Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1883-07-11
FIGHT.
Details or the killing Of John
KehOe at Bodie.

Details or the killing Of John
Kehoe ~ B0die.
Friday morning the Sentinel published
q brief telegram from Bodie in regard to
the fatal pistol fight between Tom Des-
mond and John Kehoe at that place, the
full particulars Of which we get to-day
from the Bodie Free Press. as follows:
Last Thursday morning at about l
o'clock John Kehoe, q Deputy Constable
and night watchman, and Tim Desmond,
a miner, had = shooting scrape in front of
tho Temple Saloon, in which Kehoe was
killed, having received no less than five
bullets In his body. The battle was q des-
perate one. Mr.. Desmond was wounded
twice. One ball struck the right wrist,
and another made a flesh wound on the
right side near the hip.
Desmond says that he entered the Tenn
pie with O. E. Loose about l o'clock and
saw Kehoe standing at the bar talking
with M. Cody. He passed by Kehoe, but
did not speak to him; he stood close TO
him, and listened to what was being said.
In q moment Kehoe invited Desmond to
step outside, O. he desired TO speak to him.
Il went out with Kehoe and we walked
down the sidewalk q few steps. Kehoe re-
marked: What did you say about me?' I
replied: i have said nothing at ALL He
then drew out his gun and said: Take
that, you - of q b at the same
time striking me two or three times on the
head. He then commenced to fire. l
think the first shot struck me in the side.
l then pulled my revolver and returned
the fire. I do not know how many shots
were exchanged. Kehoe pushed me mp
against the building and I grabbed his gun
with my left hand, the right being dis
abled by q wound in the wrist" Desmond
said he struck Kehoe on the head with the
'gun" and fred one or two shots, he
could not remember how many.
At the inquest held Thursday evening
by Coroner James Warren, the following
additional details were related by wit
nesses: Milt. Aldridge stated that Kehoe
was talking to Cody regarding fire mat
tiers when Desmond entered. The two
men went out on the sidewalk, and in Q
moment he heard two shots. Desmond
then backed into the saloon and the shoot
ing continued. He saw no one shoot, as
he 1.-THE witness) dropped behind the bar.
When the firing ceased Aldridge Jaw
Kehoe lying on the floor. He thought
some OF the shots were fired from the rear
part Of the saloon.
Desmond was arrested by James Sum-
ner. The body Of Kehoe was removed
to Kelly's undertaking rooms. Upon ex-
animation it was found that there were
three bullet holes in the right breast, one
in the left breast and three in the BACK
An ugly scalp wound was also visible on
the back Of his head, as we'll a. numerous
cuts about the face. The dead mans coat, |
vest and shirt were badly torn, showing
that there had been a desperate struggle. |
The Coroner found two bullets in Kehoe's
clothing. One of them was small and the
other large. The small ball could not
have come from the same six-shooter used
by Desmond and Kehoe. Drs. Rogers and
Deal are Of the opinion that five, if not
seven, balls pierced the deceased's body.
John Kehoe has been q resident OF b.
die for several years. Part OF the time he
worked in the mines, and for q year he
was Chief Engineer of the Fire Depart
ment, and was foreman OF the Pioneer Hook
and Ladder Company No. /. For q long
past he has been Q deputy Constable
and night Waterman. He was a native of |
Ireland. "a years Of age, and has a wife
and children living in Canada. He served
in the Federal army during the war and
was a member Of Company B Sixteenth
United States Infantry. As an officer he
was attentive to his duties, and as q fire.
he took q interest in his work. |
While he was somewhat brusque in his
amer and very tenacious of his own
ideas, he had many good qualities.
Those who were in the saloon at the
time saw no one shoot, and it is evident |
some of the bottom facts regarding
the affair will forever remain a mystery. |
But Desmond did not do all the shooting.
There were three balls extracted from
Kehoe's body, neither one Of which fitted
the weapon used by Desmond. When
picked up Desmond's gun contained two
empty shells, and the bullets are no doubt
in Kehoe's body. The two ''leaden mes
sengers" extracted from the wrist and side
Of Desmond came from Kehoe's gun, as
they correspondent with its calibre. The
three balls extracted from the corpse were
fred from different guns. One Of them
was a large ball and the other two were
small.