Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-12-20
A CLERK USES A GUN.
SENSATIONAL SHOOTING AFFRAY
AT COUNCIL BLUFFS.
The Clerk Of n Bank Who Had Been
Accused of EN- Danger
ously Shoots Tive Inspectors and
Then Commits Suicide.

NAhtNh AShtAcp " w. - "A
tragedy was enacted yesterday in the
private office of the Citizens State
Bank of Council Bluffs which may re-
suit fatally to three persons. John
Huntington, assistant bookkeeper and
collection clerk, shot G. A. Cromwell
Of Minneapolis and f. N. Hayden Of
Chicago, representatives Of the FL
deity and Casualty Company OF New
York. and then emptied his revolver
into his own brain, inficting a wound
from which he died two hours later.
Cromwell and Hayden. it Is thought,
will recover. Huntington was N of
the best known men in Council Bluffs,
and numbered his friends by the hun
dreds. So far Is car be learned he
had no bad habits, and this Is what
makes this act the harder to explain.
On the Goth Of last July a check OF
$500 was turned over to him by Ira
F. Hendricks, n of the employees Of
the bank, In the regular routine of
business. Huntington charged up the
check to the Union Stock Yards Bank
OF South Omaha, and from that day to
this nothing whatever has been seen
or heard Of II. The day following
Huntington left Tor a vacation trip of
several weeks to New York city. The
bank officials kept thinking the check
would turn up sooner or later and de-
ferred any action. AS time passed on
and Ii became evident that the bank
was out $500 they sent a message to
the Fidelity and Casualty company
notifying them Of the fact and sug-
costing thSt inspectors come on at
once and make an investigation.
The bank officials claim that at the
time they had no charges to make
against Huntington or any employe of
the bank. All of the employees were
bonded in the Fidelity and the bank
preferred that the Fidelity company
should make the investigation rather
than make II themselves. Messrs.
Cromwell and Hayden arrived i'm the
city last Friday and took rooms at the
Grand hotel. They cross-examined
each OF the employees through whose
hands the missing check had passed,
and among the rest, Huntington. They
claimed to have discovered that he
had been spending more money than
the salary of S45 a month, which he
was receiving, wo-r'a warrant, and on
this, together with the fact that the
check had been last seen in his hands,
they based their suspicious. Hunting
ton and the representatives Of the
Fidelity company met Saturday night
and made arrangements for another
meeting at the bank Sunday morning,
when the investigation was TO be re-
suIned- At the hour appointed they
were together and Cromwell and Hay
den commenced to put the young mar
through a running cross-ire of ques-
tons. J.. ID. Edmundson and Cashier
G.. Il. Hannah, of the hank, were pres
ent during most of the interview. The
conference had not been in progress
more than fifteen minutes when Hun
tington arose from his chair pulled a
revolver and commenced firing at the
representatives of the Fidelity COM
pany. The revolver he used was a a.
caliber that belonged to the bank and
had been kept In the desk Of G. Il.
Spooner. the paying teller. The first
three shots were fired at Cromwell,
who had taken the lead I'm the interro-
CATION, and all three took effect. The
fourth struck Hayden, and then Hun
ington raised the weapon to his w
head and fired. He fell to the floor
unconscious and remained so until his
death.
The two wounded men ran oTt of the
bank. down First aveu ne. and into the
Grand hotel, blood dripping from them
every step. They were taken to their
rooms and DR.. Donald MacRae, Jr.,
was summoned. He found that one
of the bullets had taken effect I'm Crom-
Wells hack just to the right Of the
spine about the waist line. 1t was
found about four inches below the
surface and extracted. The second
bullet struck In the left side OF his
cheek, plowed its way around the
right side of his neck and came to a
stop just after missing the carotid
artery. The third struck him In the
right wrist, he having thrown up bis
hand to strike the revolver out of
Huntington's hand. 1t broke one Of
the bones Of the forearm clear In
two and imbedded itself In the other
bone. almost severing 1t. Hayden
was not 20 badly injured. Both men
will probably cover.
The President Goes Hunting.