The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1883-06-21

Dstllk III llllS room, near Mann street,
stood james Mutt and when Dukes reached
the spot or got little beyond where he
stood Mutt opened fire on him and shot
him two successive times in the back near
the heart. Dukes started on Il dead run
pursued 10y Mutt, who fired three more
| shots. TWO OF them took effect in the
| back only about two inches from the first
two, and the fifth and the last bullet struck
him i'll the left ankle us he was going up
the postollice steps There are two steps
leading up into the office. and when Dukes
/ reached the top one he fell forward on his
face. There was an immense crowd OF
people standing around on the outside of
the office and they ran i'll every direction
to escape the shots. The fifth ball only
| grazed the left ankle and glanced off and
went through some Of the lock boxes.
A Number of persons rushed up the
steps after Dukes and ut the same time po-
! liceman Pegg ran up and caught Mutt,
who made no resistance whatever, but said
to the officer: Here, you take this -
whereupon he gave him his revolver.
Pegg said to him !: Y on have done q bad
| piece Of work, y to which Mutt replied
Yes, but | could not help it,
The officer took Mutt to Jail and Dukes
was carried to that same old room in the
Jennings House where Captain Mutt was
killed by him and which he has continued
to occupy ever since.
| Coroner Sturgeon arrived on the scene of
the shooting and took charge of Dukes
body. Dukes lived only about half minute
| after being shot the last time. A friend
! of his was at his side and he tried to speak,
but could only mutter something, but so
indistinctly that it could not be under
stood. He knew who shot him, evidently,
| for he turned around when the first shot
/ xtrnS Hra1 ~ Int 10 I
| firing the second time and then ran. AS
soon as he was pronounced dead by the
| Coroner the body was taken to that room
of his where he killed the father of the
| boy who killed him.
| The Coroner then impaneled his Jury.
| which consists of Andrew j. Gilmore. as
foreman George G. Marshall, Dr. L. S.
Gaddis, John N. Dawson, w. II. Miller
and ii. III. Hoskney, Jr After the jury
was sworn it was decided to postpone the
examination OF witnesses until tomorrow
| morning at s O'Clock. One witness, how
| ever, was examined and that was Officer
| Pegg, who witnessed the shooting and AZ
rested Mutt. He testified that he was
standing on the opposite corner and saw
Dukes walking down the street. Mutt was
i'll the room of the Ground Corner. y
When Dukes had stepped by Mutt Mutt
shot twice and Dukes looked around and |
then ran Mutt ran after him and fired
three more times. The officer ran after
them and caught Mutt just after he had
fired his last shot. Mutt, he said. made no
saying on take this.r The witness
told him he had done a bad piece of work,
and Mutt replied II could not help it,
The jury then proceeded to examine the
body. The coat was first taken off and
searched. The pockets only contained
some papers, which were not touched. The
| back had four bullet holes in the left side
| The vest contained nothing of any impor-
lance and the holes in the vest correspond
ed with those in the coat. A dirk knife
was found hanging to the suspender but
ton on Dukes left side, where he could
grasp it at an instant with his right hand
and in his right hip-pocket was found the |
Idle ntical revolver with which he shot Cap |
tain n utt. The dirk was ready for close |
encounter, and the revolver for long
range. Many thought that the revolver
used by Mutt was the same his father had
at the time Dukes killed him. 1t was
Colt 32-calibre and not so large as the one
his father had. All these things were
taken by the coroner.
On later examination of the wounds it
was found that three of the balls and not
four penetrated the body. They are so
close together that a ring four inches in
diameter will cover them all. Two of them
went clear through the body and could be
seen just through the skin, one on the
right side of the breast and the other,
which fractured Il rib, us near the middle
OF the breast us could be.
These balls were cut out and the hole
prObed by the Coroner and his father, Dr. |
w. II. Sturgeon. 1t was found that these
balls passed to the right of, and very near
the heart. The third hole was then probed |
and the ball was found lodged i'll the mus
cular tissues Of the heart. This baltpassed
through the lungs first and then into the |
heart. 1t is thought that any one Of those
three balls would have caused his death. |
The two balls that went through to the
breast and were extracted are also in the
hands OF the Coroner. The ball that graZed
the ankle, and the one that missed
him altogether were picked up by persons
about the postoflice.
Dukes was dressed in u neat suit of dark
clothes, single breasted cutaway coat and
soft black hat, and carried, us he has al
ways done, a little rattan cane His col
l;lr was high one, around which was tied
a narrow black crayat. His body will be
left where it now lies until after the in
quest is over tomorrow morning. The
undertakerS are now at work laying him
out. When he fell his forehead struck the
floor with great force and made an ugly
bruise on it. Before the Coroner left
gentleman friend of Dukes came into the
room and said that Miss Mary Beeson
wanted Dukes keys. to which the Coroner |
replied "No one but his mother can have |
them.H Miss, Beeson lives in the house !
adjoining the Jennings House, and it has |
been reported that they have been engaged |
for some time. He visited her daily.
James Mutt was taken to the jail by Of !
info no dc
of Sheriff Hoover, who Immediately locked !
him up behind the huge iron bars. When |
Dukes shot Captain Mutt he was treated |
to the best room in the Sheriff'S mansion |
and had the run of the house, but it is diff |
ferent now. The shooting had scarcely !
taken place before the whole community
had heard of it and the people rushed to |
the scene by hundreds. The Coroner was
on his way to the Post Office when the
shooting occurred, and arrived there just
before life was extinct, and it was all that
a dozen men could do to keep the immense
crowd from the body. There were one or
two cries of ''Stand back and give him
all" and many were the shouts: HE
needs no ali, let him die : he got what he
deserved" The inquiry along the streets
was SIS he dead ?" and when told YES. the
reply was ''He will have to argue his own
case at the bar he has gone to now.'' The |
case to disbar him was to have taken place
in chambers ON Friday Of this week. but
that unpleasantness will not have to be |
gone over again.
The universal feeling is sympathy with !
James Mutt. Only a few days ago he went |
nome, and when he met his mother he said
to her:
Mother, l met Dukes on the street to-
day, and he looked at me and laughed
His mother tried hard to get HIM TO
promise that he would not do anything TO
Dukes, but he told her he would not talk
to her on that subject.
Jas. H. Register, Auditor of Richmond,
and prominent resident OF that city, dled