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DRIATIG RELATION OF CARNACK'S DEATH MRS. EASTMAN, EYE-WITNESS, TELLS OF KILLING. Trial of Slayers Begins in Earnest State Outlines Presentation Of its Case. NashivUie, Tenn., Feb. 16.-Filled with dramatic incidents and marked by scenes that bordered on the sensa tional, -the frist day of the actual trial of the Cooper-Sharp case closed to night with both sides claimirfg to be well satisfied with t'he progress made. Whether Col. Duncan B. Cooper, Robin J. Cooper and John D. Sharp killed Former Senator E. W. Carmack in self-defense or as a result of a con spiracy is tihe great issue. The taking of the testimony began with every seat in the big new court room occupied. Scarcely had the at torneys been rapped into order than sensation No. 1 was produced. Mrs. E. W. Carmack, the slain senator's widow, was half carried, half assisted into the room. - She was gowned in deepest mourning. She is petite and slender. Her black veil fell nearly to 1her feet. Her knees gave way as she nee.ed her seat and she was moaning as she was placed in 'her chair. Her ittle son, Ned, aged 10, stood by his mother, patting her shoulder and try ing to keep back -is ,tears. Surprise No. 2 eame when the State called Mrs. Carmack as its first wit ness. A few questions were asked her, but she became hysterical and was excused. She was not in Nash ville at the -time the tragedy happen ed. Sensation No. 3 followed Mrs. Car mack's leaving' the stand. As Mr. Lander and her sister half carried the fainting, sobbing little woman to her chair. Ned Carmack turned squarely towards .where the defendants sat -and fixed upon bhem a look as full of hatred as it is possible to imagine. Then came the testimony of Mrs. Eastman, the star witness for the State. Mrs. Eastman is nearly 60 years old. Her hair is snow white but her features are -those of a girl and she is graceful and active. When called upon to do so she seized -the re volver said to have been found near The dead editor's body and reenacted the tragedy. When sihe had finished, her breathless spellbound audiene seemed to feel that it had witnessed thbe tragedy and at least one speeta tor broke into -applause. Her cross-examination was severe, but she held her own, smiling and calmn. When The attorney general read the indietment and as he reached the wor'ds "did willfully, maliciously and with malice aforrethxought, slay an~d murder the body of E. W. Carmack'' the widow collapsed and the eyes of Lthe two daughters of Col. Cooper, who sat near the defendants, filled with tears. The State called its witnesses and swore them. The defense waived this privilege with a statement that at the proper time. their witnesses would be called'and sworn. .Surprise Sprung. "Call the first witness,'' said the court. Then, to the surprise of every one,, Attorney General MceCann said, "Call Mrs. Carmack.'' The widow was carried to the stand by Frank Lander. She told her name and her ~husband 's occupation in a trembling voice. 'WThen did you last see your hus band alive?'' "Oh, God! Oh, God!'' she sobbed. "On Sunday, -the day before he was illed.'' For several momrnents she was un able to speak, her agitation was so great. "-When did you hear from him last?'' "'By telephone on Monday a little while be- sore he was killed.'' "What was that conversation?'' The fedense objected and was sus tai-ned. The defense declined to cross-ex -amine M-rs. Carmack and she was led back to 'her seat. The State next called E. B. Craig, former State treasurer. He saw Col. Cooper the evening of November 8 by 'appointment. "After dismissing the person-al matter which led me to Col. Cooper, the latter began to discuss tihe editor ials in T'he Tennessean. I soon learn ed that Col. Cooper was greatly agita ted and very angry. He said: "I -am an old man, a private citizen and it makes little difference whether I go or not, but if my name appears again in The Tennessean, either I or S-ena tor Carmiack must die.' He said h.e had writen Carmaek a note that -ouild not be misunderstood. "I told Carmack what Cooper had said. I then returned to see Col. Cooper and told him of my errand. I said: 'Colonel, I can accomplish noth ing.' v-iat reply did the defendant make?' " 'Then, by God, this note goes! The note 'referred to was tile one written by Col. Cooper to Senator Carmaek threatening the latter with death if the editor referred to him again. The court refused to let Craig tell 'how Calrmaek received the informa tion about Cooper's attitude or say that Carmaek expressed regret. The State next introduced in evi d-ence The Tennessean of November 9. containing ifihe editorial which led to the killing, and which, referred to Cooper as the "diplomat of the Zwei bund.'" . Craig said he did not know wheth er Carmack ever 'received the note .that Col. Cooper said would not be misunderstood. The defense passed oross-examina tion until later, and Mrs. Charles H. Eastman, who was speaking with Senator Carmek whren he was kill ed, was called. She told how she met Carmack on the day he was killed and identified the exact spot. "We Have the Drop on You." "We have the drop on youfww "We were walking very slowly and we met about .two feet from the wall which divides the Polk flats from Othe adjoining property,'" she said. "Senator Carmack came swinging along. His eyes lighted up with a pleasant look of recognition as though about to stop and talk. We stopped together by mutual agree ment as it were. He was a little sonth of me. He raised his hat and 'held it and was looking down into my eyes in a listeniig attitude. His hat was in his right hand, above 'his head. and cigar in his left -hand. I had begun a sentence and he was absorbed in it, when from behind me came a voice saying: 'Well, here you are. We have the drop on you now.'" "-Did you see any one?'" "No sir. The voice came from be hind and very near 'to me." "What did you do?" "Nothing. I saw Mr. Carmaek, with -hat still raised, look over my shoulder with a look of surprised in quiry. As he did so he ran his right hand back into his -pocket and drew slowly a pistol. It seemed to catch. aq4~ uaq.