Q. Won't
you state what was said by her and by you, and then go on and state the
conversation which followed? A. I think when she came in she said, "I
have taken your advice, and I have written to Marion that I will come."
I don't know what came in between, I don't know as this followed that,
but I said, "I am glad you are going," as I had urged her to go before.
And I don't know just what followed, but I said something about her
having a good time, and she said, "Well, I don't know; I feel
depressed. I feel as if something was hanging over me that I cannot
throw off, and it comes over me at times, no matter where I am." And
she says, "When I was at the table the other day, when I was at Marion,
the girls were laughing and talking and having a good time, and this
feeling came over me, and one of them spoke and said, 'Lizzie, why
don't you talk?' "
Q. [By
Mr. Moody] Well, then, go on and state how the conversation went
on, taking your own method. A. I suppose it followed right on after
that. When she spoke, she says, "I don't know; Father has so much
trouble." Oh, I am a little ahead of the story. She said, "Mr. and Mrs.
Borden were awfully sick last night." And I said, "Why, what is the
matter; something they have eaten?" She said, "We were all sick," she
said, "all but Maggie." And I said, "Something you think you have
eaten?" She said, "We don't know. We had some baker's bread, and all
ate of it but Maggie, and Maggie wasn't sick." And I said, "Well, it
couldn't have been the bread; if it had been baker's bread I should
suppose other people would be sick, and I haven't heard of anybody."
And she says, "That is so." And she says, "Sometimes I think our milk
might be poisoned." And I said, "Well, how do you get your milk; how
could it be poisoned?" And she said, "We have the milk come in a can
and set on the step, and we have an empty can. We put out the empty can
overnight, and the next morning when they bring the milk they take the
empty can." And I said, "'Nell, if they put anything in the can the
farmer would see it." And then I said-I asked her what time the milk
came, if she knew. She said, "I think about four o'clock." And I said,
"Well, it is light at four. I shouldn't think anybody would dare to
come then and tamper with the cans for fear somebody would see them."
And she said, "I shouldn't think so." And she said, "They were awfully
sick; and I wasn't sick, I didn't vomit; but I heard them vomiting and
stepped to the door and asked if I could do anything, and they said,
No."
Q. Now, go
on with the conversation.
A. Well, I
think she told me that they were better in the morning and that Mrs.
Borden thought that they had been poisoned, and she went over to Dr
Bowen's—said she was going over to Dr Bowen's.
Q. Well,
we won't follow that any further. Is there any other thing that she
began to talk about? Proceed in your own way, Miss Russell.
A. I can't
recall anything just now. Of course she talked about something else,
because she was there two hours, but I cannot think about it.
Q.
Anything about trouble with tenants, or anything of that sort?
A. She
says, "I don't know," she says, "I feel afraid sometimes that Father
has got an enemy. Far," she said, "he has so much trouble with his men
that come to see him." She told me of a man that came to see him, and
she heard him say-she didn't see him, but heard her father say, "I
don't care to let my property for such business." And she said the man
answered sneeringly, "I shouldn't think you would care what you let
your property for." And she said, "Father was mad and ordered him out
of the house." She told me of seeing a man run around the house one
night when she went home. I have forgotten where she had been. She
said, "And you know the barn has been broken into twice." And I said,
"Oh well, you know well that that was somebody after pigeons; there is
nothing in there for them to go after but pigeons." "Well," she says,
"they have broken into the house in broad daylight, with Emma and
Maggie and me there." And I said, "I never heard of that before." And
she said, "Father forbade our telling it." So I asked her about it, and
she said it was in Mrs. Borden's room, what she called her dressing
room. She said her things were ransacked, and they took a watch and
chain and money and car tickets, and something else that I can't
remember. And there was a nail left in the keyhole; she didn't know why
that was left; whether they got in with it or what. I asked her if her
father did anything about it, and she said he gave it to the police,
but they didn't find out anything; and she said father expected that
they would catch the thief by the tickets. She remarked, "Just as if
anybody would use those tickets."
Q. Yes. Is
there anything else that you recall? Anything about burning the house?
A. She
said, "I feel as if I wanted to sleep with my eyes half open—with one
eye open half the time—-for fear they will
burn the house down over us."
Q. Is
there anything else that occurs to you in the conversation? A. Oh, she
said, "I am afraid somebody will do something; I don't know but what
somebody will do something." I think that was the beginning.
Q. Please
state that.
