WITNESS. On what dates ? Mr. PIERREPONT. The 13th and 14th. A. On the 13th my record shows that there was a first and second mail train running on schedule time, and that there were two freight trains running on schedule time from Elmira to Williamsport. Q. Were there any trains that did not run on schedule time? A. I have no record of them. Q. Were there any? A Not that I am aware of. Q. When interruptions of schedule time occurred on one part of the road, it would affect it on the other, would'nt it? A. Yes, sir. Q. Suppose this to happen-that a train running from Elmira should leave Elmira at 7.20, and another train, a slower train, should leave at 12.20, and this slower train, by reason of some detention of the express train, should overtake the express train at a distance of fifty-eight miles from there, and the passengers should get on to the express train; it would make a difference, would'nt it? They would arrive at their destination sooner? A. Yes, sir. FRANCIS E. FITCH sworn and examined. By Mr. BRADLEY: Q. Where do you reside? A. I now reside at Elmira, New York. Q. What is your occupation? A. I am train-master. I am called superintendent's clerk. Q. Where did you reside, and where were you employed, in April, 1865? A. I resided at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and was employed in the same business that I am now. Q. Have you any memorandum, or can you speak from memory, as to the time of the arrival at Williamsport on the 15th April, 1865, of the train from Harrisburg going north? A. No, sir; I did not see any train arrive, so I could not speak from memory. Q. If a train had arrived you would have known it? A. There was none on my road at all. I did not know anything about them. Q. Not at Williamsport? A. South of Williamsport I did not know anything about them. Q. In April, 1865, how did the passengers from Harrisburg for Williamsport and Elmira reach Williamsport? A. By railroad. Q. What railroad? A. "P. and E." railroad. Q. At what town does the Central railroad terminate, running up from Harrisburg? A. At Sunbury. Q. How far is Sunbury from Williamsport ? A. Forty miles. Q. There was regular railroad communication between Sunbury and Williamsport? A. I was not over the road at all, but I have understood there was. Q. Don't you know the fact that the cars arrived there with regularity? A. I am as certain as I could be, and not be on it myself. Q. Didn't you see them arrive at Williamsport? A. I did not. I saw some men on the 15th who said they came from Harris burg on that morning. Q. I want to know what was the communication from Harrisburg to Elmira during these five days in April; what route parties took from Harrisburg to Williamsport? A. I know nothing except what I gathered from other folks, but I suppose the trains run regularly with the exception of transferring the passengers across the river twice. Q. You started them from Williamsport to Elmira ? A. Yes, sir. Q. What time did your train leave Williamsport for Elmira? A. Mr. Dubarry has given it. Q. Just look yourself. WITNESS. To what day do you refer ? Mr. BRADLEY. The 15th. WITNESS. I havn't it. Q. The records of the movements of the train on the 15th? A. I have the schedule only; I have the 13th. Q. Look at the 13th. A. The train going north from Williamsport on the 13th left there 25 minutes late that morning. Q. What was the hour of starting? A. The hour of starting, I think, was at 7.20. Q. That was the 13th? A. Yes, sir. Q. Now the 14th? A. I have no record of the 14th? Q. Nor the 15th ? A. No, sir. Q. Have you any memory about it, as to whether the train run or not? A. I could not speak positively, but I suppose they run; I could not tell, however, whether they did or not. Q. Was there any other time in the day except 7:20 for the trains to leave Williamsport for Elmira ? A. On the 13th there were two trains advertised to leave Williamsport—7.20 and 7.25 a. m. Q. Both in the morning? A. Yes, sir. Q. You have no record of the 14th or 15th? A. No, sir. Q. At what hour did that train reach Elmira, running time? A, The first train's running time was five hours and thirty minutes; and the second train, which was the slower, was eleven hours. Q. Have you any memorandum of the trains coming south from Elmira on the 13th, 14th and 15th? A. Of the 13th only. Q. Give us the 13th. A. From the record I find that four trains left Elmira on the 13th. Q. Which were they? A. They were two passenger and two freight trains; that is, two sections of a passenger train and two freight trains. Q. What time did they leave Elmira ? A. The passenger traius left there at 8 o'clock in the morning. Q. What time did the freight trains leave? A. 8.05 in the morning. Q. Was there any train later in the day? A. I have no record of any. Q. What time did they leave Elmira, coming south, on the 14th? A. I have no record; I can only give the time they should have left. Q. Give the time they should have left? I refer to the regular passenger trains. A. They are advertised to leave there at 8 o'clock on the morning of the 14th; I am not certain that this schedule run the 14th; I do not remember. Q. Was there any other train that left Elmira on the 13th except those two you have mentioned? A. I have no record of any. Q. Ought not your office to contain a record? A. It ought. Q. Have