-t -aej Si oT %pur- Xtm qnd I voice began again behind me and it said: " 'You cowardly scoundrel biding behind a woman's skirts, are you? Get out you dastard.' "When I saw the revolver, I jumped ito one side and turned.'' "What position did the revolver' occupy in the senator's hand?"' "It was upside down. That is, 'he 'held it by the barrel.'' The prosecutor sent for the revol ver 'and the beautiful witness gave a dramatie illustration of itihe senator's rposition. "I put up both hands,'' she said, "and j'um'ped back like this. I heard the shot and turned; thought I recog ni.zed Dr. White as the man with the' revolver' and I 'screamed and like this: 'My God, my God! Doctor, don'"t shoot. Oh, don't, please don't.' I then recognized that it was Col. Cooper. " Then I shrank against the fence and saw young Cooper and at the' same time heard 'two other shots fir ed so rapidly ithat I thought they' were simultaneous. "Young Cooper was standing near me, 'his arm extended as though in the act of firing a pistol. I was fear fully wrought up. Senator Carmack was lying in the gutter in a pool of blood and I turned and denounced' Col. Cooper." "What did you say?'' "I said he was a brutal murderer; that 'he h'ad staken advantage of my presence to kill a man without giving him the chance of a dog; that I'd rather be the dead man in the gutter than to be 'him.'' "What did tVhe boy do ithen?'' "He walked over, looked down at Carmack's body for a minute, then1 walked to his father and put his arm around the latter. They walked away. Up to the time I went to the Polk flaits I did not know that the son was implicated in the shooting.' Held Pistol in Barrel. The witness, in answer to quiestions, said when Senator Carmack fell he still had the pistol by the barrel, up side down, elumsily in his 'hand. Slre also said that after the shooting y'oung Cooper pulit something into his pocket undl(er his overe'oat. During t he dramnatic recital Mrs. Ca.rm'ack lowered .her veil and .put her head on 'her sister's breast. Two of her friends fanned her while ancther held her hands. After -the noon recess Gen. Wash ington began to eross-'examine Mrs. Eastman. The witness was perfectly at ease. The qjue5ions5 were aimned t(o show that Col. Cooper could see Sen ator Carmack drawfl his revolver' and that as 'he did so Car'mack stepped to one side, so that she was directly between shim and Col. Cooper. "I think Mr. Carmack started to wa Coi Cooner and between :the vo!Ell)II anmd R,)]bin Cooper. I know iioxx tiat Mr. Carmack was shot froi behlind by Robin Cooper and turned out into the street,'' said the witness. "You did not see Col. Cooper fire a shot or have a weapon in -his hand ' "'No, sir.'' "You did not see Robin Cooper fire a shot or ihave a weapon in his hand?" ''No, sir.'' "And yon did not see Senattor Car mack fire a shot?" "No, sir.'' "Is your sight good?" " Splendid, thank you, general," retorted the witness smiling. "You saw .the pistol and heard the voice and you thought there would be a fight?'" "Yes, sir." "Who did you think would fight?" "I presumed ithat the man behind m;e who called the senator a cowa-rd and told ihim to get out from behind my skirts would fight and presumed Senator Carmack would defend him self if he got a chane.' Gen. Washington presseJ thli wt ness*to tell how long it would ta-e to turn a pistol into position from bar rel to handle. She declined to sa. and, pressed, a'rose dramatieally and exclaimed: "As far as I know Mr. Carmaek never reversed -that revolver, but fell dead with it held by tihe barrel in ihis hand.'" Sticks to Her Testimony. At 3 p. m. Gen. Washington con eluded and had not made the witness contradict herself in even the slight est detail. The State then questioned her a little further to prove that the erime was committed in Davidson county, Tennessee, and then excused ,her. When she left the stand Mrs. East man went directly to Mrs. Carmack's seat, put her arms around the widow and kissed her affectionately. Both women iburst into -tears and cried for a moment in one another's arms. John Tindall, aged 12, a newsboy, said 'he saw Col. Cooper and Robin a block away from the scene of the shooting about half an thour before the .tragedy. He heard Col. Cooper say either, "We will get him,'' or "We will cateh it." Dr. James Wittenberg, an oculist in the Areade, saw the Coopers pass through that passage about 20 minu tes before the shooting. With themn was Jdhn D. Sharp, 'the third defend ant. Tihe trio turned -up Fifth eavena.e and then on Union street in the direc tion of the scene of the tragedy. Ca-rey Folk, a brother of Gov. Folk of Missouri, next carried the three