The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1879-08-20
WILLIE.
Life and Incidents in That Flourishing Town


Herald: The excitement Of the
hour is the killing Of Jacob N.
Grier by +. NJ. Ritcbie. Grier was
the barkeeper of the Merchants
restaurant, a man universally pop
ular. He may still be remembered
by some at the east as the rail
way engineer who several years
ago, while hauling an express
train over the Pennsylvania road
at the rate of forty miles an hour,
saw a little girl on the track be-
fore him, rapidly crawled upon
the cowcatcher and caught her in
time to save her life. F. N.
Ritchie: g barkeepor from Arkan-
sas, had bought an interest in the
Merchants saloon, but had failed
to come to a final understanding
with Ellis, the proprietor, who
, ordered him to be excluded from
the place. On Friday evening
Ritchie came to the saloon and
was prevented from going behind
the counter by Grier, who was in
charge. 1t was about eight o.
clock, and at that hour the broad
avenue on which the saloon stands
is full Of men, partly miners re-
turned from their prospect holes
and partly new comers just emp
tied from the stages. A crowd OF
these were standing around the
door when the two men, Grier
and Ritchie, speaking loudly and
gesticuIating, appeared on the
threshold. In Leadville a "diffi-
Guilty" is pretty we'll understood,
and it is pretty we'll understood,too
that it generally takes the form
of lead. So the crowd began to
scatter. In an instant shots were
heard-s1 witnesses say two,
some three-and Grier's dead
body was seen on the sidewalk.
The physicians testify that he was
shot twice through the chest and
died in ten seconds. A jury was
summoned on the following day
and found verdict of willful and
felonious murder against Ritchie,
and he will (probably p be duly
tried. His defense is that Grier
struck him with his fist and then
fred at him in the street that he
only used his pistol in self-detense.
But Grier's popularity leaves him
few apologists in this town. Peo-
pie are getting sick Of all this bru-
tality and violence and fraud and
debauchery Of all kinds. 1t is on
ly the other day that man was
shot dead for claiming a town lot,
and another, & mining contractor,
met the same fate from a laborer
who claimed to be paid off on
Wednesday instead Of Saturday.
AS to robberies; they are OF daily
occurrence. Every night some lone
ly wayfarer is requested to "hold
up his hands" by two or three
bunkos with revol7ers in close
proximity to his nose, and pun
ishment hardly ever follows the
offense. In the rare instances in
which arrests are made the bun
kos confederates are always on
hand to prove an alibi. A local
newspaper desiring to glorify the
town states in recent article that
"though it is scarcely two years
since the first building was put up
here. it now contains-beer halls,
10; saloons, 100; gambling-houses,
l18; houses of prostitution, 80.
This is a pretty showing, but the
line of argument by which it is
made to crafty any citizens
pride is not easily followed. We
have imported our vices from the
west as we'll as the east. One in
stitution-known as opium club
halls-has been borrowed from
San Francisco. The main object
of the club is, Of course, the smok-
ing of opium. But the deleterious
charms of the drug are heightened
by the presence of female society,
and the meetings Of the club are
held in rooms closely shut up and
heated TO such an extent that
clothing is unbearable. Here scores
of creatures spcnd their days
and nights in semi-stupor, uncon-
scious Of everything but the
dreamy, sensuous languor which
DeQuincy so graphically describes'
No policeman can enter there,
=