The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-09-30
THESTATE.
ALMOST A KILLING AT THE
TOWN OF DRUEGGERHOFF
TRAGEDY IN M'GREGOR
SHOT DOWN IN y YOUNG GIRLS
BED-ROOM---A RAILROAD
WRECK.
Special Telegram to the Statesman

BRuEGGERHoFF, September 2S-What came
near being terrible tragedy was enacted here to-
day. About the first of this month the store of
Messrs. G. W. Clock d Son was broken into and
robbed. An examination showed that an entrance
was made by way of one of the front windows, the
wooden shutter which closes from the outside hav-
ing been removed from its hinges and the window
sash PRED up for that purpose. The inside of the
store presented scene of wild disorder. Goods
lay strewed around every where. Many shelves
and boxes had been entirely emptied of their con-
tents, indicating the hurried work of busy hands.
OUTSIDE
bolt of calico was cunningly dropped 10 tell the
needy wants OF wife, or, perhaps, other female
friends. Down the railroad track another deposit
of calico was found in the weeds, This time in
dicatinS the possibly sudden and increased hurry
of, of the S... carrier. fa Beyond this point moth
of the fugitive, save the footsteps of a solitary
person. recount at the store showed no goods
were now missing, but an examination of the till
revealed the fact that it had not been overlooked
but who was the
MYSTERIOUS VISITOR?
Detective skill is not conspicuous for its bsence
here. Brueggerhoff is too far removed from the
influence of Austin's police system for that and
thus it may be recorded to the infinite credit of
our people that no crime has ever yet been com
mtted here without the guilty being spotted sooner
or later, and it may be possible this one will not
be an exception.
SUSPICION
was early attached to one of the railroad employees
and last Friday morning Mr.. Ben Watson was
scooped in by Officer j. n. Stewart, charged with
the robbery. The evidence was thought to be too
finely drawn to sustain conviction, and on Satur-
day, after a two days trial before Justice r. b.
I1ilard, Watson was turned loose. More corrobor-
ative testimony was discovered Sunday and Wat
son was again arrested, and after a second eXami-
nation his bond was fixed at $500. While the Off
ers were waiting for the prisoner to give bond
the scenes briefly alluded to in the opening sen
tence of this dispatch was enacted.
A SENSATIONAL SCENE.
"D-n you, your time has come. old fellow!'
Accompanied by the.leveling of heavily loaded
shotgun at one of the section men, who had given
evidence against him, was the first indication of
the hostile intentions of the prisoner and proved
to be a sufficient invitation for the gentleman
threatened, and who was unarmed to make his
exit from the scene.
Then followed an alarm which brought Of1icor
Stewart forward, who found Mrs. Clock, at whose
house the prisoner was being guarded engaged in
a struggle to obtain the gun from him Stewart
ordered the prisoner to desist but instead he was
met with the reply;
''sTAND OFF
Or will kill YOU This was accompanied still by
an effort to use the gun. Officer Stewart now act
ing on the defensive drew his pistol and fired. The
prisoner threw up his hands and eXclaiming:
"IAM DONE"
ell to the ground. Thus ended the struggle and
without anyone being seriously hurt,
he pistol ball only passing through the crown of
he prisoners hat.