A. "I
think sometimes—I am afraid sometimes that somebody will do something
to him; he is so discourteous to people." And then she said, "Dr. Bowen
came over. Mrs. Borden went over, and Father didn't like it because she
was going; and she told him where she was going, and he says, 'Well, my
money shan't pay for it.' She went over to Dr Bowen's, and Dr Bowen
told her—she told him she was afraid they were poisoned—and Dr. Bowen
laughed, and said, No, there wasn't any poison. And she came back, and
Dr. Bowen came over." And she said, "I am so ashamed, the way Father
treated Dr. Bowen. I was so mortified." And she said after he had gone
Mrs. Borden said she thought it was too bad for him to treat Dr. Bowen
so, and he said he didn't want him coming over there that way.
Q. Upon
the next morning, August 4th, did you receive a visit from Bridget
Sullivan?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What
did you do then?
A. I went
over to Mr. Borden's. Lizzie was there. I think she was standing in the
door, leaning against the doorframe. I asked her to sit down in the
rocking chair, which she did. I cannot tell it in order, for it was
disconnected. People came around; I don't know who they were. Later,
when she told us about going to the barn, I asked her, "What did you go
to the barn for, Lizzie?" And she said, "I went to get a piece of tin
or iron to fix my screen." She said my screen. I heard about the note
to Mrs. Borden; I don't know who told it. I started to loosen her
dress, thinking she was faint, and she said, "I am not faint."
Q. Are you
able to give us any description of the dress she had on that morning?
A. None
whatever.
When
Lizzie went upstairs, I went upstairs with her-at least, I have always
thought so. She had not yet changed her dress. She said, "When it is
necessary for an undertaker, I want Winwood." I went downstairs and
waited for Dr Bowen. I sent for him, spoke to him, and went up to
Lizzie's room again. She was coming out of :Miss Emma's room, tying the
ribbons of a wrapper-a pink-and-white striped wrapper. I stayed at the
house all that night, having gone home once that day and returned. I
did not suggest to :Miss Lizzie that she change her dress; did not hear
anyone suggest it. Thursday night, I went down into the cellar with
Lizzie; I carried a lamp, she carried a slop pail. Went to the water
closet. The clothing taken from the bodies was in the washroom. Miss
Lizzie went into the washroom; I did not. She went to the sink there
and rinsed out the pail. Then we went upstairs again.
I stayed
at the house from the day of the murders till Monday morning. I was
there Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. On Thursday and
Friday nights, I occupied Mr. and Mrs. Borden's room; Saturday and
Sunday nights, Miss Emma Borden's room. On Sunday morning, I got the
breakfast. After breakfast, I left the lower part of the house for a
while, returning before noon.
Q. Will
you state what you saw after you returned?
A. I went
into the kitchen, and I saw Miss Lizzie at the other end of the stove;
I saw Miss Emma at the sink. Miss Lizzie was at the stove, and she had
a skirt in her hand, and her sister turned and said, "What are you
going to do?" and Lizzie said, "I am going to burn this old thing up;
it is covered with paint."
Q. Do you
recall anything else said then?
A. No sir.
Q. What
did you do then?
A. I am
quite sure I left the room.
Q. Did you
speak to either of them at that time?
A. No sir,
I don't remember that I did. I don't think I did.
Q. Did you
come into the room again?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What
did you see then?
A. Miss Lizzie stood up towards the cupboard door; the cupboard door was open, and she appeared to be either ripping something down or tearing part of this garment.
Q. What
part?
A. I don't
know for sure; it was a small part.
Q. A
smaller part? Go on and state.
A. I said
to her, "I wouldn't let anybody see me do that, Lizzie." She didn't
make any answer. I left the room.
Q. Did she
do anything when you said that?
A. She
stepped just one step farther back up towards the cupboard door.
Q. Did you
notice where the waist of the dress was when she held the skirt in her
hands as you first came in?
A. I
didn't know that it was the waist, but I saw a portion of this dress up
on the cupboard shelf.
Q. Inside
the cupboard?
A. Yes.
The door was wide open.
Q. When
you came back the second time and she was tearing the smaller part, did
you see the skirt?
A. Well, I
am not positive; I think I did.
Q. Did you
have any more talk with her that day, or did she say anything to you
about it?
A. No sir.
Q. At that
time were there any police officers in the house?
A. No sir.
Q. Were there any officers about the premises?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Do you
know whether there was anyone else in the house except yourself and Miss Emma and Miss Lizzie Borden?
