Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1894-12-26
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FATAL AFFRAy.-Reuben Mills
80. -llo; by Thomas Craven at Jack
,a city about $50 o'clock Monday at
aruoon. He was removed to the
emergency Hospital, in Washington,
Tbere he died shortly after 6 o'clocf.
the TWO men were well-known figures
e5out the Old Dominion tracks. and, af
,ar the races Monday, were talking III
Io.enh Thomas's saloon, at the end of
,5e Long bridge. Through disagree
msat they engaged il blows and
Mills knocked Craven down and beat
MIN. When Craven arose he ran be.
hind the bar, and snatching revolver,
s1o, Mills in the breast. After Mills
ter Craven ran out and made his
vay to Washington, where he was ar
rested Yesterday afternoon. In answer
to uuestions he said: when l entered
the saloon Mills was sitting at the table
in the back room. | went in and sat
down opposite him. He was abusing
the waiter at a great rate, and said
something TO him in pleasant way,
and then be turned on me and COM
menced abusing me, calling me all sorts
o, names. Suddenly he jumped up,
ran around to my side OF the table, and
struck me. | jumped Up aud tried to
Attend myself. He was much stronger
than !. and knocked me- down. Then
h. began kicking me in the face and
chest. He broke my nose. and my
shoulders are all bruised from his kicks.
Several of the men caught hold Of him
and held him and got up and went in
the barroom. My nose was bleed
iny. and | could feel my face
swelling. I looked in mirror
10 see how bad [ was hurt. Just
then I glanced through the door
into the dining-room, and | saw Mills,
with chair raised, coming at me. /
had noticed the revolver lying inside of
the bar, and l grabbed it up and fired
without taking aim. / am sure that be
had the chair in his hands and was
coming at me with it, instead of having
]. for the purpose of defending himself.
When fired he may have lifted the
chair up in front of him right quick.
That is The way it happened. had al
Uavs been friendly with him, and we
had had q couple of drinks together
that very afternoon. ] was not drunk,
however, and I don't believe he was.
When he was drinking, though, he was
very ouarrelsome, but ordinarily he vas
quiet and good-natured. Craven's
statement varies but little from that of
the witnesses of the affair. He will be
brought to Alexandria county for trial.
Craven is rather powerfully 0ulit
man, tall. smooth shaven and inclined
to be slender. Mills was "a powerful
man, weighing more than 200 pounds,
with whom Craven could not compete IN
q fight. The dead man was native OF
Brantford, Ont, and had been in VAST
;ncton about seven months. He went
there from East St. Louis as trainer for
]. ]. Ryan, but was ruled off the track
some time ago. Since then he has been
playing the races. he was twenty
seven years of age. He had had charge
of several pugilists at various times,
and was engaged to train Billy Nc
MILAN for his coming fight with Mike
Raedy.
Sheriff veitcb yesterday directed Mr..
Matthews, his deputy, to proceed 10
Washington. secure Craven and bring
Biills's body to Jackson City in order
thai an inquest could be held AT four
O'Clock Craven had not reached the
Jail in this city though he has been
turned over TO the Alexandria county
authorities. The body of Mills had
arrived at the scene of the trag-
odv. and this afternoon Coroner
Randolph Birch held an inquest which
produced in substance the evidence
given above.