A Two-Dollar Chip, a Drawn Revolver, and a Death in the Hotel Barroom

The trial of Page, who shot Harry Fraser in the barroom of the Northern hotel on April 22, with fatal results, will be finished in another day before Judge Humes. A jury was secured this morning after a venire of eighteen men had been examined, and a panel of twelve — eight of which were men who sat at the back of the rail with the attorneys — was secured.

Page, who sat behind his attorneys, was attired in a neat black suit and presented a very prepossessing appearance. He was clean shaven and looked very unlike the desperate character he is pictured by a great many. To his right sat his sister and State Senator Sargent, and on his left was the friend who accompanied him to this city from the East. He took great interest in the examination of jurors, and not once did he show any outward sign of being annoyed at the continual stare of the people in the assembly. Occasionally he would speak to his sister or to Mr. Sargent.

After the jury had been sworn, R. H. Lindsay read the opening statement for the prosecution. He described to the jury the interior of the saloon in the hotel and the exact position of doors and tables, the bar, etc., so as to impress upon their minds more forcibly what took place on the memorable night. He told how at 8 o'clock on the evening of April 22 Page entered the barroom with an ordinary suit of clothes on and a large wide-brimmed white hat, with a cord and tassel, that resembled very much the style of hat worn on the stage. He invited a Mr. Ireton to play a game of seven-up with him for 50 cents a game. Ireton said, "All right," and they played several games, when Ireton, who had grown tired, dropped out. About this time Page noticed several men come in and line up at the bar. He asked Ireton to get up a dice game with the strangers, but Ireton said he had no money, whereupon Page said: "I've got plenty of money." Ireton would have nothing more to do with him and left him.

Page then turned to the barkeeper and asked him to take a part in the game. Marden played a little while, but soon got up and said to Page: "I'll quit you; I don't like your game."

Fraser then came in, and Page immediately asked him to play, which Fraser did. The game went on, and Fraser lost, but soon won his money all back and some $15 or $20 besides. The game progressed until Fraser placed on the table a $20 bill to represent $2, his part of the stake. Page picked the bill up and shoved over two chips as change. Fraser demurred and said: "That's not right; I have eight chips," Page replying: "No, you don't." Fraser then said: "Lay down the bill and I will explain it to you." When he laid down the bill, Fraser took it up. This angered Page very much, and Fraser tried to explain to him how he was entitled to his chips, when Page suddenly drew his gun. Fraser, partially rising from his chair, reached across the table to get hold of the gun and escape being shot. While Fraser was in a stooping position, Page shot him in the left hip, the ball passing through the body through the intestines and the bladder with a downward course and lodging in one of the bones of the right hip.

Marden jumped and seized Page by the throat, while Johnson and Ireton seized his hand with the pistol in it. Johnson wrenched the pistol out of his hand. Page then gave up and sat quietly in his chair, pulling his broad-brimmed hat over his brow, while Johnson and Ireton helped Fraser out of the barroom, into the office and upstairs to bed. Dr. Kline was called and responded in thirty minutes. In the meantime a telephone message was sent to police headquarters and the patrol wagon was at the police station in a few minutes. Officer Cudihee placed Page under arrest and searched him for the weapon. While Cudihee was searching him, Page said to him: "Go on, Cudihee, and search well. You'll find it soon." Cudihee said: "This is my city, and I'll see whether you have any weapon or not." Page then walked steadily out to the patrol wagon and took a seat at the lower end of the wagon. The driver told him to come up nearer to him, which Page did, with one leg on the cushion opposite and the other stretched out on the bottom of the wagon.

In this easy position he was driven to the station. When he was asked his name, where he came from and his occupation, he told the clerk the first two, but refused to answer the third. The officer said to him, "You might be a lawyer," and Page said: "Yes, I might; put it down that way." Jailer Poer then started to search him, and Page bade him handsomely, and the jailer answered rather roughly. This angered Page and he said: "I'll not forget you in a thousand years for this." He repeated this a number of times. The next morning, when he was changed from one cell to another by the officer who had seen him the night before at the Northern, he was asked by the officer: "Why, Mr. Page, how did you come to do this?" when Page answered: "Oh, a little bad whisky and a high card." All the time while at the station he was rational and talked rationally.

At the conclusion of this statement the judge cautioned the jurors in the usual form and adjourned court until 2:30 this afternoon.