasion she saw Fournier wearing them. Objection as to receiving pants as evidence, also as to button said to have been found near the body of Aagot Dahl, claimed to have been on pants. Objection sustained and evi- dence of Mrs. Caldwell stricken out on motion of Mr. Strutchin. STATE RESTS, Defendant moved to bar testi- mony bearing on color of Miss Dahl’s hair, as 1ncompetent, irrelevant and immaterial and not sufficiently identified, and the case be dismissed, state hav- ing wholly failed to prove case as alleged in indictment, Overruled. John M, Martin opened the case for the defense and address- ed the jury. Mr. Martin reminded the twelve good men and true, the place they now occupied as indi- viduals was not equaled by any king, potente or other officer on earth; they had the power to de- cide whether a human being was guilty of a crime that might send him to the gallows. Speaker wanted to impress on the minds of each that not one of their number could be brought to justice for what he might de- cide in this case; his action could not be questioned either in court or out. He, as associate connsel for the defense, felt his respon- sibility in the matter and he be- lieved the state’s attorney felt his responsibility. Mr. Martin was proud he was an American citizen, but he was not so proud of his country that he could not appreciate its faults. In'the laws of this land the state was all-powerful; it had all means at its command. Itis seldom that ina criminal case the de- fense is on an equality with the state. In swating - what the defense intended to prove by its witness- es, Mr. Martin stated that they would 1mpeach the testimony of Owen Fournier, that untruthful brother who told of an alleged confession that Paul should have made—thdt he killed the Dahl’s. The defense would also impeach the testimony of Eugene Cald well and his wife, and, in referring to Mrs. Caldwell the speaker gave a satrical illustration of the vo- cabilary and talkative abilities of the lady in question, He likened Mrs. Caldwell’s talk to the pulling up of the flood-gates of a dam. According to the speaker, the defense would show that Cald- well, in finding the body of N. O. Dahl, had wilfully lied on the stand. The defense would also show the resuits of bullet wounds, Last, but not least, the defense would pubthe defendant him- self on the stand, and the mem- bers of the jury could judge for themselves if he was a man who had blushed and turned purple When the disappearance of the {Dahl’s was mentioned to him. Mr Martin concluded by the declaration that the state was attempting to weave a garment out of rotten and suspicious cloth. The jury should not be prejudiced by evidence. AFTERNOON SESSION. sent this afternoon, many being ladies, the belief being general go to the jury late tonight. The members of the jury hayve been as alert as ever this after- circumstantial | ““God’s will be done.” | There was a large crowd pre-| that the case would be closed and ; iuoon, their confinement having not in the least dulled their de- sire to hear and see everything offered by both the state and the defense. Fournier was as wide-awake as ever, and conversed freely with his counsel, offering suggestions. His nerve never deserted him for an instant. Frank Rodin was the first wit- ness called by the defense. On direct examination by Mar- tin Mr. Rodin testified he was a resident of Blackduck; had lived there five years, and knows Paul Fournier. Saw Paul at mouth of Blackduck river June, 1904. Paul said he had purchased a horse. Askea if Fournier had purchas- ed a horse, the county attorney objected, as being immaterial. Objection overruled. Witness said Paul had some provisions, didn’t know just how imuch. Witness asked if he exchanged work with Fournier in July, Mr. Funkley objected, as date was not fixed as in the testimony of the state covered June. Court sustained the objection, that the testimony was not ac- ceptable at this time. Cross-examined by Mr. Funk- ley. Witness testified he keeps a saloon in Blackduck. Fournier had a ham when he was at the mouth of Blackduck river; that’s all witness was sare of. H. W. Bailey was called and on direct examination testified that he was a member of of the grand jury at the fall term of court, 1904. He had been in the jury room all the time except for 20 minutes. Witness stated that Ceunty Attorney Loud had asked Mrs. Caldwell, to tell all she knew concerning the murder of the Dahl’s. Witness had also asked her, and she had replied that she had told all she knew. Mr. Bailey continuing his tes- timony said that Mrs. Caldwell had not told the same story to the grand jury as at this trial. Also that she did not tell the truth, when she stated that Mr. Loud had not asked her to tell all she knew. Mr. Funkley made objections to many questions asked the Continued on last page. ight 1906 by David Adler & Sons Clotring Company tivaukee Navy and Brown Ladies’ Belts, one lot, special Stork Pants, Antlseptlc Mail [ Money’s Orders Worth o | Leary and Bowser : Prompt Money Attention The Greater Department Store Back Men’s Finer Apparel The difference between the clothing we sell and that of other makes is evident by these facts: Our Collegian Clothes—Are perfectly tailored Are beautifully finished Are standard styles Are handsome fabrics Are highest quality Are ideally fitting Are reasonably priced— Suits, Rain Coats, Top Coats, New Furnishings, Shirts, Hats, Ties, Etec. 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