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                    Shavalier

D A R W I N   G   C H E L A V I E R, having been produced as a witness for and in behalf of the people, and having first been duly sworn, testified as follows:

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. LILLIE:

Q

Where abouts do you live?

A

I live in the village of Sullivan.

Q

How long have you lived there?

A

I have been there a trifle over nine years.

Q

Do you know William Shimmel the respondent here?

A

Yes, sir, I do.

Q

How long have you known him?

A

Well I should judge thirteen or fourteen years, maybe a little longer.

Q

Do you remember of the time of the Golden murder in Denison?

A

I heard of it shortly after.

Q

Were you in Sullivan on the evening after the murder, in the afternoon?

A

On the evening of the 24^th?

Q

On the evening of the 24^th.

A

I were.

Q

At about what time did you get in?

A

Well I live right in the village of Sullivan.

Q

Your farm is how far?

A

Our farm is a mile and a quarter east where we are raising beets.

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Q

Were you on the farm that afternoon?

A

Yes, sir.

Q

About what time did you come up?

A

Well I think in the neighborhood of four o’clock.

Q

Now at any time that afternoon or evening did you see Mr. Shimmel the respondent here?

A

I did.

Q

Where was he when you saw him?

A

He was going through the village of Sullivan going north.

Q

And what did he have with him?

A

He was alone, he had a horse and buggy, an open buggy.

Q

Who, if anybody was with you?

A

Alfred Lenquist and me were standing talking in the street as he passed.

Q

Where abouts were you standing in the street?

A

At the corner of the post office or door there, Spoons store.

Q

Whether or not either one of you spoke to Shimmel?

A

I did, I just said, “hellow Bill” that was all, and he just nodded his head and did not stop.

Q

What is his usual custom?

A

Why he is always friendly enough so far as I know.

Q

Generally likes to stop and talk doesn’t he?

A

In fact I will state my acquaintance with him, I have known him by sight for quite a number of years and have saw him now and then I knowed the man well when I saw him, he worked in the kilns there in Sullivan sometimes, I think I can get pretty close to it - - well about 1900 or 1901 along there.

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Q

He worked in the kilns?

A

He worked in the kilns, and this Mr. Lenquist that was with me was working in the kilns at the same time.

Q

Now what direction was he apparently coming from with his team when you saw him going through?

A

Well he was coming from the south when I saw him.  The road angles after you get a block or half a block from the store, it angles each way and separates out a mile apart before it goes straight south.  Now I couldn’t say which one of those roads he came on, don’t know anything about that, for I didn’t see him until the buggy got right up close to us.

Q

But he certainly must have come on one or the other of those roads?

A

Sure.

Q

So he was coming from the south?

A

Coming from the south, yes, sir.

Q

And went on north?

A

Yes, sir.

Q

About what time of day would you say this was?

A

Well I should judge it was in the neighborhood of four o’clock.

Q

Have you seen him since?

A

Not until just now when I came in here.

Q

How was he dressed if you remember?

A

Well it is pretty hard for me to tell, but I should judge that he had a kind of dark brown or black - - or something that had worn light --

Q

(Interrupting)  A faded overcoat?

A

Yes, sir.  I think he had a black slouch hat on.

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Q

How did he have the hat on?

A

Why I think a little on one side of his head.

Q

On the back of his head or pulled over his eyes?

A

I will tell you, it was something that I didn’t take much notice of, I just merely saw him and spoke to him.  And t make this statement more satisfactory to everybody so that you will understand it, I don’t never want to say a word that would harm anybody in any shape - - how this thing came up, I am raising sugar beets near the village of Sullivan, have been, this is my ninth year there, I have a great many people, sometimes a hundred and fifty working.

    MR. PARK:  I object to this unless it is in answer to some question.

Q

Go on.

A

What I was going to state, there is some of my people that I furnished feed for.  When they have to go off to the mills themselves they have to lay off a day or two and I don’t like to have them spend their time in the spring of the year, and there was two that wanted feed that time, and I came up the track to telephone Mr. David Drennen a feed merchant in Muskegon.

    MR. PARK:  I object to all of this as immaterial and irrelevant, it has nothing to do with this case.

    THE COURT:  Is this to establish a date?

    THE WITNESS:  Yes, sir, to establish a date, how I establish it, I wanted to make it as clear as I could for everybody.

Q

Go on.

A

Well I went there and telephoned for feed.  While I was talking, before I went into the store with this here Lenquist, he was

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A

just coming out of the store and talking when this man passed through.  Well you know I knew nothing about this murder at that time nor hadn’t heard of it.  I telephoned for the feed and went back to my house and a few hours after that when I got my paper why then I saw this murder, that was the first that I had heard of it.  Well I didn’t connect anybody with the murder because they were all strangers to me.  I never saw Mr. Golden as I know of in the world, and don’t know as I had ever heard of him before until some time ago Mr. Woodbury came and took dinner to my place, him and another gentleman, and were talking about  this, Mr. Woodbury was telling about Mr. Shimmel I think he said that he was home at seven o’clock the night of the 23^rd, and I says he would just about have  time to get here - - I wasn’t thinking or I would have kept my mouth shut for I didn’t want to come out here.

    MR. PARK:  I ask to have this stricken out, stating what this other man said.

    THE COURT:  That would not be evidence.

    THE WITNESS:  (Continuing)  And he asked why, I says he passed through here about four o’clock

    MR. PARK:  Don’t state anything that he said or you said unless it was in the presence of the respondent, it would be hearsay.

    THE WITNESS:  Of course he wasn’t there.

Q

After you had talked with Woodbury what did you do then?

A

After I had talked with Woodbury he asked me what date that was.

    MR. PARK:  I object to anything that he asked you.

Q

Then what did you do after that?