The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-07-18
BLACK-SYMMES
Sensational Shooting at the Hotel
Emery.
Mrs. Black Attempts to Kill c. Scott
SymmeS.

" OlOIh itob SNSLIlIS oN WV AAN'NA N%A-'SA ~
being nothing less than a second chapter in
the famous Hamilton scandal.
Mrs. Dony Black came down to this city
Yesterday afternoon from Hamilton, with
the determination of taking the life of her
seducer c. Scott Symmes. The latter after
having made his flight from Hamilton
when Dony Black discovered his liason
with his wife, went to Kentucky, and then
came to this side of the river, entering into
law partnership with General Banning,
No. 233 Walnut street, Just below Sixth.
| Mrs. Black went to this place in the after
noon and asked for Symmes. She told him
she wanted to see him at the Hotel Emery.
Symmes went down there, and soon after
the reports of two shots were heard from
the main saloon of the hotel. When the
watchman of the Arcade rushed up he was
treated to the following sight:
Mrs Black was just being released from
the grasp of Scott Symmes, who had, evi-
IDENTIFY not without a desperate struggle,
disarmed her of a revolver. Her toilet was
disarranged, and she was trembling like
leaf and painting with exertion. His wrists
were red and swollen, and one of his thumbs
bleeding. He had all the appearance of a
man who had had a struggle for life and
who had barely come out the victor. A
costly mirror shattered showed those who
assembled where one of the pistol balls had
struck, and that the other had not widely
missed its mark was evidenced by the fact
that Symmes' face was powder-burnt and
bleeding.
Officer Chumley was called in and took
Mrs Black to the office of the Chief Of Po-
lice. She did not seem at all excited and
talked very nationally. She said that she
was very sorry that she had not succeeded
in killing Symmes. Had she done so, she
would willingly suffer for her act.
| Mr.. Symmes was not arrested and not
putting in an appearance Mrs. Black was al
| lowed to leave.
Her story of what happened at the hotel
| is as follows:
| told Symmes what I wanted was that
he should make a statement of the truth.
After talking some time, he gave me this
statement:
81 hereby state that all the imputations
against the character of Mrs. Black are
false. Although guilty in deed, she is NOR
ally innocent of and unaccountable for any
injury done her husband, and in justice to
him. her children and herself, | make this
statement. That she resisted all efforts of
mine, and that they were Intellectual until
had brought every power possessed to bear
upon her, which placed her finally com
pletely under my influence. All state
ments made by any one heretofore incon-
sistent with this are false. do this solely
for the purpose of removing dishonor from
wronged woman and doing her justice.
sc. S. SYMMEs."
After he had given me the statement
+,,rpnI 70 hi,,, nd said IL &c 4
necessary for me to detan you any longer?'
He spoke about having a case over in Ken
lucky He then stepped up to me. l got
up, and he came toward me to shake hands
with me. When he offered me his hand
drew back from him. The thought rushed
over me of the trouble he had brought on
my family and the disgrace and humilia-
ton and shame that l had felt, and not only
that, but that had nothing to leave my
children. The only legacy that had to
leave them, an honored name, had been
taken from me. All this rushed over my
mind in an instant, and put my hand in
my pocket and pulled out my revolver and
shot at him. While l was cooking the
weapon q second time he jumped toward me
and grabbed at it, and | shot again. In try
ing to cock it again he got his arms over my
hands in such a way as to impede my pull
ing the trigger We struggled for about five
minutes, during which time he almost
pulled my clothes to pieces
Symmes says that after going to her room
at the hotel, and after closing the door, he
asked Mrs. Black what she wanted? "She
said she wanted statement from me that
would restore her husbands confidence in
her | told her that did not know how she
wished that statement worded. She said il
| would send to the Office for paper she
would word it herself. | sent to the office
and got paper, and she wrote statement
which she desired me to sign In that
statement she wished me to say that haC
made efforts to seduce her. which she re
sisted, and had overcome her with means
= with which she was unacquainted. | de
| clined to sign that statement. She then re
, quested me to let her substitute the word
, that | had accomplished my designs by
, force. This I also declined to sign. ! tol(
: her at the time she asked me to sign thes
3 separate statements that l was willing
to do all in my power to restore her t.
confidential relations with her husband
both for his sake, her sake and the sake o
their children. But the signature Of eithe
of these papers, if put in his hands, woul'
be an admission upon my part that ha'
Z been guilty Of either drugging her on tn
I one hand or of committing rape on tn
and either of which he would unscrupu
/ lousy use against me criminally. She o1
q fered to guarantee me upon her word tha
+ any statement l should make would not b
o used against me, nor published in any new!
n paper, but simply shown to her HUSBAND
/. and when so shown she would destroy
:, herself still refused to sign the origins
O paper OF the modification. She then wishe
to know what would sign in order to exor
crate her. That my statement was her la:
d hope, That she hoped that she had nc
,, come to Cincinnati to see me and be refused
q That she didn't care so much for hersel
J. but for her children. She wanted me to d
5, all | could to remove the stigma from then
= l told her that any thing | could do col
n sistently | would, even though | had
l. strain the truth a little to do it. | the
e. modified her statements so as to read thi
rs she had not yielded me any favors of an
d kind until l had used all the powers (
d which I was possessed to obtain them
\ His statement concerning the shootir
70 agrees with that told by Mrs. Black.
rs Deputy Sheriff Black came down la
Of night in response to the telegraphic sun
10 mons of his wife, whom he took home Q