Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1889-08-21
JUDGE TERRY SHOT DEAD.
SLAPS JUSTICE FIELD AND
DIES ON THE SPOT.
Startling Scene in q Breakfast Room al
Lathrop, Cal.-An Insult to tha
Federal Jurist Quickly
Avenged by
Marshal.

LATHRoP, CAL, Aug. 14.-Ex-Judge
David S. Terry was shot and killed
by Deputy United States Marshal
David Nagle at the breakfast table in
the depot hotel here, this morn
ing. The shooting was caused by an as
sault made by Terry upon Justice Field
of the United States supreme court, and
grows out of the celebrated Sharon-Hill
divorce case.
Upon the arrival ofthe Southern over
land train here at 1920 this morning,
United States Supreme Judge Stephen
J. Field and Deputy United States Mar
shall Maggie walked into the depot din
ing room for breakfast and sat down
side by side. Soon after,
Judge David S. Terry and wife came in
also. They were proceeding to another
table when Mrs. Terry, evidently
recognizing Justice Field, did not cit
down but retired to the train for some
unknown purpose. Before she reached
a as s he"evf had f ieit t as s din,
ing room, Judge Terry approached
Justice Field, and STOPPING over him,
slapped his face. At this juncture
Deputy Marshal Nagle arose from his
seat and shot Judge Terry through the
heart. AS he was falling the deputy
marshal shot again, but missed him, the
bullet going through the floor. Both
shots were fred in quick succession.
The Judge never uttered sound af-
ter being shot. He had hardly fallen
when Mrs. Terry rushed to the side of
mis- body and threw herself upon it.
Then ensued scene of the wild
est excitement. People rushed from
the dining room and others rushed
in. During this time Justice
Field and Deputy Marshal Nagle re-
treated to sleeping car where they
were securely locked within. AT times
Mrs. Terry would call upon the citizens
to arrest them. Before the train pulled
out Constable Walker entered the
sleeper and was carried away
on board the train. He in
formed the spectators that he knew
his duty and would perform it. During
the time the train was standing at the
depot, Mrs. Terry was running wildly,
alternately from the body of her hus-
band to the sleeper, demand
ing admittance that she might
slap Justice Fields face, and
at the same time begging that they be
detained and have their examination
here. Previous to the entrance of Con-
stable Walker into the sleeper, Sheriff
Purvis and deputy of Stanislaus County
had already taken charge of Deputy
United States Marshal Nagle.
After the shooting Deputy United
the wall of the dining room and warned
every one not to arrest him, saying he
was United States officer in the dis
charge of his duty. There was no SEM
blance of an attempt to modest him at
any time. Constable Walker took Dep
uty Nagle from the train at Tracy and
proceeded with him to Stockton, where
he is now in Jail. Dist.-Atty. White
ordered the arrest of Justice Field upon
his arrival in San Francisco and tele-
graphed the order to the sheriff of San
Francisco.
CAUSE OF THE TRAGEDY.
SAN FRANCISCO, CAL, Aug. 1.-THE an
nouncement that Judge David S. Terry
had been shot and killed in a railway
depot at Lathrop, CAL, this morning, as
personal alteration with Justice
Stephen J. Field of the United States
supreme court, caused extraordinary ex-
citement in this city. The scene of the
tragedy is eiehty-three miles from this
city by rail and is the breakfasting sta
ton of the Southern overland train.
The possibility Of an encounter between
Terry and Justice Field has been recog-
nized ever since the imprisonment of
Terry for contempt of court ten months
ago, owing to the known temper of the
man who killed United States Senator
Broderick in the early days of Caliior-
MIA.
The killing is one incident of scores
in the historic litigation, in which Judge
Terry was first interested as the attorney
for Sarah Althea Hill, and later as the
husband of the woman. The suit was
begun in September, 1888, by the arrest
of ex-senator Sharon on charge of
adultery, as he was about to take train
in San Francisco for the East. In addi-
ton to claiming that a contract of mar
riage had been drawn up between them,
Miss Hill, who was well-known in San
Francisco social circles, claimed that
she had lent Mr.. Sharon $4,000, only
S7S, 600 of which had been returned to
her It was said at the time that imme-
diately after his arrest Mr.. Sharon drew
his check for the $4,000 in dispute.
The suit was generally regarded at first
as an attempt at blackmail and alter
ward as political conspiracy to weaken
the ex-senator's influence.
first with indecision, but early in Octo-
Der following he declared that the
charge was scheme of a s'characterless
woman and an INSCRIPTIONS man to ex-
tort money" and that he would take
immediate measures to punish them to
the full extent of the law. This state
ment was met by the other side with
the announcement that Gov. Richards,
of Wisconsin who attended the wedding
of Mr.. Sharon's daughter and Sir
Thomas Hesketh, would 60 West to tes-
tify that he heard Mr.. Sharon acknowl-
edge that be had been secretly married
to Miss Hill. Mr.. Sharon's next
step was to bring an action in the
United States circuit court to
compel Miss Hill to produce
the marriage contract and to take pos
session of it, in order that he could
prove it to be fraudulent document
which had never been signed by him.
In his affidavit he denied that he had
ever been married since becoming q
widower, and asserted that Miss Hills
object was to lay claim to his estate in
case of his death. Shortly afterward
Mics Hill cold in IN intarvIou that RI q