Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-06
not hurt It's all right. Don't shoot your


her she pulled herself UP and tore his arm
away. struggling with him as best she
could He managed to pull the trigger, how
ever, and the ball, which would have other
wise gone true, simply made slight flesh
wound In his breast and then tore into his
arm. II was painful. but not In any way
serious.
Then. as IL he realized for the first time
the enormity of his act. Taylor leaned over
the girl and. lifting her lovingly In his
arms, he carried her over to the sofa. for
all this had occurred in the little dining
room of the house. He kneeled beside her.
and. calling her all the endearing names
she used to love so well, he begged her not
to die.
The Husband Arrested.
When Officer G. w. Kramer Of the fifth
precinct. who was. near the house when the
tragedy was enacted. entered the room he
found the husband with his arms about his
dying wife. crying bitterly. She was still
alive. but both men knew she could not live.
The ambulance was summoned at once and
she was taken to the Providence Hospital
only a few squares away, but she was hard
ly conscious when she reached there, and
she fingered only an hour, dying about o
O'Clock.
This Is the story Of the tragedy as told
by the husband himself from behind tine
bars of cell at the station house. At
first he was locked up on the charge Of
assault with intent to kill, for the woman
was not dead yet In a few minutes 1t
Of murder. When a Star reporter saw
Taylor at the station shortly after he did
not know yet that she was dead.
Don't tel him." said the station keeper
Let the poor devil stay in ignorance of the
fact as long as he can" The officers at the
station were favorably impressed by the
mans bearing. and even IL he was locked
UP on the charge of murder there were
more than a few expressions of sympathy.
Taylor himself was the coolest man in
the crowd His wound did not seem to pain
him at ALL or. as he expressed II, 1T doesn't
begin to hurt "a that other pain did At
first he was loath to talk. but when he was
told that Sc was necessary to say something
about the shooting. and that 1t was better
To have that right, he told his story in
few well-chosel words. Curiously enough,
throughout the whole conversation he did
not once inquire about his wife. nor ask IL
she still alive. There was never a
tremor In his voice and he told his tale in
nerveless way. as though he were still
stunned by the horrors Of the preceding two
hours. III he suspected that his wife was
dead he did not let on and did not express
ehe slightest desire to know. 1t was not as
though he did not care. 1t was rather as
IL he did not care to speak of such a sacred
~ after in the presence of the policemen and
the reporter. II was none Of their business
But no one who saw him could say that he
was unnoved. but he kept up as best he
could He will break down later.
Knew She Was Untrue.
IBID you shoot her because you suspected
she was untrue or because you knew"
L knew it. / know II now as well as
know what 1 have just done. I tried to
smooth matters over. i tried to get her to
promise to be a good woman, but she
wouldn't. When she saw how 1 felt she
laughed in my face. and then shot her
Thats all there Is about it,"
Mrs. Clarkson's Story.
The shooting probably took place just a
few minutes before O'Clock, though there
were no Witnesses and the time Is only
approximate. Taylor and his wife had
breakfasted- They occupied the first floor
and basement of the house, and Mr.. and
Mrs w. E. Clarkson had the second floor
The first that Mrs. Garrison knew of the
trouble was when the sound of the two
pistol shots, close together, rang through
the house. Then IN a moment she heard
Taylor calling to her to come down stairs
Her husband had gone to his work. being
employed In dyeing establishment on 18th
street northwest She went down stairs at
once, but. being very nervous, and in a del
icate condition. besides, she did not imme-
diateiy enter the room. She heard Taylor
and his wife talking together, and knew
from their tones that she was hurt, but
how seriously she could not tell. So she
hesitated on the threshold until Taylor
asked her to enter. Mrs. Taylor was then
on the sofa, and he was standing in the
room, with the still smoking pistol in his
hand, and his clothes stained from his
wound He had shot his wife at such close
ScOrcne0
blast of the weapon. The ball had entered
her body aim st in the center. bit to the
left. and had passed Immediately beneath
the heart, through the upper part Of the
floor. but not much. He was hurt in the
left side and arm, the skin being merely
grazed-
DIR. Slnttery Called.
Almost Immediately after Mis-. Garrison
went into the dining room Mr.. ]. r. B.
Barber. who keeps a grocery store at the
corner. a few doors north. heard from the
servant Of the house next to the Taylors
that there had been shooting. and he ran
into the Taylor house. He found the hus-
band wild with excitement and went out
again Immediately to sen1 a colored man
for physician. The man ran quickly to
the house of DIR. John ]. Slattery. 252 18th
street, who ran back with him.
The doctor and Mr. Barber entered the
house together. They consulted and con-
ciuded that Taylor was too excited for them
to face him alone Mrs. Clarksop had then
left the room, and the two men went In
the lower door and came face to face with
Taylor in the little hallway. The pistol was
still In his hand. and he was running I'D
and down the entry like one crazed. He
raved wildly about his deed, and talked in
coherently while Dr. Slattery made hasty
examination Of his wife. He saw at a
glance that there was no hope. The bail
was from a ttirty-two-cariber pistol and
-
Mrs. Taylor was then beyond Consciousness
though the shot had not been fired more
than six or seven minutes. The physician
sent at once for another to aid him, and
turned his attention for the moment to the
husband. whose rawlings were increasing
he had hung over him. with the pistol in
his hand. throughout the examination and
asked eagerly:
rs IL fatal? Is II fatal?"
The physician realized that Taylor was
determined to turn the pistol once more
on himself IL he found that his wife would
ole. and he resorted to strategy to get the
weapon from him. He told the husba nd
tnat the wound was not fatal, and asked
him for the pistol
you'll never get II from me-" was the
response. while Taylor drew back in a
threatening attitude.
But 1 need II to make my probe from
Il must have the pistol in order to get the
right caliber. 1 must have 1t to save your
wife" 'N-
Then the agonized man gave I'D his pistol
The doctor hurriedly passed il to Barber.
VINO went at once outside Of the house with
II. Just then Policeman G. W. Kramer of
the NTH precinct came hurrying to the
mousse and took charge of the weapon and
then placed Taylor under arrest BY this
time the street in front of the house was
hlsed with excited people. The news that a