The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1883-04-05
monpnisn Avn snlr. Monorn.
Colonel A. = McNcill In n Mad momef
blows iiis nralns Oot White under the
Iunusura of tho DEADLY Drug,


Colonel A. = McNclli In n Mad momeft
blows Ms nralns Odt White under the
Influence Of tho Deadly Drug.
Saturday morning the little town Of Mes.
quite, m the cas- ern part OF the county, was
thrown iutO high state Of excitement by
the news that Colonel A. j. Mcneil, n 70.
spected citizen OF that place, had committed
suicide by shooting himself through the
right temple, along the road-s side about one
mile west of Mesquite. Ever since the
death OF his brother, CAPTAIN John Mcneil,
which occurred some two years since, the
deceased appeared TO be Dc
pressed IN spirits, and in his
grief, IL Is alleged, he resorted TO morphine,
as comforter, and his grief being no
doubt intensified by the sale OF the old
homestead, Saturday, caused him in mo-
menJ OF madness TO commit the rash ACT.
THE INQUEST.
Justice Lanier, of that precinct. empan-
neled u jury of inquest aud the following
testimony of witnesses was adduceu:
LEWIS FILEN,
the first witness sworn testified as follows:
About II or l O'Clock, March 81, 1873
| was going from Mesquite to Scyene,
and when l got within about
twenty. yards. of a branch emptying INTO
| South Mesquite creek, about one mile west
of Mesquite depot, near the old Moss
place, my morse became frightened, ana at
the same time | discovered u man lying
near the road, and white horse, with sad
die and bride on, tied to tree near by;
rode up to within about fifteen steps oil
| him. did not know him; l called to MN,
but he did not answer; ! saw blood on his
hat and forehead his hat was lying within
two or three inches OF his head; l returned
TO Mesquite and reported that there was
10
recognize the man before me as the same
man, and he is lying in the same position
he was when first discovered him.
A. j. sTANFIELD,
the second witness, testified: l understood
that there was a man dead at this place,
and w. P. Porter, myself and another man;
I.I don't recollect who, came here ABOUT III
o'clock; recognize the deceased before me
as the man found here when first came,
living in the same osition, with pistol on
the ground near him; do not know the
man.
the third witness, testified: l came here
about 10 O'Clock, having heard that there
was man dead here; l found the deceased,
whom ] recognized as A. J. Mcneil, VINO
resides in this county near Scyene, lying IN
by his side near his right hand; a five
shooter with four chambers loaded and one
empty; he had bullet hole IN bis right
temple.
W. F. woRTHINGToN,
the fourth witness, testified: | recog-
pize the deceased as A. j. Mcneil,
of the Scyene neighborhood the
deceased has been taking morphine to
excess for two years; some eight days ago
IL Q wife of the deceased said to me that her
husband was using morphine to excess, and
said that he said to her that he did not
want to live without using so much NOR
phine; / am told that the pistol lying by
his side is the property of Mr.. bennington,
and that deceased borrowed tia lew DAYS
ago, as he said, to kill rats with.
DR. j. A. CULLEN,
the filth witness, testified upon examlna-
ton of the body of deceased: l found a
wound in the right temple, about half way
between the eye and ear, rather above the
line of the eyebrow; the wound was, in my
opinion, caused by a pistol shot and ranged
directly through the head; / find the bull
let Just under the skin on the Left temple,
almost exactly opposite the point OF en-
trance: the mouth of deceased was
much blackened and powder-burnt; the
hair on the temple and lei.
eyebrow was burned almost entirely OIL.
After hearing the evidence the jury re-
turned the following
VERDICT
1--WE, the jury, having been duly sworn to
diligently inquire into the cause, manner,
time and circumsta nee of the death OF the
person whose body lies before us, find the
deceased to be A. j. Mcneil, who resides
near Scyene, Dallas county, Texas and that
he came to his death by a pistol shot from
his own hand, the 31st of March 1855"