The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1874-06-30
AN ATRoc1oUsM MURDER.



"a.
THE AMos-McDoNALD TRAGEDY.
A YOUNG ISDIANIAN GUILTY OF MURDER-THE
srABBING AFFRAY IN BALTIMoRE-THE TEas-
TIMoNY OF EYE-wTTNEssEs-A SKETCH OF
SAMUEL w. MCDONALD, THE MURDERER.
The Baltimore Gazette Of the 23d, oath
and 18th instants gives detailed account
of shocking tragedy in that city,
In which young man Of Terre
Haute is arraigned as the guilty party:
Last night the Sherwood House, south
! east corner of Harrison and East Fayette
streets, was the scene of dreadful tragedy,
which ended IN the fatal stabbing of the
well-known character about town, Berry
and another young man were drinking in
the Sherwood House, when Samuel Melon
aid and other young men entered. Some
row between Amos and others,
and scuffie took place. and Amos
was showed over toward the wash
stand, and was heard to exclaim: "McDon-
aid, don't cut me any more" He was car
ried to the Russell House, where he was
\ laid upon the floor in front of the
bar, and where Mr.. Russell paid him
every attention. A physician was
summoned, but the unfortunate man
died in a few minutes after the arrival
of the physician. He lived about half an
hour after receiving the cuts. His body was
placed in wagon and conveyed to the Mid
die District station. Immediately after the
affray Samuel Mcdonald was arrested by
officer T. Brown and carried to the Middle
District station, where he was locked up to
await the results of the injuries to Amos.
He preceded the body of the murdered man
only about half an hour, and in the mean
| time large number of the friends of McDon-
aid gathered at the station house. but Lieu
tenant Buswick in charge, would not permit
any of them to have an interview with him.
| As soon as this was made known the crowd
scattered, and in a minute had disappeared.
But as the news spread that Amos
had been killed, large crowd gathered in
side and outside of the station house, and
some few of his friends were permitted to
view his body, which was lying on bench
| in the yard of the station. just in front of
the row of cells in which Mcdonald was
confined. His shirt was off, and the wound
which caused his death was plainly to be
seen In the left shoulder. 1t was fearful
cash, and had been evidently made by a de-
termined hand. It's external appearance
was about two inches in length, and the
knife seemed to have been drawn out of the
wound and then driven back. One of the
blows reached the head of the humerus, cut
down into the cavity. evidently cutting the
subclariaR artery. This was necessarily
A FATAL WOUND. f
The other wound was through the biceps
muscle of the left arm, cutting entirely
through the arm and seyering the brachial
artery. This wound also might produce
death, but was not necessarily fatal, in case
of prompt surgical attention. The physique
OF Amos was remarkable, he being young
man, about 80 years of age, of splendid
physical and muscular development. He
was originally from Richmos d, Va, and
came here after the war, and has followed
the pursuit of gambling. He leaves FAM
| lily in this city, consisting OF his wife and
stepson. He was very popular with his
associates, and was looked upon as an sin
offensive big man." The Gazette of the
oath inst. says: The morning after the
murder of Berry Amos broke in all
the beauty of a summer morning, but at
the Middle District Station it beamed upon
one of the most terrible pictures of the
consequence of protiigaey and crime, tar out
vying in color and shadow Dubufe's pic
ture of the prodigal son, lacking not the
element of wicked women to fill up the pic
ture of profiigacy and ruin. Berry Amos,
the strong and stalwart man; he who the
day before was of all in the city one of the
most noted for his fine physique, lay still
and stark in the prison yard, while in the
grsted cell, almost within the reach of the
dead body, stood the alleged murderer, the
young man of wealth, education and posi-
ton, the grandson of one of Maryland's
best beloved children, the heir to large
wealth, the favorite OF fortune from his
earliest hours. On the outside pressed the
| friends of both parties in hundreds eager for
admission and eagerly discussing
ETRAGIc AFFAIR.
They filled the streets, and when driven
by the heat of the sun from the prisons
front, they sought shelter under the houses
opposite. or pressing up the side alleys of the
prison conteuted themselves with glimpses
of what was going ON inside.
About9 O'Clock the coroner, DIR. r.. II.
Walker, arrived, and shortly after A. Leo
Knott. ESQ.,, appeared for the state, and
| Hon. William Pinkney Whyte-terribly OPP
pressed and overcome by the affair, which
had so sadly enwrapped in its dark folds the
name and fame of his former ward -and
John j. Poe, ESQ.,. appeared for the latter
About $50 o'clock the coroner, DIR. K. X
Walker, administered the oath to the follow
| ing jurors whom he had summoned to act a.
a jury of inquest. The jury were all young
and intelligent looking men. Preceded by
the coroner they went from the room where
the Justice holds his court to the area OF The
prison. between the main building and the
prison cells, and viewed the body as 1t lalC
stretched before them with the gapins
wounds in the shoulder and arm, tellins
plainly the story of his death.
THE PosTsMoRTEM EXAMINATION.
The jury rem aimed in the justices room
until DIR. Walker, DR.. T. Clay Maddox ant
DIR. Alexander Hill made post-mortem ex
animation of the body of the murdered man
In about half an hour the doctors had FIN
, isned their examination, and the body wa
, sew ed up by DIR. Hill. The examination G
witnesses commenced at 1880 o'clock. Dl
, T. Clay Maddox was the first witness exam
, ined. He testified as to the result of tn
! post mortem examination follows
1 In my opinion it would be an extraordi
nary coincdent for a man to live more thar
n ten minutes if that, after receiving such
I wound. These wounds were produced b,