beneath the scapula, close to the vertebrae between the intercostal
spaces of the fifth and sixth ribs; grazing the pericardium it traversed
the mediastinum, barely touching the oesophagus, and vena azygos, but
completely severing the thoracic duct, and lodging in the xiphoid
portion of the sternum. Necessarily fatal, there was no reason, however,
why the patient could not linger for a week or more; but it is no less
certain that from the effect of the wound he ultimately died. I
witnessed the execution of the paper shown to me - as the statement of
deceased - at his request; and at the time of signing the same he was in
his perfect senses. It was taken down in my presence by Jacobs, the
Assistant District-Attorney of Placer County, and read over to the
deceased before he affixed his signature. I was not present when he
breathed his last, having been called away by my patients in the town of
Auburn, but I reached his bedside shortly afterward. In my judgment, no
amount of care or medical attention could have prolonged his life more
than a few days.

(Signed) Karl Liebner, M. D.

The statement of the deceased was then introduced to the jury as
follows:

People of the State of California, }
vs. }
Bartholomew Graham. }

Statement and Dying Confession of Charles P. Gillson, taken in articulo
mortis by George Simpson, Notary Public.

On the morning of Sunday, the 14th day of May, 1871, I left Auburn alone