Omaha daily bee., 1884-08-11
A DARKEY DUEL.
Bill" Davis PGrfOratGS Ills Friend
Flowers in a Ninth Street Alley.
The Affair Occurs Sunday After
noon With Hundreds Present.
The Little Exchange OF Four or Five
.k~rL-. Shots all About FraiI
White Woman.

Yesterday afternoon between four and
five o'clock soldier and colored man
who had some differences to adjust went
Into the alley between Douglas and Dodge
and Eighth and Ninth streets to settle
their dispute by a fstio encounter. The
men were followed to the fighting grounds
by large number of the denizens of that
part of the city, who went to witness the
affray. The fight was progressing warm
ly when the loud reports of
FOUR PISTOL SHOTS
were heard, and the affrighted spectators
saw colored man run from the crowd
toward the river to escape appreh ension
by the officers. Shortly afterward a
great burly negro assisted by several
companions came up the alley bleeding
from wound in the abdomen. The
fleeing man was negro named William
Davis and the wounded one was James
Flowers, whose name does not come into
print for the first time in Omaha from
this ARRAY. 1t appears that these two
men had been
THREATENING TO KILL ONE ANOTHER
on sight for several days, owinn to some
difficulty growing out of each ones rela-
tions with a white woman who until yes
terday lived at notorious disorderly
house on Eleventh street and Capitol
avenue run by a woman named Ellen
Mitchell. Yesterday the cause of their
trouble moved into house near the cor
ner of Ninth and Dodge and both men
being in that vicinity followed the COM
batants into the alley. Some of these
who were present say that Davis and
Flowers happening to meet, the former
deliberately drew out his revolver and
being only two or three PAGES distance
fred, the ball hitting the latter just
below the stomach. Davis fred
again, but the bullet flew wide of it's
mark. Flowers seized Davis and wrench
ed the pistol from his grasp, when the
latter turned and fled. The wounded
man followed Davis and fred two shots
at him but without effect. The pistol
reports brought out
SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE,
mostly women and children, who, when
they saw what had been done gave vent
to their fright by screams and cries.
Officers Morryston and Bellamy, who
were close by, followed Davis down
through the bottoms. The fleeing man
took down the railroad track and hid in
an empty shed near the Seventh street
railroad crossing where he was found by
the police. He was taken to the city
jail and the charge of shooting with in
tent to kill set opposite his name.
The wounded man was helped into a
carriage and taken to No. 2O3 North
Eleventh street. Drs. Lee and Ayres,
who had been summoned, soon appeared.
Flowers was found to have received
A DANGEROUS WOUND
from 44.calibre revolver, on the right
side of the median line, two inches above
the groin. The ball took downward
end outward course, and buried itself In
the muscles of the thigh, passing
within half inch of the femoral
artery. The surgeons probed for
the ball, but were unable to extract it.
The wound is considered by the attend
ing physicians not fatal, though a very
serious one. Flowers stated to the police
officers that three or four of those present
saw young man named Martin Kennel
ly hand Davis the revolver with which
he did the shooting. Upon
his statement Connolly was arrested
on Tenth street by Officer Uormick. He
was kept through the night in the city
Jail charged with being an accomplice.
He denies any completely In the affair.
Davis story, as related in the city jail
last evening, Is entirely different from
that related above, who says that upon
meeting Flowers in the alley he Flow
ers) made feint as if to draw a revolver
from his pocket. The prisoner said the
wounded man compelled him to
THROW UP HIS HANDS
Saturday evening by drawing
a pistol upon him, and that he thought
he was about to do it again, and whip
ping out his revolver fred at Flowers in
self-defense. No pistol, however, was
upon the wounded man when he was
searched. Davis says he bought The pis
tol of pawnbroker only yesterday fore
noon, and purchased it for the purpose
of defending himself from an attack by
Flowers
The prisoner bears the reputation
among his race of being hard working,
honest man who never before has been
in any trouble. Flowers is looked upon
by many of the colored people as being
desperate character. 1t was cnly two
weeks ago last night that Flowers was
arrested and afterward fined for shooting
at a colored brother named Dixon while
in state of intoxication at Dick Curry's
old place on Tenth street.