Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-02-06
A FATAL STREET FIGHT.

Leonard smith and James Angiin En-
gage In Desperate Duel With
Pistols.
Brookhaven was thrown into a ire
NOR of excitement last Saturday after
noon about = o'clock by a desperate
fight with pistols on the plank walk
between the railroad track on Chero-
kee street and McGrath's corner. one
of the most public thoroughfares in
town. The principals were Leonard
Smith, man about 40 years of age,
and James A. Anglin, young man
about q, both farmers who live in the
Clear Branch or Heuck's Retreat
neighborhood. Both men used 49,
calibre pistols, Smith, Smith & Wes-
son, and Anglin a Forehand & Wads-
worth. The firing was at close range.
and both men emptied their weapons.
When the battle ended and the smoke
cleared away, it was found both COM
batants were dangerously if not NOR
tally wounded. Anglin had received
three balls, one in the abdomen just
above the navel, a second one in the
right ride about on line with the one
in front, which went clear through and
lodged under the skin on the opposite
side, and third in the back, nearly
opposite the one in front. Smith was
struck with one ball, which entered
the abdomen about two inches to the
right and little below the line of the
navel, and is supposed to have ranged
to the left
Everett Smith, a son of Leonard
Smith, aged about 20, was present
when the. fight opened, and was arrested
yesterday on the charge of being one
of the participants. Be this as it may,
he narrowly escaped being killed. He
claims that during the fight Anglin
fired three shots at his father and two
at him. Young Smith carried a whis-
ky bottle in the inside breast coat
pocket on the right side. One of An
Gins balls cut whole through the up
per inside part of the pocket, shatter-
ed the bottle, and dropped down into
the pocket among the broken glass
where it was afterward found badly
battered. Anglin snapped his pistol
at the Smiths number of times after
it was empty, and eye witnesses express
the opinion that if he had had a first
class pistol he would have killed them
both. One time he was seen to turn
and retreat few steps toward the
railroad, as though he thought he was
overmatched, but suddenly turned
round and rushed back on his antag-
onist and fired his last and perhaps
fatal shot.
The wounded men were soon taken
charge of by friends. Anglin was
carried to DR.. Johnson's Office, where
his wounds were examined by Drs.
Bennett and Johnson and pronounced
mortal Smith was carried to Martins
Drug Store just opposite, and the
street was soon thronged with excited
people anxious to see the wounded
men.
Late Saturday evening Anglin was
moved to the lower story of the Ma
sonic building, where Drs. Bennett and
johnson placed him under the infiu-
ence of chloroform and extracted the
ball from his side and probed for the
others They could give him no ma
terial relief, however, and he contin-
ued to gradually sink until o'clock
Sunday evening, when he breathed his
last, remaining conscious, except when
under the influence of chlorofOrm, to
within half hour of his death.
After Anglin's death Coroner Phil
Ups summoned the following jury of in
quest: d. d. Ewing, w. w. Hoskins,
Chas. Perkins, Chas. Schnorrenberg,
r. B. Philips and John Warnock. AT
ter short session, the jury decided to
adjourn until Thursday morning, when
they will meet at the Mayors Office and
pursue their Investigations.
Leonard Smith was moved first to
the City Hotel and yesterday to the
Magee Cottage. He was seen by the
editor of The LEADER today at o'clock
and was resting we'll and showed no
unfavorable symptoms. The ball has
not yet been located
THE ORIGIN OF THE TROUBLE.
The evidence is conflicting as to who
fired the first shot, but two things ap-
pear to be undisputed. One is that a
feud existed between the Anglin and
Smith families, dating back three or
four years to difficulty between the
Anglins and Crawfords. The second
is, that the two Smiths were
drinking and inflamed by liquor when
they encountered Anglin. 4 LEADER
reporter requested young Smith, soon
after the shooting, to state, if was will
ing to do so, whether or not he got his
liquor from Brookhaven blind tiger.
He promptly answered that he did not,