Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1886-03-04
4 DESPERATE SHOT.
Frank smith, q Prisoner In b Minnesota
entiary 1T saltwater, Killed
by Deputy Warden Reed.


---e-
At o o'clock yesterday morning VIC Reed,
acting deputy warden of the penitentiary,
shot and killed d convict named Frank
Smith. Smith was one OF the gang Of high
way robbers sent to the penitentiary IN
October last from Winona His sentence was
thirteen years, and his confederates. Thomas
Rice and Daniel Mcmahon. got thirteen and
nine years respectively. They were q des-
perate lot, Smith being the most dangerous
of the three. On Friday last Smith com
planned TO the deputy warden that
he was dissatisfied with L. Mcclellan,
the foreman of the wagon shops IN which
the convict worked, and that he desired to
be transferred to some other place. The
deputy gave him no encouragement as to
being transferred, but had a talk with Nc
Kellar, IN which he told him it would per-
haps be better for him, when he had any di-
r~ections to make about the work, to COM
municate them to the guard, II c. Orff, and
have him give them to the prisoner. Nickel
lar did as suggested, and all seemed right with
Smith until Saturday evening. when he again
complained TO the deputy of McKeIlar and
asked in a p~eremptory tone to be taken out
of that shop entirely and placed in some
USlti. Ing uSDuty IOiu I'LL NC IOutu hob
grant the request, and the prisoner then
asked to have an interview with Warden ]. A.
Reed, father of the deputy. Accordingly, on
Sunday afternoon Warden Reed called at
Smit this cell to hear his complaint Smith
said he had worked some at moulding and
wished to be transferred to the moulding
shop The warden asked him If he was being
misused where he was, and he replied in the
,ar.Yfxra. I.Y,t Eo3l that ne ha had urnrIad nj
moulding be preferred to be employed at
that The moulding shop is close to the
large gate through which the railroad track
to the prison groundsJs laid The transfer
locomotive is putting cars in and out of this
gate several times a day, and a prisoner
working in the moulding shop has a possible
chance of escape, For this reason only short
term and the most trustworthy prisoners
are permitted to work in the mould
ing shop. The warden felt, from
Smiths manner of talking, that he was
fore told him that there would be 40 change
made. The prisoner then, witt a desperate
expression of countenaDce, told the warden
that there would be trouble unless the
change was made. The warden replied:
There will be no trouble unless you make IL:
aud then IL will be only trouble for yourself;
none for us.
The warden that afternoon told the
deputy to be on his guard for
Smith, as he was a desperate man,
and if Smith made trouble to punish
him severely. The punishment prescribed
was to tie him up in the dark dungeon with
handouts. Monday passed without any
trouble, and Smith commenced on his work
yesterday morning. apparently all satisfied;
but u little before 3 O'Clock he beckoned to
Mcclellan, the foreman. and as the latter ap-
preached asked him il it was all right to pile
the Nxraop tpnOnpS he WAS w0rkln0 nnOn IN
a place pointed at Mcclellan replied that he
guessed that was all right, but would
himself ask the guard about IT. As Mcclellan
was turning around to go to the guard, the
prisoner struck him q staggering blow on
| the side of the lower Jaw with his fist, and
followed with O second blow. The guard
was on the spot in an ~inst9nt, when the
prisoner grabbed a sledge hammer, and with
a vicious spring commenced breaking
various valuable machinery in the shop,
doing about $500 worth of damage.
In a few seconds he dropped the sledge
hammer, and picking up an axe started
toward the guard and Mcclellan, with the
exclamation that he would chop the fore
man in two. Seeing that the guard was
prepared for him, he dropped the axe, and
walking up to him asked for a pass to the
cell rooms, The pass was written and smith
started, meeting the deputy warden near the
cell rooms The deputy warden had
heard of the trouble and told the
prisoner ne should tie him up IN the dark
dungeon. The convict replied, with an oath,
that he would not be tied up, and that the
deputy and all the prison guards could not
tie min. All the prisoners are searched be-
fore being put in the dark dungeon, for the
reason that they ma have carried, con-
cealed in their clothes, some weapon from
the shops, with which they may in
lure the guard whose duty it is to go
inside md feed them The deputy
attempted to search Smith, but the latter
lerked away from him with the remark that
he would not be searched, and that there
were not enough men there to do it. Then
h jumped inside the dungeon, ierked of
his Jacket as if to fight, and faced the dep
uty, who was then standing in the door
| The deputy drew his revolver, remarking at
the same time that there was no use OF bis
making any disturbance; the handouts
As the onvict saw the revolver he seemed
to make a lunge for the deputy, when the
latter instantly fired, infficting a mortal
wound. The bullet entered the right breast
near the nipple, passed through the lower
part of the heart. and lodged in the thick
muscles of the left back. As soon as the
warden was notified of what had happened
he informed Coroner Merrill, and the latter
took charge of the remains. Apost-mortem
examination was made by Drs Millard and
T. c. Clark, and an inquest was convened at
2 o'clock in the afternoon.
JUsTIFIABLE HOMICIDE
The c%oroner's jury was composed of Hon.
f. w. Durant, ". s. Conrad, Thomas Roney,
W. w. Mcpherson, J.. L. CARL and C. August
Staples. After hearing the evidence the
jury rendered the following verdict:
That Frank Smith came to his death by means
of a gunshot wound at the hands of Acting
Deputy Warden W. c.. Reed, while in. the per-
Torrance of his official duties as acting deputy
warden of the Minnesota state prison.
Frank Smith gave his aye at the time he
entered the prison as twenty-five years.
Fl THIRD CASE.
He is the third convict who has been killed
in this way in the history of the prison. The
hrst was Killed by Robert Davis, deputy to
| Warden John S. Proctor. The %convict's name
was Butts, and he was shot while approach
ing the deputy with an uplifted spade. The
second convict was killed in 1879 by the
present deputy warden, Abe Hall, who Is
now visiting In California OF leave of alb
sence. The prisoners name was John Clark,
and he was shot while defying the authority
of the deputy and trying to stir up an lnsur-
rection in the prison. In the present CASE
the evidence showed that Deputy Reed shot
at the convict while the latter was standing
in the dark dungeon where accurate aim
could not be had. and that the deputy die
not shoot with the evident intention of kill
ing. Although the convict was shot through
the lower part of the heart, the evidence
showed that he lived ten minutes afterward,
and that Just as he was hot he said: @Yes,
deputy, / will come aud have the handc uffs
on
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