Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1879-08-01
THE MILITANT MIDDLETON.

DR.. Daggett and wife of O'Neill City,
Nebraska, arrived in Yankton last evening.
DR.. Daggett comes from the vicinity made
famous by the exploits of Doc. Middleton,
and being the physician who attended the
noted brigand after he was shot in the fight
with the detectives, %arepo1ter 70. this paper
visited him last evening at the Jencks hotel
and received from him q statement In re-
gard to the recent events In the Niobrara
valley which have attracted such wide at
%tention.
AS heretofore published, a detective
named Llewellan and a man named Hazen,
who 1t is thought was not a professional
detective, but a person of known courage
and pluck and on account of these qualities
employed by the detective to assist him in
the hazardous job he had undertaken, that
of arresting Doc. Middleton, appeared in
the Niobrara valley and succeeded in meet
ing and making the acquaintance of Mid.
dleton. They represented to him that they
had in their possession a full pardon for
him from the governor of Nebraska, and
that their object was to induce hun TO &C.
cept the pardon, become a detective and
aid the authorities in arrestipg or driving
out of the country the gang ofhorse thieves
and desperadoes that infest the Niobra,a
valley. For the ostcnsible accomplishment
OF their object they had frequent meetings
with Middleton, and on the morning that
the shooting took place the proposition
was to be accepted or rejected. The three
men were riding along together, Middleton
and Hazen side by side, and Llewellan
some distance in the rear. On approach
ing q patch of timber or brush Mlddleton's
quick eye detected an object in the brush
which he at first took to be a rabbit, and
drew his revolver with the intention of
shooting it. Upon riding closer, however,
he discovered that it was man, armed
with a rifle. 1t Immediately occurred to
him that he was being led into an ambush,
but before he had time to retreat or other.
wise avoid the danger the man in the brush
fired upon him. but without effect. The
report of the rifle frightened Middleton's
horse, and he was thrown to the ground,
when Hazen drew his revolver and CON-
menced firing at him, while Llewcllan
turned his horse and rode off rapidly in
the opposite direction. None OF Hazen's
shots hit the endorsed brigand, and as soon
as the latter could regain his legs he started
for q rayine, but after running a short dis.
lance it occurred 10 him that he might be
running into another ambush, and be re-
turned towards the road, coming directly
upon Hazen who had changed his position
after the first shots were fired. Hazen dis
mounted and placed his horse between him.
self and Middleton, who presented his re-
volver at Hazen snd ordered him to drop
his rifle. This he refused to do, but i'm
mediately fired at Middleton, and gave him
the wound about which so much has been
said and written. The ball, which was
fired from a A calibre Winchester rifle
struck Middleton in the abdomen, and
passed around his body, coming out of the
back without penetrating the cavity. Mid
dleton then opened fire on Hazen, firing
two shots, the first taking effect in the
shoulder or neck and the second passing
through his lungs. Hazen fell, and believ
ing to be dead, Middleton made his escape
and with the assistance of his friends took
refuge in a deep canon on the Niobrara
river. Here DR.. Daggett visited him and
dressed his wound. The shooting took
place on Sunday the Goth of July on the
Niobrara river, and not on the Long Pine.
as heretofore stated.
AT the time this took place another de-
teclive named Leech, from Wyoming, with
a posse was in the Niobrara valley on the
same Grand, the arrest of Middleton. AT.
ter this escspade Llewellan joined Leech
and being reinforced with a squad of SOL
diers started in pursuit of Middleton. They
went to the house of a man named Richard.
son, to whose daughter Middleton was mar.
ried about two months ago, and compelled
him to point out the hiding place of the
wounded outlaw. He led them to the can
on where Middleton, his wife and two
boys, aged respectively 16 and 1s years
VSAS NoupSu' oClOAC CukCEluH Lue CAOVOO
which is represented as being about twenty
feet deep with precipitous walls, the det.c.
tives and their party fired thirty or forty
shots into it to stir up the game. Middle
ton crawled out of his tent and through
the brush a distance Of 200 yards, attempt
ing to escape. The first man who came in
sight of him was Lvkens, the man who
first fired at him from the bushes, and see
ing that he was discovered and surrounded
by a large number of men, Middleton call
ed out, Don't let them kill me-" The
party then approached him and he was ar
rested without difficulty, and started off for
Columbus, Nebraska. The arrest took
place on the 9th INST, just one week from
the first encounter.
A reward of $4,000 was offered by wy
oming territory for Middleton's 'dead
body" and it is believed by the people of
the Niobrara valley that if was the inten-