Gaut Gurley; Or, the Trappers of Umbagog: A Tale of Border LifeThompson, Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce)
General
Gaut Gurley; Or, the Trappers of Umbagog: A Tale of Border Life
Thompson, Daniel P. (Daniel Pierce)
Frontier and pioneer life -- Fiction; Maine -- Fiction; Trappers -- Fiction
Moose-killer was then called on to the witnesses' stand, when, for the
first time, Gaut exhibited evident feigns of uneasiness, and whispered
something in the ear of his counsel, who thereupon rose and went into a
labored argument against the admissibility of the evidence of an Indian,
who was a pagan, and knew nothing about the God whose invocation
constituted the sacred effect of the oath he had taken. But, on the
questioning of the court, Moose-killer declared his full belief in the
white Christian's God and Bible, and this objection was overruled, and the
witness requested to proceed with his story.
The demure Indian, unmoved by the burning and vengeful eye of Gaut, which
was kept constantly riveted upon him, then succinctly but clearly related
all the facts, of which the reader has been apprised in the preceeding
pages, in relation to the atrocious deed under investigation. And at the
conclusion of his story he produced the bullet found imbedded in the tree,
called attention to its smeared and flattened appearance, and then asked
for the prisoner's rifle, to see whether it would fit in the bore. The
rifle in question was then brought into court, the bullet applied to the
muzzle, and pronounced an exact fit! A shout of exultation burst from the
crowd, and in a tone so significant of the public feeling, and of their
unanimous opinion on this point, that for a moment both the prisoner and
his counsel were completely disconcerted. But, soon rallying, the latter
started to his feet, and, having summoned back to its place his usual
quantum of brass, demanded "the privilege of just looking at that rifle
they were all making such a fuss about." It was accordingly handed to him;
when, after noticing the size of the bore, which was a common one, and then
glancing at some other rifles held in the hands of different spectators, he
confidently requested that the first half-dozen rifles to be found among
the crowd should be brought on to the stand. Five of the designated number
were soon gathered and brought forward; and it was found, in the
comparison, that three of them were of the same bore as that of Gaut, and
that the ball in question would fit one as well as another.
"There! what has become of your bullet evidence now?" sneeringly exclaimed
the exulting attorney. "Wondrous conclusive, a'n't it? But, as weak as the
whole story is, I will make it still weaker. It is my turn with you now, my
foxy red friend," he added, settling back in his seat to commence his
cross-examination.
His vaunted cross-examination, however, resulted in giving him no
advantage. The Indian could not be made, in the whole hour the brow-beating
inquisitor devoted to him, either to cross himself or vary a single
statement of his direct testimony, and he was petulantly ordered to leave
the stand.
"Not done talk yet," said Moose-killer, lingering, and glancing inquiringly
to the court and the counsel for the prosecution. "More story me tell yet."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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