A. I don't
think that there was.
Q. When
had Bridget left? Do you know whether she had left before the Sunday
morning or not?
A. Yes,
she had left.
Q. Do you know M r Hanscom?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Did you see him at the Borden house on Monday morning, the following
day?
A. Yes sir.
Q. I do
not ask you what he said to you or you to him, but did you have some
conversation with him?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Did you
see anyone after that conversation?
A. I saw
Miss Lizzie and Miss Emma.
Q. Where
did you see them? A. In the dining room.
Q. What
talk passed between you in the dining room?
A. I said
to them-I said, "I am afraid, Lizzie, the worst thing you could have
done was to burn that dress. I have been asked about your dresses."
Q. What
did she reply? A. She said, "Oh, what made you let me do it? Why didn't
you tell me?"
Q. Miss
Russell, you testified before the inquest, did you?
A. Yes sir.
Q. You testified at the preliminary hearing?
A. Yes sir.
Q. And you
testified once and then again before the Grand Jury?
A. Yes sir.
Q. At
either of the three previous times-at the inquest, at the preliminary,
or at the first testimony before the Grand Jury, did you say anything
about the burning of this dress?
A. No sir.
MR.
ROBINSON. Wait a moment. I do not see how that is at all material. The
Government is not trying to fortify this witness, I hope.
MR. MOODY.
Well, I do not press it. If you don't want it, I don't care to put it
in.
MR.
ROBINSON. Oh, it is not what I want. You are trying the Government's
case; I am objecting.
MR. MOODY.
I waive the question.
MR.
ROBINSON. I think it should be stricken out.
MR. MOODY.
I agree that it may be stricken out.
Q. Miss
Russell, to go back again to the day of the homicide, do you remember
anything about a search for a note by anyone-Dr. Bowen?
A. Yes sir.
Q. State
what there is about that.
A. When we
were in the dining room Lizzie was lying down, and I think Dr Bowen
came in-I always thought it was Dr Bowen-came in and said, "Lizzie, do
you know anything about the note your mother had?" And she hesitated
and said, well, no, she didn't. He said, "I have looked in the
wastebasket," and I think I said-no, he said, "Have you looked in her
pocket?" And I think I said, "Well, then she must have put it in the
fire." And Lizzie said, "Yes, she must have put it in the fire."
CROSS-EXAMINATION
Q. [By
Mr. Robinson] I don't care to trouble you at all about the
conversation of Wednesday evening, only, as I understand it, she told
you that they had all been sick up there?
A. Yes sir.
Q. And
that Mr. and Mrs. Borden were sick and that the doctor had been
MR. MOODY.
Oh, excuse me; an important matter I forgot.
DIRECT EXAMINATION, resumed.
Q. [By
Mr. Moody] Miss Russell, will you tell us what kind of a dress-give
us a description of the dress that she burned, that you have testified
about, on Sunday morning?
A. It was
a cheap cotton Bedford cord.
Q. What
was its color? A. Light-blue ground with a dark figure—small figure.
Q. Do you
know when she got it?
A. I am
not positive.
Q. W dl,
about when she got it?
A. In the
early spring.
Q. Of that
same year, do you mean, or some other year?
A. Yes
sir, I think that same year.
Q. Was
your attention called to it at the time she got it in any way?
A. At the time I first saw it.
Q. To make
it clear, between the time you saw it on Miss Lizzie Borden and had the
talk about it in the spring, you did not see it again until the Sunday
morning after the homicide?
A. I never
remember of ever seeing it, and I am quite sure I did not-that I never
had.
Q. Can you
give me any further description of the dark-blue figure?
A. No sir.
Q. Could
you give any further description?
A.
Nothing, only that it was small.
Q. A small
dark-blue figure?
A. Yes sir.
CROSS-EXAMINATION, resumed.
Q. I
remarked I did not want to trouble you about Wednesday evening except
that she said they had all been sick, and she herself, as I understand
you?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Now we will go right along to Thursday, the fourth of August. You were called up there and went as rapidly as you could to the house?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Where
was she when you saw her during any time that morning when you were
there? A. I asked her to go into the dining room and said, "It is warm
here; don't you want to go into the dining room and lie down?" And she
went there.
Q. What
was done with reference to Miss Lizzie?
A. I think
I fanned her.
Q. Was she
bathed, her hands and face?
