The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-15
lIENDRICKS0N'S LAST SHOT.
AN OLD HUNTER. dFTER MISSING ms
WIFE, SHOOrS UIUsELF DEAD.
what Babylon, Long Island. :. Talking About
Family Qunrrcis Between Stepfathcr
mud ste pson Leading TO the Formers Suicide

and stepson Leading TO the Formers Suicide
Until Friday afternoon John IIcndrickson,
n short. stout. weather bronzed waterman and
duck hunter. lived about mills west Of Baby
lon. Long Island. and not far from nm inlet Of
the Great South Bay. on which no made his liv-
ing by claiming. fishing. and hunting. His
dummy figure and red face. framed below in n
stulblc Of iron gray beard. were rs familiar in
Babylon as its streets. but his fame had de-
s"cndcd from the last decade. Formerly. when
Recorder llackott or Charley Banks or Horace
Waldo went down TO the Great South Bay to
shoot ducks or snpe inquiry was always made
for John Hondrckson. lie was rcputcd tho
best shot on the bay He could toss corrcrs from
tho muzzle of his gun. and then drive them
further skyward with the charge lle could
throw the coppcrs in the air then turn around
pick up his gun from the ground. cock it, and
hit copper with each barrel before either de-
seconded. Occasionally he would shoot in pigeon
matches. He was n cheerful bont companion
and n skilful sailor. At last. however. he began
to drink His boats dccoys. and tackle. which
once were the bost on the bay gradually lost
their reputation. Soon he began to use smaller
craft. and was less and less able to obtain adj
vnntageous summer engagements, Iattcrly he
nhde very litle money bn'. ms he sp,.nt II AZ
cred good I'm the Babylon bnrrooms.
On Friday Mt noon he played dominocs In tho
lnrrnom Oi the South side Hotel. ana from pOll-
tics, the conversation Glanced to turn on Edward
Bunce. "A temperance man who committed sui
| eide. near Babylon. several years ago. in what
IL supposed to have been temporary fit in
wal" said ono Of the players. " II he had
| been like rs and taken his upplr every day he
never would have Killed himself"
THAT. so that's So ;" Iendrickson said ms
! he Joined the rest Oi tho players in the laugh
,1hcn he 9rosc. remnrkng TINT it WINS aftor 70
! o'clock. and went home TO dinner. His com
! fNpy tilu I moi TINT ~ IA
| IN LIQUOR. HIS home was small story and
| Kitchen with a hall between them. Tho front
! door is thc only entrance to the house. To the
| right. as "A visitor enters from low WOO Ion
| The two pnrlor windows are shaded 10y larsr
aud thrifty grapevine. weighted with cluster,
u uo r S.Hpp in J''t , .r mr." a., n'In
| side the stoop. To the edge oi the -tonp is
| nailed heavy iron scraper. The house, with
| hn!t acre ol lnht on which II stands. belongs
! 10 Mrs. H"ndrekson. IN her own right. She
! was widow. with one son. when sho married
| Hrnirickson twenty ycars Hgo. Her SON. Henry
! Van Colt now 50 years of nce. lives with her
| Si"p.ath"r and r pson have Qunrreiled for
| nearly twenty years, and the wife mas sided
| with nor son. who. It Is represented by the
| noighbors. Is a sober, indu-i rious and pence
alb. man. making his living. like his stepia'hcr
Mrs Hrnlrckson had placed q brick against
| the front door TO prevent the wind from blowing
| II open. She ran 20 pull this away when her
| husband pushed ngAinst the door. and lie fol-
| lowed her into the kitchen; lie stopped in the
| at the dinner table and poured out Gun II tea
| for hcr son. In tho mean time Hcndrickson
hc cursed his son Mrs lIrndrickson says. in
| language too vile and pro'ane for repetition.
| These three wcre tho only persons in tho
house. At last. Mrs. Hendrichson says Van
! Colt arose from the table SAYING that II was too
bad that he should have to endure such Lam
euaEe from man like his stepiaiher He then
took his hat and started To quit the house. for
Gsht. because he saw that lis scpia,h r was
| much excited with liquor, The latter caught
| hold oi him Us be pns9.d. Van Cou Is 'a!l. hut
| lightly built. He made his WY 10 tho s'oop.
dragging Ilrnir 'k-on with him. aud there
seeing TINT h'rdrct-Nn meant ~ 'hief. hc
| followed. hut llendrirks.n was thrown. A. h'
fell the iron rarrr made y cut over one ~ his
| cy"s and brought blood THIS n"rNci him t.
creator N rts aud hc succeeded in getting q
| savage mold ON his s"p-sons throat; Nh.l"
they lay in close embrace Mrs. H"ndrrkson
saw her sons face growing black. and she SAYS
| pull her husband on u him Ly main strength.
