Omaha daily bee., 1883-08-01
THE SIDNEY TRAGEDY.
Wholesome Father Law Slot
Full Of Holes,
\ Domestic Disturbance and Is
Fatal Ending.

Plaindeder.
Thursday morning the people of Sid
ney were startled by the report that
Henry Rayner had killed Harvey Rickett
at an early hour of that morning. Be
tween $3.50 an 4 o'clock many persons
had heard several shots fired in rapid sue
c%ession, but as shooting pistols at night
is nc uncommon occurrence little atten-
ton was paid to it until the report was
circulated next moring.
A few explanatory remarks as to the
CAUSE OF THE L
will not be out of place. Mr. Rickett
was II plasterer and bricklayer by trade,
and has resided in the northern part of
town several years. He was a married
man, his family consisting of a wife and
three daughters, the elder now about
seventeen years of age. Henry Rayner,
who conducts the Sidney barber shop, had
been paying attention to the young lady
for several months, but the parents of
the girl were much opposed to a match
between them and their meetings were
necessarily clandestine, being conducted
so quietly that few people in town even
suspected the feeling they bore for each
other. On Sunday night, April 18th,
arrangements were quietly made and MIR
Rayner and Miss Rickett boarded the
tram for Ogallala, where they were mar
ried, returning to Sidney a few days
afterward. The father was very much
displeased at his daughters conduct,
but no collision occurred between he
and Rayner for some time afterwards,
when one Sunday night after church
Rickett assaulted Rayner who es-
capped punishment by flight, he
being much the smaller man of
the two, leaving his wife to go home with
friends. Stories are circulated that the
couple did not live happily together and
it is believed that the parents and friends
of the girl did what they could to induce
her to leave her husband. Be the cause
what it may she at length yielded to the
opportunities of her parents in SO much
that she consented to go to Cheyenne
and the family were to move there short
ly afterwards. Wednesday night Mrs.
Rayner was at the depot, probably with
the intention of taking passage on the
night express, which is due at 2.40 a. m.
but that train was a couple of hours late
and No. Z being about to pull out it was
decided she should go on it.
Henry Rayner became aware that some
thing was wrong and hung around the
depot oil house disguised as q tramp
watching to see what would happen. No.
z was also a little late and il was about
$3.50 before it was ready to pull out.
just before the train was ready to start
Mr.. Rickett, Mrs. Rayner and Charley
Bridenbecker came past the oil house
and up the track to the caboose of No. Z.
When the car was reached Mrs. Rayner
discovered that she had lost her ticket
and her father went back to hunt it
while Bridenbecker helped her on the
front end of the caboose, where they
were standing, MIR. b. on the south side
of the front platform and Mrs. Rayner
on the north side, when Bridenbecker
was startled by a sudden and peremptory
order to
THROW UP YOUR HANDS,"
This so astonished him that he stood spell
bound until the order was repeated two
or three times and he beheld before him
the form of Henry Rayner, disguised as
a tramp and the same individual he had
noticed about earlier in the evening. Be-
lieving discretion the better part of valor
he held up his hands, but when the
order to Get down ON your. knees"
came, to use his own words, 81 re-
solved that had rather die than do that
and made a jump off the car, landing
among the cinders south of the switch"
In the meantime Rayner had grabbed his
wife around the waist with one arm and
was holding his pistol ON Br~idenbecker
with the other. But, when the latter
jumped, Rayner started east t. the back
end of the caboose, carrying and drag
ging the woman along. Old man Rickett
had heard the disturbance and was com
ing up the track. AS Rayner stopped at
the end of the caboose, Rickett had come
within fifteen or twenty feet and that
moment Rayner turned his revolver and
commenced shooting Mt him. Briden-
becker and Mrs. Rayner both testify that
Rayner held her in front of him so they
did not dare to return the fire, but Rick
EFT shot once as he was falling almost at
the feet of his daughter. AS soon
as Rayner's pistol was emptied, he
let go of the woman and started down
the track, going over to town, thence to
his own house on First street. From
there he went to Deputy Sheriff Carly's
residence, but as neither Mr.. Carly nor
Mr.. Fowler was there he went to jim
McIntosh's residence where he stopped
and sent word for an officer to come after
him. The sheriff took him III charge and
will hold him until Judge Neubauer's re-
turn and a preliminary examination can
be held, AS he was leaving, after letting
go of his wife, Bridenbecker fired one
shot at him and this or the one fired by
Rickett hit him on the thumb.
Several railroad men who were near,
ran to the assistance of the fallen man,
and DIR. Boggs was promptly summoned.
But four bullets had entered the wounded
mans body, two in the top of the head,
N in the leg and M through the body,
and within a half hour he was beyond the
reach of human aid. The remains were
taken to the Lockwood house where they
lay until after the coroner's examination,
when they were ~removedto tbedeceased's
- ~ A. "