100 years ago in Spokane: Murder case goes to jury

From the court beat: A Spokane jury was deliberating in the Louis Adams murder trial.

The judge instructed the jury that they must acquit him if they believed his story that he shot Joe Gracie in self-defense. If not, they could return a verdict of guilty of either first or second degree murder.

This was Adam’s second trial. He was convicted a year earlier, but an appeals court granted a new trial.

From the monkey beat: A woman in Portland had a surprise visitor in her pantry.

A stray monkey somehow found its way into the home of Mrs. Frank Taylor in Portland, according to the Spokane Daily Chronicle. Then the monkey “outdid the proverbial bull in the china closet.”

The monkey smashed dishes and damaged furniture and generally made a mess. Mrs. Taylor called police, “who chased the animal all over the before they caught him by throwing a rug over him.”

The monkey was taken to the pound and held “prisoner,” until an owner called, inquiring about his lost pet.

The Oregon Daily Journal gave a different account of the mayhem. That paper reported that the monkey somehow entered the home of “Mr. and Mrs. F. Roberts” and spent the night in the Roberts’ pantry. It was discovered by Mrs. Roberts on the back porch when it was throwing apples at the back door. She scared the monkey out of the house, but it eventually sneaked back inside the pantry.

“She tried to chase it out, but the monkey threw a package of corn flakes at her,” the Daily Journal reported.

After Mr. Roberts returned home and was almost hit with a jar of preserves, the couple opted to lock it in the pantry. They called in the Oregon Humane Society the next day, which sent three men who were able to wrap it in a blanket and take it to the pound.

The Daily Journal indicated the monkey belonged to a Harry Lewis, who had reported his pet was missing but had not yet claimed the monkey at the pound.