de fendants up Union street to within a few feet of Seventh avenue, where he saw them stand and talk. He heard Robin Cooper turn and ask his father, "Are you going up this way?'' pointing up Seventh avenue and away from the scene of the trage dy. Col. Cooper replied: "No, I'll wait a while yet.'' Witness had gone noe quite a block whren he heard shots. Hugh Morton ,told of the Carmack Taylor campaign for senator three years ago, during wvhich he said he h:ad 'heard John Sharp say: 'Since Carmack came into -politics here we have had no4thing but trou be. The - should have been in hell 20 years ago.'' Mfrs. Emily Blake, a stenographer, testified to seeing the two Coopers going into and leaving Attorney Bradford a short time before the tra gedy. and said that young Cooper looked very excited. The defense did not cross-examine her. Immediately thereafter court ad journed until 9 a. m. tomorrow. Cooper Trial Waxes Warm. Nashville, Tenn., February 17. Marked by hitter quarrels between attorneys and by -new and startling testimony, the second day of the Cooper-Sharpe t.rial for the murder of former Senator Carmaek closed to night with ithe State highly e1ated and tihe defence visibly perturbed. The tension between the factions has tightened visibily, too. This is indi cated in the cour-t room by bitter p)as sages between opposing counsel -and outside by more bitter talk by par tisans. While it was clearly a field day for the prosecution, it must be remembered that the testimony was given by the State 's witnesses only. and th-? the defence is yet to be heard f'rom. Ther-e were tihree s,tar witnesses, and all of them women. Miss Mary Skeffiington, the State librarian, and a young woman of excellent position socially, was the first. She told 'how on the day of the murder she left the State library and walked down 7th avenue, when within two hundred feet of the scene of tihe shooting she met John Sharpe, one of the de-fend ants, whom she had known for ten or twelve years. ~Just as she greeted 'him she heard th>ree shots and asked Sharme what it meant. WX'itihiout turn ing around to learn, she says, Sharpe nreled- "T'si Dune Cooner shoot Basis for Conspiracy Charge. By the second witn,?ss, Miss Daisy Lee, the State laid the foundation on which it will base its contention that ithe slaying of Carmack was the result of a conspiracy. Miss Lee is a sten ographer in the office of James Brad ford, one of the attorneys for the de fence. Robin Cooper had his office with Bradford's law firm. Miss Lee, trembling with fright and almost sick with worry, told how, on the morning of November 9, the day of the trage dy, when she arrived at ithe office she found Col. Cooper already there in conference with -his son. She heard the colonel denounce Carmack for using his, (Cooper's,) name, and de elare he had right to proteet himself. Later she beard Col. Cooper apply to him, (Carmack), epithets so vile that she icried whenordered to repeat them. The court permitted her to write them, and when they were read she covered her face with her hands. 'Kiss Lee then told how at 3 p. in. there began a conference in Bxad ford's office between the two Coopers, Bradford and Adjt. Gen Tully Brown. This conference lasted until 4 p. m., when it broke up and the Coopers left together. She said that there was a look of worry and trouble on the boy's face that sihe had never seen there before. What Stenographer Heard on Phone Miss Lee's duty among other things was to answer the telephone. There are desk extensions into the private offlees of ithe members of the firm. It was her custom to answer the tele phone and call by an electric button such members of the firm as were wanted. A half hour after the Coop ers left the office the telephone rang and, as usual, Miss Lee answered it. She heard a voice say, "Is that you, Jim?" and heard Attorney Bradford say, "Yes.' She hung up her receiver, but not before she recognized the voice as that of Col. Cooper. A moment later she heard Bradford say over the tele phone: "And did Robin kill him? Well, I'll be right up there.'" She insisted that Bradford was not in the habit of answering the telephone unless called by her. It appeared to be the intent oIL the State to have the jury believe that . a conference to slay Carmack. was held and that the killing resulted from this conference. Maid Testifies. The .third sta'r witness wa's Miss Donie Braxter, a maid sin the service of Mrs. Lucius Buneh, a daughter of Col Cooper, with wvhom he made his home. The witness 'heard Col. Coop er come into the Burch home about noon the day of the tragedy and heard 'him tell Mrs. Burceh something that greatly excited the young wo man. She heard Mrs. Bureh say: "He will kill you, papa,'' and the father's 'reply, "He is as liable to be killed as I am.'' Whatever followed caused Mrs. Burch to become hysterical. The defence made little effort to cros-examine these witnesses except in a most perfunctory manner, and court adjourned with the testimony of the State's witnesses practically un assailed. F.R. HUTER & W. K.SLIGNH Real Estate, Stocks and Mortgages Bought and Sold For Rent. Store Room on Main street, now occupied by R. J. Watts. Seven Room Cottage on Main street. Six Room Cottage on Mayer Avenue. Seven Room Resi denceon Johnstone street. Desirable Office Rooms in ~Herald and News Building. 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