Then Van Cot hurried away to the village To-
! procure warrant ~ arrest. Hondrckson
washed the blood rom MS iace. ut the same
time swearing at his wife and saying several
"I'li murder YOU"
on a bed there While hr was in the paror
Charles sexton called at the house to borrow
clam rnk pole.
-" Como in here" said Mrs. Hendrickson to
him
| her husband 10 him. The hitter said: How de-
| you do. Charley and III int serm Ia Sexton t.
| be- very n u'h excited Mrs HedrlcksOn said 10
= wish you'd leave the house. and never
| come ha y again
Thcn the two went ont on the stoop. leaving
| Honirici son on tho LODI A. they went out thoy
| saw Ms Mary Jane Davis. who had com" from
q nc,guLNrng house To draw water at a we'll in
| lIcndriekson began to tell hcr and SuNt'n in a
| LOUD soice what had happened she WAS sitting
| on "A chair to the right Of the door between II
and the nearest parlor window. StNton stood
On the cl.;o Of the stoop in front of her. and
Ia - - fsHNaf H.afF r..
the stonp. just rs Mrs. llonlgi. hson hogan 10
TIN how she mad pulled her husband m az Van
| Of a douhle-harrellcd shotgun WIS seen pro
trud ns few inches through broken pane o.
ihcm were Ill., Miss Davis ran down the pail,
! and oui of the 'front.' gate. SlNlun ran 10 a hiEh
| i couldn't do II again. he snii Yesterday.
As he looked through the pirkots he saw th0'
Mr.. ionlrlck-on had gone into NE hnl.
! ana dared out Of the house and around the
corner. msshnpcn npplc tree. growing hy
the fence near the corner Of the house, lets It's
| branch, touch the ground next 10 the house,
SaXtun had preferred To- s0llr III" fence. Mrs,
| Hrudrickson. who II about 90 years Of age.
could not do this and. stopping under the low
| hanging branches She ran like u deer to the
back yard. and thence. climbing fence. Size
escaped to the house Of Andrew Arnold. few
| rods away.
Nobody dared approach tho house but al tho
| Seaman, u miller. called to deliver Il hag Of
grain. md the ncighhers watched 10 see the re-
-ult nv lltll A''Ni y lE IL itlltl Seaman
finding no one To- answer his knock pushed
! omen the pArlor door which WINS alir b fore
| him on mo floor law llondrickson's lifelcss
body. II" hnd appnreutly placed the mu2zle Of
the second barrel of his gun undcr his chin and
pushed ON the trigger with the too OF his bare
| foot From the nature If the wound. II was
evident he must haye died instantly. Thenow
was sprron and ii a few. minutes Mr.. Hon
| Erickson, Miss DAVIS, SNNton. aud others mr.
rived. An examination showed thnt The
charge Of sQpo shot Go. 5 and No. 10
| miXedl. winch had been fired either ut
the group or at Mrs.. Henderson only. had cut in
! two brunch ot the grnpeN inc ~ blE rs n mans
| thumb, and had broken gucy through the
tops of n pntrh ~ wr'ds. II must have PASSED
very near Mrs. llendricksou's face. and between
her and SaXton They were not. more than
| three feet from tho mul2lr. NcVcrthclrss
the shot scattered. probably 10y elnu'ing from
the grapevine. SO ~ to wound slightly ench NJ
| the thrre. one shot penetrated tn" skin of Mrs.
! llendrlcksons check and WAS so bot that Il
| burned her, She sclAt 'hcd II ont with her nail
| SaN;uns clothes were cut 10y two or thrre shot,
and his skin was slightly bruised. Six shot
| struck Miss DAYS three on her breast two ON
! her arm, and one ahnNo her upurr lr All W"re
easily eNifpri'd. re wounds were painful
| but are healing rapidly.
II was then discovered that while Hrudriok-
r..t Il /. . H..