Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1894-01-13
JOHN W. HARRIS MURDERED.

The DeLamar Nugget of the 9th
instant gives the following particu-
lars of the death Of John Harris
and the cause Of his demise. And
right here we must say that Owyhee
county is fast gaining notoriety for
cowardly and atrocious deeds, and
for which the perpetrators are al
lowed to go free:
Another murder has been CON-
mitted in Owyhee. Another woman
has been made n widow. Two
more children have been made ia
therless. The murderer walked
leisurely out Of town. More than a
dozen men stood in ''Bona's" saloon
on the 10th day of December and
saw Gideon Lewis draw a knife and
cut Harris and not one of them
made an effort 10 stop him from
walking away free man. When
the news reached the justice OF
peace q complaint for assault with
a deadly weapon was made out and
a warrant issued and given TO the
constable, but by that time the Grim
inal was out Of town. The Sheriff
accidently heard Of the affair three
days later and sent deputy to the
wood camp, where Lewis was sup
posed to be stopping, but he did
not find him. Ten or twelve DAYS
later rumor came to town that the
fellow had "hit the road" The
same fellow had once before drawn
q knife with threats to cut q mans
heart out.
Within few hours after the cut
ting more than one man was heard
to say that he would have done the
same thing. Every mai of them,
who made any such remark, is a
bad citizen. No man was a good
citizen who saw the deed and let
the man who made the assault
walk away unmolested. Every
citizen is by law a peace officer, and
1t was the duty of those present to
have held the man until an officer
arrived to take him in charge.
The vicious sentiment that q man
has right TO wound or kill another,
whether he has a Just quarrel or
not, is too, too prevalent.
The circumstances of the quarrel
as near as can be ascertained were
that Harris had advanced Lewis SO
on some wood which the latter had
sold him and was unable to deliver,
and Harris was insisting upon the
return Of his money. The man was
murdered for insisting upon having
what belonged to him. Yet there
are characters in this place who
openly say they would have done
the same thing. Mark that class
of citizensl 1t is as they who blot
the fame of Owyhee.
John w. Harris resided with his
family, on a ranch four miles below
Nampa. For the past three sum-
meis he has been a wood contractor
at DeLamar. His business has not
been prosperous and lie left in a
bad shape by his decease, he hav
ing had a large amount of wood de-
stroyed by fire, which left him in
debt, which he was striving to work
out of.
He leaves a wife and q young
son and daughter to mourn his loss.
He has always been known here
as a quiet, peaceable and good citi-
zen, and the man who murdered
him had no provocation whatever
10 commit the cowardly deed. II
is TO be hoped the authorities will
take vigorous measures to find the
perpetrator and bring him to justice.
Deceased was al years of age.
Mrs. Harris came over from
Nampa and was with her husbadd
when he died. His death occurred
at one o'clock Thursday morning.
The coroner, DIR. Watson. came
down from Silver City Thursday;
convened jury; held an inquest,
and made q post norton examina-
ton of the remains. 1t was found
that the blade OF the knife had pene-
trated all except the inner coating
of the stomach and that the victim
had bled internally. causing infla-
nation and death. The coroner's
jury found a verdict 10 the effect
that death had been caused by q
knife wound inflicted by Gideon
Lewis.
Harris remains were taken To
Caldwell for hurial