Des Arc weekly citizen., 1869-02-23
The Mxster.ons AIr Gun.
From the New York sun.1 2 '''1' 2 Y 2

I The Myster.Ous Ar Gun.
 From the New York Sun.1 e%e
 ' Over year ago, at one o'clock il
 the morning, a Brooklyn police officer
 was carelessly sauntering bown his IL sual beat when he obsoryedia man partly hidden behind a tree ou the op.
 posite side of the street. The officer stopped aud carefully observed the mans movements, In few moments man was observed commiug up tho sidewalk opposite. The man behind the tree stepped from his place oi concealment, and walked down the Tstreet 10 meet the stranger, the police officer still watching him. When the suspicious person. was within twenty feet ofthe stranger, and near gas-light burning brightly beneatlfthcstre the stranger suddenly slapped his forehead with his right hand, and fell to the pavement-a dead man His murderer began to rifle his pockets. The. officer { hastencdto the spot, but the assassin had fed
 The officer pursued him. The chase was hot. Around corners, across half tpaved streets. through slums and alleys, over high board fences and be- meath flickcring gas-lights the mur- derer fled, but keen-eyed hunter was on his track. He was captured. On his line of flight an air-gun of a pecu- liar construction was found. It had done it's deadly work. silently and cfTectualy. It was of simple mechan- ism, and could hardly be considered marvel of mechanical skill.
 The assassin turned ont to be one Skidmore, a discharged policeman. Tn his house, cvcdenee was found which proved that he had been enga- ged for several years in nefarious schemes or burglary and murder Brooklyn was thrown into a state of nervous excitement. Every undiscoy- cred murder was thrown on the shoul- dClS Ql 1AluilOlts iit VI uS " ttSSuS- cd of being responsible for the pro foundly mysterious "E;tst river mys- tery," where q mans head, pierced with two bullets and wrapped in a piece of oil silk, was found floating in ia Brooklyn dock, tlc thighs and legs, similarly wrapped, bceing after ward picked up near Gowanus.
 On his arrest, Skidmore became as silent IS a inuglca tiger, Crowds of citizens swarmcd to look at him. and loud whispers of lynch-law floated about his cars. He kept up a bold front, but occasioply . twinse was visible oneiiis countonancc as he listened to tho positive evidence before tho Coroner. The crowd surged about him, and gazcd at him as at one of the trapped anii.ropophagi. The air-gun was regarded with the greatest curi- osity. and those inspecting it handled it with circ,mspcction, fearful that a silent bullet was only awaiting signal to add anothcr 10 it's roll of victims.
 The Coroner's jury found Skidmore guilty of thc murder, and the Grand Jury brought in . true bill of indict- ment agaist him.
 Back to his cell went the murderer, with scarcely.a a ray of hope in his heart. The popular excitement did not abate. His speedy trial was demanded. His lawyers could not obtain postpone ment. The trial came on; the evil dence was overwhelming; the people thronged the court room. Skidmores tdefant front failed him at last, and at leangth in despair he cut his throat lin his cell, and escaped the gibbet. ! We do not know what became oi the air gun, but we do know that foi 1 weeks aftcrward many of the citizens of Brooklyn never dared to go Iron their houses at night for fear of si
 lent struggling bulletoy{{ a(l4
 Again we have accounts of shooting with the air-gun-this time in New
 York. A week or two ago we had t' announce the serious injury by pis
 tol shot of young man walking a
 midday on the corner of Broadwa, 2 and Canal streets. The cause is n mys terv which has never been explained
 On Tuesday afternoon, in two divers localities, there occurred circumstan
 ces fortunately less injurious in thei
 effect, but hardly less mysterious Il
 their nature, which seem to point Wit
 an equal assurance to that dabollca
 aoent-an air-gan. Two bullets il , ouick succession crashed through tn
 windows ofa grocery at the intersec | ton of the Bowery and Bond street
 With as little warning a pistol bal
 entered through the plate-glass dooi
 way of BIO Broadway with dangerou
 force. A young man employed i
 Chittcnden's dry goods store was walk
 ing down Broadway Wednesday after
 noon and felt something hit his arm 7 On arriving in his store he ascertaine
 that he had been shot through the arr
 by bullet, which had lodged and re
 mained in his side. Where the bulle
 came from, who fired it, or for what t all these points remain q secret. 0 g Monday an air-gun ball was fire t through ipawnbroker's window i n Center street. On the same evenin s one of these silent messengers of deat e came through . window in the Sun editorial rooms, and one evening lal : week two bullet holes were found