Access was either via a tunnel, or by being winched Jingzhou Metro Map up in a basket on a rope. On reaching Jiayuguan I dumped my luggage at the Jingzhou Metro Map hotel and hitch-hiked out to see the fort at the end of the Great Wall. It seemed appropriate that I should get my first view of the Great Wall, which runs from the coast for 3,000 miles across China, at this furthest point inland. Not that much of it here is still standing, because this end was built of rammed earth, not stone. The crumbled remnants are only about fifteen feet high, with a thin pathway along the top. From the fort, a wall with several watchtowers leads across the barren sand to the base of Qilian Shan and a snowy range against a blue sky.
According to her testimony, the knees of the pants were saturated with blood and the shirt had bloodstains above the wristband. She wasn’t certain who the clothing belonged to but recalled Judd Crouch wearing the same pants a week before. She also testified to seeing a pair of fine leather boots caked with mud. Because of their unusual shape, she knew the boots belonged to Judd.
The young woman told the jury she had left the articles of clothing undisturbed behind the chest. Shortly after she left the room Judd went inside and removed the clothing and boots. She never saw them again.
Other condemning testimony was presented. Its importance was diminished by contradictory rebuttal, a collection of irrelevant or unreliable witnesses, contaminated evidence and, in the eyes of the jury, a weak motive. The trial lasted a year. In January of 1885, the jury came back with a verdict of not guilty. Daniel Holcomb was free.
