Jackson became flushed and nervous and at times fastened his watery eyes on the witness with an intensity that became painful.
He stated that he was present when Jackson was examined immediately after his arrest in the office of Chief of Police Deitsch, of Cincinnati. Mr. Caldwell said Colonel Deitsch handed him a telegram; he took it in his hand and leaning over and looking at it for quite a time, with his eyes in this way, cast down, he finally uttered: "Oh, my God what will my poor mother say," then he turned his eyes on Colonel Deitsch.
When he asked me the question he rose from his position and began to walk up and down the room. He says to me, "What shall I do?" I says, "Do you ask me the question?" He says, "Yes." I says, "Tell the truth." He said, "Many an innocent man has been in as serious trouble as I am to-night," or something to that effect. I do not know that I get his exact words.
After what I have related Colonel Deitsch asked: "Where is Pearl Bryan?" Jackson said he did not know; that he had not seen her since he was home during the holidays. He was asked where he was on Friday night. He said at first he was at his room; he was not certain, but he was there. Then he said he was not out of his room after 7:30 o'clock; he remained there all the evening. He was asked who his room-mate was, and he said Alonzo Walling. He was asked if his room-mate was with him. He said that he believed he was. He was asked where he was on Thursday evening, and he said he was at his room. He was then asked as to where Walling was. He said he did not know where Walling was Thursday evening, and afterwards said that Walling did not come home on Thursday evening. That was about the substance of the conversation that evening. The newspaper men were then allowed to come in, and a conversation was then held with him by them as to where he was, much of which I did not hear.
"The next morning about 10:30 I went to Colonel Deitsch's office, where the prisoner was sitting. Colonel Deitsch asked him where he was on Friday and Thursday nights, and his answers were the same as he made the evening before. I am not positive as to whether it was at that meeting that Walling was brought into his presence, and the conversation turned as to where Pearl Bryan was and as to whether either of them had seen Pearl Bryan the previous week.
"Mr. Jackson admitted to Colonel Deitsch that he had seen Pearl Bryan; that she came to the Dental College on Court Street for him; that he was informed she was in a cab, and that he met her afterward, I think on Tuesday, at the Indiana House, on Fifth Street; that he met her again on Wednesday about one o'clock at the corner of Fourth and Vine or Fourth and Walnut. He said in the presence of Walling that he had sent 'Wally', as he called him, to notify her that he was going out that afternoon and he would meet her that evening. Then he said he did not see her again after that Wednesday.
"Walling said he went down and saw Pearl Bryan and that he went that evening to Heider's Restaurant, on Fifth Street, and met Jackson, and Jackson told him to go up to the Postoffice and he would find Pearl Bryan, and to wait there until he went to his room and returned; that he went over to the Postoffice and saw Pearl Bryan standing inside the corridor, and he went on from there and wrote his letters.
"Either on that day or the next day Mr. Jackson was asked about the satchel, and he said that he had left the satchel at Legner's saloon, across the street from his room; he said that he brought it there and loaned it to a student and he intended to take it to the college and give it to him, but he did not give it to him. He afterwards admitted that it was Pearl Bryan's satchel.
"I want to say that in the meantime, in one of these conversations, I told both of these young men that they did not have to make a confession to any person, that they were at perfect liberty to refuse to answer any of the questions that were asked them.
"Walling in this conversation, when Jackson was present, said that when Jackson came back from his holiday vacation he took him in the corner of his room on Ninth Street, where they were rooming, and told him that he was in trouble with Pearl Bryan and that he intended to kill her. When asked how, he said, 'I propose to get a room and take her to the room and give her some cocaine poison and leave her there.' Then again, he says he changed and said. 'No, I will cut her up in pieces and take the pieces and deposit them in different places about the city.' He said that before he saw Pearl Bryan at the Postoffice—I believe that was Thursday evening instead of Wednesday evening—-he said that Jackson had made arrangements to take her over to Bellevue, I think it was, or over to the sandbar, or some place there and kill her, take her head off and bury her. He said that Jackson asked all the physicians as to the effects of different kinds of poisons; that he had a standard medical dictionary in his room and studied the effects of poisons, and that he asked one physician particularly as to the effect of cocaine.