Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-09-24
Fatal Accident

Dr. A. II. Barber and delivered a mes
sage from Justice Keene, of Hurricane.
to the effect that Mark w. Townsend
had shot and killed his wife, and the
doctors presence was required for an
autopsy at the inquest. The news soon
spread about the city, creating con-
siderable excitement, the inference be-
ing. from the peculiar statement of the
messenger, that murder had been COM
mitted. Accepting seat in the doc
tors buggy, HERALD representative
was soon at the scene of the tragedy.
Mark Townsend's residence is small
two-story frame tenement, about three
quarters of mile from Hurricane Cor
ners, on the estate of Fl. S. Keene,
situated in a meadow back from the
man road some 80 yards, and though
pleasantly located is surrounded by no
evidence of farm industry whatever
Townsend is slim, rather effeminate
looking man, 80 years of ago, of a nerv-
ous-sanguine temperament, light COM
plexion. with brown hair tinging to
auburn. He was neatly, even tas.efully
dressed, in new well-titting clothes and
boots, and watch He was married to
Miss Olive Esther Libby Ga daugh-
ter of Mrs. Joshua Fawcett by
her first husband) four years ago the
18th of next February. and they have one
child, girl who will be 8 years old the
18th OF February. The marriage was
rather al impusve and impremptu
affair, the couple stopping at the JUS
tees on their way home from an even
ing entertainment and taking upon
themselves the marriage obligation
They had resided with Mrs. Townsend's
mother until last fall, when they re-
moved to their present abode, and their
married life seems to have possessed as
even tenor as the average. Townsend
is native of Ohio, coming to his pres
ent locality some ten or twelve years
ago, and his character has always been
good.
He states that at about 1:30 in the
afternoon he sat at a small stand clean
ing his revolver, his wife sitting sewing
about three feet distant with her back
towards him. He attempted to raise
the hammer of the revolver and let it
down between two Of the chambers, all
of which were loaded, when his thumb
slipped, the revolver, a large 3S-calibre
weapon, exploded and his wife dropped
to the floor, overturning her chair in
the fall. He says he spoke to her, re-
ceiving no reply, and the noise of the
shot having awakened the child sleep
ing in its cradle up stairs, he assembled
to the room, took the child in his arms
and started out fer the nearest neigh
bors, Mr. Gelbach's place. On his was
he met Justice Keene, told him what
had taken place, and together they re-
turned TO the house. Justice Keene at
once despatched messenger for Dis
trict Attorney Orr and DIR. Barber, and
issued venire for jury of inquest, the
following being the panel: j. Allen
Coombs, Thomas Harper, Joseph Sni-
der, John Pink, A. G. Bonham and W.
w. Ward.
The dead woman was left lying as
she fell until three of the jurors had
viewed her, when she was raised and
composed upon stretcher of chairs.
She was about q years of age, of a full
and comedy figure, and the scene pre-
sented by her appearance was sad in
the extreme. The fatal missile had gone
entirely rough her head. DR. Barber
probed the wound and located the d.
rection of the bullet. 1t had entered
the occiput about an inch to the right
of the lamboidal sutrre, and emerged
at the left temporal fossa. District
Attorney Orr visited the scene in the
evening. and later conducted the in
QUESTION. The verdict of the jury was
that of accidental death.
The following is the testimony of H.
s. Keene at the inquest: "rhe Town
sends lived in my house. | was back
here this morning with my son Walter
fixing fence. Townsend came down
where we were at work. He had with
him 22-calibre rifle Said he had
been hunting and had killed a pleas
ant and squirrel. We all shot at
mark, firing perhaps twenty shots.
This afternoon / was coming back to
fix foodgate where the fence crosses
the branch, but stopped when within
some 40 or so rods of the house to take
out small stump from the road.
heard shot and it occurred to me that
Townsend was practicing again. A
few minutes later Git may have been
five or ten minutes) l raised up and he
stood within perhaps ten feet of me
with bis little girl in his arms. Ispoke
to Bessie, when he said, Henry, help
mer then noticed he was very pale,
with drops of sweat standing on his
face. Isaid, What's the matter, Mark?
He replied, / have shot Esther /
asked how and where, and he said, /
was cleaning my revolver and it went
of and shot her in the back of the head
| asked how badly she was hurt, and
he said he did not know. | told him
to go back and | would call help and
send for the DOCTOR | started toward
home, half mile away, as fast as |
could go, calling for help. Before got
to the house, my boys ran to meet me,
and | told them to call the neighbors
and send for doctor. | then hurried !
back, thinking | might render some
assistance. Townsend came out of the |
gate to meet me, and asked the result. |
He said, %, she's dead; has been dead |
a long time He said, 4 am going to
take her over to grandma's. | said,
Not Esther?' He said, No. Bessie
| told him TO not leave until some one !
else came. | ran into the house and |
he called out, Turn to the right / |
opened the door and met the most hor- |
~ ~ 4. Al a.