Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1885-11-19
Kr1Inn ar 4 anINMEr.
A Blow Received at Play Results
4 Fatally. M

A Blow Received at Play Results
Fatally.
Last Friday evening Reese Little, aged
IL, James Hanna, aged 10, and several
other boys were playing shinney on
Seventh street near Church. During
their play Little struck Hanna on the
head with his shinney. Hannn did not
seem to mind the blow much at the time
nor until Saturday night.
Sunday no grew so bad that u
physician, DIR. Ball, was called in, but
too late to save the lads life, young
Hanna dying at 1890 Sunday night. The
doctor attributed his death to congestion
of the brain, caused by the rupture of q
blood vessel.
Chief Dougherty arrested Little Monday
afternoon and locked him up to await u
hearing.
Young Hanna was the son of Andrew
J. Hanna, q blacksmith at the p, W. d
b. shops, residing at No. 71S East Seventh
street He had been engaged in serving
papers, and was able to serve his
customers on Saturday afternoon, though
while thus employed he complained offeel-
ing bad and news agent named Gosnall
rubbed his head with something, after
which the lad completed his route. He
then went home to supper and, after that
meal, came out again and sold few
papers he had left over. His first really
bad symptoms developed after he had
gone to bed, when his mother found him
unconscious.
Reese Little, the boy who has thus got
himself into such serious trouble, was
seen at the police station by GAzETTE
representative this afternoon. He was
II years of age on the I'd of last October,
and for some time past his
only employment has been open
ing oysters on Tuesdays and Fridays
for man named Hukill, on Poplar
street between Fourth and Fifth. His
statement was substantially as follows /:
81 reside at No. ZIG Bennett street, and
am son of William j. Little, laborer
at the mills of the Mccullough
Iron Company. Last Friday evening
was playing shinney with several other
boys on Seventh street, between Church
and Spruce. James Hanna was one of
the boys. We used piece of an old tin
can for ball and had ordinary shinneys
struck the tin, and then run after it to
hit it again. Hanna WIS right behind
me, and as / drew back the
shinney to hit the tin struck Hanna
on the right temple. He did not seem to
mind the blow, and simply said 'you hit
me" and then went over and sat down on
O step for about FIVE minutes. He after
wards joined the play, and also played
chaser for nearly an hour and half.
Then he sat on Martins fence for
awhile, and finally started for home,
saying his head hurt him.
The next morning his mother
came to our house and told me he had
been very restless all night. went down
with her and bathed his head. During
| the day he was ON the street, playing
with other boys, and 1 had no idea that
he was seriously hurt until l learned Inst
pight that he was dead. / never had any
| quarrel with Hanna or any hard feelings
against him, and the blow l gave him was
an accident.
| Little made his statement in % plain,
straightforward manner, but with down
cast eyes and evident feeling. He is not
an Unlocking boy, and talks fairly well.
/ The cause of the death of James @.
Hanna, the little boy who was killed by d
blow from n shinney, received last Friday
evening, was investigated by coroner't
/ Jury Tuesday afternoon and yesterday
| morning. The jury consisted of seven mem
bers, of whom ex-Sheriff John Pyle was
foreman and w. S. McNair secretary
After viewing the body of the victim al
the home of his parents, No. 718 East Sew
enth street, the jury heard the statement
of the mother, Hannah Hanna. The jury
then retired to the Office of Undertaken
Palmer, where the investigation was con
tinued. The witnesses examined in thu
afternoon were Drs. Willard Springer, @
ID. e. Ball and j. III. j. Bush, who hat
made the post norton examination; Au
gustus Gillespie and Clifford Forrest, two
BOYS of IS who had been in the fatal game
Yesterday William j. Burton, Georg
b. Dawson and William D. Sparks wer
examined.
The testimony showed that the bloy
was delivered when the boys were playing
sides in game of shinney on Friday even
ing. Little and Gillespie being on on
side and Hanna and Forrest on the other
Little and Hanna were both striking at til
block ct the same time, and in drawin
back with considerable force to strike
Little hit Hanna a back-handed blo'
ON the right side of the head
The blow seemed to caus
| Dub Phiht TO thhhti
played chaser for over an hour afterward
with the same boys. The manner in whic
the serious injury manifested itself wit
fatal consequences has been already II
lated. The physicians testified thu
neither the scalp was broken nor til
skull fractured, but blood vessel WI
ruptured inside the skull, which caused
slow hemorrhage, the blood forming
/ clot as large as aattened egg, whic
brought on congestion of the brain, frol
! which the boy died.
The verdict was that deceased "came
I his death by blow from shinney stick
the hands of Reese Little, said blow ha'
| ing been delivered accidentally and witt
out malice" In accordance with til
verdict Deputy Coroner Smith release
Little sat 10 O'Clock; yesterday morning
after giving him some kindly advice. III
coroner had the shinney stick in his han
and offered it to Little, who said he didn
, want anything to do with it. He thankt
the coroner and left the police STATIC
), Little is about five feet eight inches
height and quite heavily built. None
!. his playmates in the game were over
years of age.