The record-union., 1894-07-21
INQUEST ON STEWART FINISHED.
A Verdict Reached by the Jury Last
Night.
Shot by United States Soldiers En-
gagged In Guarding ana Nov
ing Railroad Trains.

The continuation of the inquest on the
death of Charles Stewart, killed in the
collision last Friday with the soldiers,
was held by the Coroner last night.
Albert Connor testified that he was a
drayman and was unloading load of
freight at the boat that morning. He saw
a crowd of men in the sheds and one
waved his hat and shouted. The soldiers
got off the cars and the men ran away
The soldiers fired and witness saw a man
fall. Did not hear any bad language. 1t
might have been used, the engine was
making noise.
Warren T. Drew was on top of the shed
between the Water Works building and
the jail when the shooting occurred, and
could see down the street. Shots were
fired from the lower end of the sheds. and
he saw a man fall. Three bullets were
fired right atterward that struck the
| ground close to him. A man came out TO
| him with something in his hand, and
soldiers soon carried the man into their
lines. Two shots were then fired toward
the station house and witness got down.
| He was about two and half blocks from
! where the man lay. The last shots were
fired as be tried to rise.
| Albert Rodgers, a laborer, went up K
to Front, near the sheds, to see the
engine. When the soldiers got off they
ran around witness and shot at man in
the street, who fell. He tried to get up
and was shot at again. Witness was
| within twenty feet OF the soldiers when
they shot. He was at Front and X streets.
| Did not hear any names called or COM
mand given. The man was near the
other side of Front street, little south
west of Mebius ~ Drescher's. and was
standing in the street, with his hands up.
Heard the Captain give some order, but
| did not know what.
Smith S. Johnson of Walla Walla was
going down X street, and saw the tram
/ back up. He saw some commotion among
| some men in the shed, and saw man
with something in his hand make sort
of plunging motion as if to throw some
thing. Saw the soldiers get off and come
around the shed. Heard shot in the
shed. seemingly from the other side: the
first shots seemed to come from the sheds
and later ones from the soldiers in the
! street. Saw one man stop in the street,
with his coat on his arm aud hold up one
hand. Just afterward he saw a man
stagger and fall in the street. He tried to
raise himself on his arm, but fell back.
| Did not see what became of the other
man. Witness thought when be saw the
man make a motion as if to throw some-
! thing, that there would be trouble. There
were eight or ten men in the crowd with
! him.
When asked if the man was shot at after
he fell. witness replied emphatically,
NO sir; he was not" There was per-
| ceptlble lapse of time after the first shot
fired and those that came afterward. 1t
sounded light and not like that of rifle
| it might have been from a piStol-it was
! a sort Of a crack.
The first shots fired by the soldiers
were at the man who ran towards l. street
and not at Stewart. There was no dust
| flew around Stewart after he fell. Did
not think soldier could have had time to
get off the car and fire the first shot that
he heard. The man shot had one hand
up, apparently holding his hat on. Wit
ness had been newspaper man and also
medical student. Was positive that no
shots were fired at Stewart after he fell.
| The subsequent shots were fired at the
man towards l. street. Could not see
what became of that man. Thought he
might recognize one soldier, a sergeant,
who shot at the man. He did not shoot
at Stewart.
II. r. McCraw went with the switch
engine TO switch out car of naphtha.
Captain Roberts, with his men, went to
guard the engine. a crowd Of twenty
five or thirty men collected in the sheds,
and seemed to be edglng up towards X
street. AS be was at work he heard shot
that seemed to come from the freight
sheds. Another and louder shot followed
and then q number of shots. Witness
/ got around on K street and saw man
! fall on the street while running. He
thought the first shot came from the
crowd in the sheds, and as the men had
| been calling him a sc2b and other vile
names, he thought at first it had been
fired at him.
The men on the other side of the shed
could not see the soldiers till they jumped
down and the firing commenced. Wit
ness distinctly heard several commands
TO halt given.
Harry hamberland, a teamster who
rooms at the Grand Hotel, on the third
floor. saw a man running across the
street. Some of the soldiers called to
him to halt and someone else told him to
! stop. One shot was nred and he turned
around and held lAp his hands asking
them not to shoot. Then three or four
shots were fired. Witness saw the SOL
der who shot him, but could not identity
him. The man was running when wit
ness first saw him.
Peter Francoli, barkeeper for John
Black, was standing at the window of the
saloon and saw the soldiers come around
the shed. One of the men in the sheds
ran across the street and was shot. Other
men ran in different directions, and the
soldiers shot everywhere. One of the
bullets came into the saloon. He heard
a command given to halt. The shooting
came from the sheds. Stewart threw his
hands up at the first shot, and at the next
ones he fell. After the shooting he heard
the order, ''Size your men and shoot to
kill'' given by a short man.
Thomas McGrath, stevedore, was on
! the east side of the shed. There was a
crowd of eight or ten men in the other
shed and man took off his hat and
| - cho fa1s
Captain took gun from a private and
pointed it at him. Witness heard the
order to dismount and left the shed. AS
he did so the soldiers came around the
shed.
When Stewart was about three-ouar-
ters of the way across the street he was
fired at and threw UP one hand as if he
was hit Some more shots came and he
fell. Stewart was with the man who
waved his hat, but did nothing. The
man waved his hat and made a gesture
toward the Captain after he pointed the
gun at him. Witness saw Stewart run
through the shed and jump out of it.
Did not hear'any commands or names
called, but everyone was shouting and he
could not tell. Had known Stewart about
/. five weeks, but never saw him with any
uniform on. Witness only knew him by
sight
Private Charles Morrison refused to
answer the question as to whether he
fired a shot or not. When the train came
back the crowd hooted and hallooed, and
Duffy shouted, ''You -" They
were ordered 10 arrest him, and witness
arrested him and another man. Did not
see Stewart when he was shot,
General Dickinson stated that he had
advised the men to refuse to answer as to
whether they shot or not.
Private Smith said the crowd shouted
something as the train passed, and one