Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1890-06-20
The Unfortunate Victim Suffers Great
Agony and Begged Not to be
Sent tn Brainerd.
.:'I'm Not Afraid to Die, But I Hate
to Think Such a Dirty Trick
Was Played on Me
And That I Have Got to be But Out
OF the World Like
This.
Details of the Crime.

In a drunken quarrel at Mandan Sunday
evening about 7o'clock George Lewis shot
and mortally wounded VIM. Palmer, well
known in Bismarck, where he used to live.
From last evenings Mandan Pioneer the
following particulars are CLEANED:
Lewis and Palmer and a Swede met dur
ing the afternoon and the Swede and
Lewis quarrelled. Finally Lewis struck
the Swede over the head. Not long after
this occurred the party went over to the
paint car and Lewis made a boast of hav-
ing settled the section hand and seemed
rather satisfied with what he had done.
Palmer did not like it and was free in ex-
pressing his opinion, telling George that
he ought to be ashamed of himself for
striking a poor innocent Swede who had
done nothing and could hardly speak a
word of English. This was holly resented,
and as both men were the worse for liuuor
their quarrel quickly turned into some
thing more serious. X X x X The quar-
relling began again, and Palmer succeeded
in putting Lewis out of the car through
the north door and then closed it. Lewis
ran around to the south door and again
they met, and after a few more angry
words Lewis drew a 9S calibre bulldog re-
volver and shot Palmer three times. and
perhaps four, hitting his mark every shot,
He then fired one shot into the ground and
threw his s]ix-shooter on the roof of the
round house. Palmer had fallen after the
third or fourth shot was fired, and when
George had disposed of his revolver he
jumped into the car and helped his victim
to a bunk at the side of the car, saving.
Lie down Billy and III go for the doctor"
rive and after getting Palmer's clothes off
found that one Shot had entered his left
thigh, that another had graZed the left ell
bow, a third had entered the abdomen on
the left side and had either come out on
the right side or that a fourth shot had en-
tered on the right side.
Palmer seemed to be in great agony and
talked necessarily, going over and over
again the details of the shooting, He
talked about his wife and children. and
would stop in the middle of a sentence and
eXc]aim: ooh, il was a dirty trick that
work and favored him more thar any OF
the men L had A part of the time his
talk was perfectly connected and he would
give his account of the terrible scene in a
straightforward manner. Several times he
repeated the same story. He would say:
1Ou oce IcOIRe dlu L udu naO q little
scrap. | was lacking him up about strik-
ing the Swede when he pulled his gun and
shot me in the leg. l said, Hold on George
or you'll hurt me- and then he shot me W
or three times more and that's all l know.
because l fell down and l was in such
misery"
He was perfectly confident that he would
die. and kept repeating:
I'm not afraid to die and am ready to go
now, but l hate to think that l had such a
dirty, mean trick played on me and that |
have got to be put out of the world like
this"
Something was said in his hearing about
taking him to Brainerd. This seemed to
distress him more than his wounds. and he
begged not to be sent. impIoring the doctor
repeatedly not to send him. He would
say: "Please send me home to my little
children before l die. 1 am fatally wound
ed. and it l go to Brainerd Ill never see.
them again." He repeatedly referred to
having hidden some valuable papers that
he wished to tell his wife about, but re-
fused to tell any n else where they were.
Palmer's family in Helena were tele-
graphed for.
George Lewis say that he shot in self
defense, as Palmer had drawn a large
knife on him, and had said: I'LL cut your
heart out Several who were witnesses
OF the affair. claim to nave seen the knife,
and others say they did not.
1t was reported late last evening that
Palmer had died.