you searched for it? A. I have not searched the office for the original record myself. Q. Have you searched for a copy? A. This is a copy that I have. Q. That is the 13th? A. Yes, sir; I have none of the 14th. Q. Have you any memorandum in your office showing that any other train left Elmira except this? A. No, sir. Q. Passengers by the train leaving there at 8 or 8.20 should reach Harrisburg at what time? A. I cannot say positively as to that, but I think they had to lie in Williamsport until ten in the evening, and so reach Harrisburg at 2 in the morning. Q. Did they not in 1865 lie in Williamsport until the Erie train coming from the West reached Williamsport? A. I think the regular passengers did; but there must have been other trains. Mr. BRADLEY. I am speaking of your knowledge. You do not know of any other? A. My memory is not worth anything as regards speaking positively of certain dates. Q. Is there any train coming south from Williamsport, except from Williamsport to Sunbury? A. I do not know of any other railroad. They call it east and west. Mr. BRADLEY. But it is going southeast from Williamsport to Sunbury, and there it strikes the Northern Central, which brings them to Harrisburg and Baltimore. Is there any other route coming south from Williamsport? A. I am not aware of any other railroad coming south. Q. Then they left Williamsport at 10 or half past 10 at night. What time did they leave Williamsport coming from Sunbury? A. I think between 9 and 10-perhaps at 10. Q. Can you tell by your schedule what time they reached Harrisburg ?. A. No, sir. Q. I thought you said about 2 o'clock ? A. That is my memory-that is by the schedule time. Q. Then they reached Baltimore at about what time? A. Reached there at 7 o'clock in the morning. They were advertised to reach there at that time. Cross-examined by Mr. PIERREPONT: Q. Where were you on the 13th of April, 1865 ? A. I cannot say positively, but I suppose I was at Williamsport. Q. That is your best memory ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Won't you tell the jury, as near as you can, how far Williamsport is from Elmira ? A. Seventy-eight miles. Q. In what direction? A. Elmira is north of Williamsport. Q. What was the running time at that period between Elmira and Williamsport by the passenger train? WITNESS. On the 13th ? Mr. PIERREPONT. Yes, sir. A. Five hours and thirty minutes. Q. You moved the trains on the 13th yourself? A. The trains moved themselves, [laughter;] that is, the conductors moved them. I did not give the order for the train to start. his own train. Q. Were you at Williamsport superintending? A. I was at Williamsport, I think on the 13th. Each conductor started Q. Won't you tell the jury at what time on the 13th the train left going south? A. I have no record of any train south from Williamsport, and therefore cannot say positively. Q. Can you say at what hour it left? A. I can say at what hour they were advertised to leave there. Q. What hour was that? A. About 9 o'clock in the morning, and about 10 o'clock p. m. Q. The interruptions that had occurred at that time were supplied by ferry? A. I never was over the route when the ferry was employed. Q. These other routes you know nothing about yourself, I suppose? A. I was not on them. Q. Do you know what other routes there are that run from Elmira to Baltimore? A. I think four. One route is from Elmira to Great Bend, from Great Bend to Scranton, from Scranton to Northumberland, from Northumberland to Sunbury, and then to Harrisburg. Q. Give us the second. A. I think there is another one which runs from Elmira to Great Bend, from Great Bend to Scranton, and from Scranton to Philadelphia. Q. What other one? A. There is another one from Elmira to Great Bend, from Great Bend to Scranton, from Scranton to Allentown, from Allentown to Reading, and thence to Harrisburg. There is likewise one from New York. By Mr. BRADLEY : Q. How far is it from Elmira to Great Bend? A. I cannot say, exactly. I figured it up not long ago as being eighty-five miles further by way of Great Bend and Scranton than by the direct route. PATRICK MCDONOUGH Sworn and examined. Q. State if you know John Lee, examined as a witness in this case. A. Yes, sir. Q. Did you know him in Philadelphia ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know his general character, among those with whom he is asso ciated, for truth and veracity? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was it good or bad? A. Very bad. Q. Would you believe him on his oath? A. I would not. By Mr. PIERREPONT: Q. When did you know him in Philadelphia? A. I knew him from about 1843 until about 1853 or 1854, I think A. No, sir. A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know John Lee, who has been examined as a witness in this case? A. I do. Q. Did you know him when he resided in Philadelphia? A. I did. Q. Do you know his general character, among his neighbors and among those with whom he associates, for truth and veracity? A. I do. A. I have. His general reputation is that he is a natural liar. [Laughter.] JOHN O'DONNELL sworn and examined. Q. Do you know John Lee, who has been examined as a witness in this case? A I do. Q. Do you know his character for truth and veracity among his neighbors, and those among whom he associates ? A. I do. Q. What is it? |