A. I don't
remember whether I bathed her face. I don't think I bathed her face in
there. It was in the kitchen I bathed her forehead.
Q. Was she
complaining and feeling badly?
A. No.
Q. Was she
pale?
A. I don't
know.
Q. I
thought you said, you spoke of her sitting down as if she was going to
faint.
A. I did
not say that she fainted, but she sat down as though she was going to
be faint, and I asked for a towel.
Q. Was
that furnished?
A. Yes sir.
Q. She did
not faint?
A. No sir.
Q. At any
time did she say anything about her head aching or feeling badly?
A.
Upstairs? That was before—
Q. That
was after you went upstairs?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Did you
see any handkerchiefs about there?
A. I found
some handkerchiefs in the dining room.
Q. Had
they been ironed?
A. Some of
them.
Q. And
some, I infer, had not been, from your answer?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What was the condition of those that had not been ironed?
A. They
were sprinkled to iron.
Q. About
how many were there altogether?
A. I don't
know positively.
Q. I am
not very particular-about how many?
A. After
hearing about handkerchiefs I tried to remember, and as nearly as I
could judge there were four or five ironed and two or three sprinkled
to be ironed.
Q. You say
you cannot tell us about a dress that she had on that morning?
A. No sir.
Q. Now,
Miss Russell, did you see any blood upon her clothing?
A. No sir.
Q. A speck
of it?
A. No sir.
Q. Or
face?
A. No sir.
Q. Or was
her hair disturbed?
A. I don't
think it was. I think I should have noticed it if it was disordered.
Q. Saw
nothing out of the way at all, did you?
A. No sir.
Q. About
any of her clothing or about her person?
A. No sir.
Q.
Everything looked all right, did it?
A. As far
as I saw.
I was at
the house all day. In the afternoon a good many police officers were
there. I remember showing them the two smaller rooms out of Mr. and
Mrs. Borden's room, and their coming into Miss Lizzie's room. I went
downstairs and into the parlor with them.
Thursday
night there were officers about the house and in the yard. And on
Friday there were police--I don't remember much of their being in the
house. I spoke of the clothing of the deceased persons being in the
cellar; their bodies were laid out in the dining room.
The dress
which I saw Sunday was neither calico nor cambric; it was a Bedford
cord. I did not take hold of it, nor examine it. Sunday morning, Miss
Lizzie, Miss Emma, Mr. Morse and I had breakfast together; Bridget was
not in the house. I went upstairs, after breakfast, to put my room in
order, and left Miss Emma to do the dishes. I don't know if Miss Lizzie
helped in that. When I came back and saw Miss Lizzie with the Bedford
cord dress, it was broad daylight. There was a policeman in the yard.
I saw no
blood on that dress. Not a drop. The edge of the dress was soiled. I
did not actually see her put it in the stove.
The
funeral, Saturday, was in the forenoon, about eleven or twelve o'clock.
Miss Lizzie went to the cemetery; I did not. I stayed in the house with
Mrs. Holmes and the undertaker's assistants.
Officers
did come in the house, during the absence of the funeral party, but
they didn't come as soon as the party left. They made a search, but
they didn't search everywhere. They went into Miss Lizzie's room.
Q. Did you go up into the room while they were at work there?
A. Yes sir.
Q. What
did they do?
MR. MOODY.
This was on Saturday?
MR.
ROBINSON. This was on Saturday while the bodies were going to the grave.
Q. Do you
wish to answer the question?
A. Yes
sir. I think one of the officers took the keys that lay on the bureau
after Miss Lizzie had left and unlocked one or two drawers in her
bureau, and didn't search any farther there. I think they opened what
she called her toilet room, pulled the portiere one side, just looked
there a little. I don't know how much they searched. I don't think very
much; and they went into Miss Emma's room and looked around, and opened
the cupboard door in her room, and I remember one of the officers
pressing against a bundle after he shut it, some pillow or blanket,
something of that kind, and the bed was taken to pieces. That is all
that I saw.
Q. There
was no resistance or objection made at all?
A. No sir.
Q. They
had full sway?
A. Yes sir.
Q. Well,
that was the same at all the searches, wasn't it, they had no
resistance or objections?
A. I never
heard of any while I was there.
RE-DIRECT
Q. [By
Mr. Moody] What is the material of which the Bedford cord dress is
made?
A. All
cotton. That dress was all cotton.
Q. And not
silk?
A. No sir.