The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-03-12
CURTIS FIRED THE SHOTS.
The Actor Said to Have Confessed the
Killing Of Grant.

The Admission Made to His Lawyer
Immediately After His Arrest-The
Policeman Arrested Him for Cursing
Him While He Was Maudlin With
Iiquor-An Exchange of Pistols
Which Helped in the Actors Acquit-
tai When Tried.
New York, March IA special to the
Herald from san Francisco says: "Chief
ofPolice Crowley and Detective Lees last
night made public statement made to
them by Henry l. Kawalsky, attorney for
Actor NJ. B. Curtis, in his trial for the
murder of Policeman Grant, on the morn
ing Of Sept. H. 1891, in which they say
that Curtis confessed the crime to his
LAWYER Immediately after his arrest.
The statement is as follows: "When
be was lodged in the city prison, the first
man he sent for was Attorney Kawalsky,
to whom he made a statement of the
whole crime, but his confession
was religiously guarded as a
professional secret until few
DAYS ago. when Kawalslky called at the
ONCE of Chief Crowley and repeated the
statement The story that Curtis told
his attorney was this: Curtis had LETT his
wife in a box at the Grand Opera house,
watching Sarah Bernhardt in one of her
dramas, while he went to the IiYoli to
see William Kicking.
CURTIS DRUNK.
He had been drinking and was consid-
erably under the influence of liquor when
he borrowed a dollar from a friend and
bought a soda GoJtle full of whisky and
left the place to Join his wife.
1t was then past midnight,
aad he found the Grand opera
House closed. He was returning to the
Tiyoi along Mission street, and had
turned up Sixth when he stopped directly
under an electric light. He was in a maud
lin condition, but he remembered per-
fectly all that occurred. At that mo-
meut Grant, who had just gone on
watch. come along and asked Cur
It's to move on. Who are
youl inquired Curtis with an
oath. Then seeing Grants stick, he CON
tinued in jeering tone, Oh you're cop.
III fix you, too, and he heaped vile abuse
upon the policeman. Grant Immediately
pla ed him under arrest and started down
Sixth street. Curtis was quarrelsOme
and made a vigorous resistance. Then the
oncer put the nippers on his right wrist
and gave them a twist that wrenchcd his
arm,
THE SHOOTING.
THAT made Curtis all the angrier and
he cursed the policeman all the way down
Folsom street from Sixth, for they took
that route and not the one testified TO by
Curtis. At Fifth street Curtis made up
his mind to shoot Grant if he could,
so he reached around to his right
hip pocket and managed to get
his reyOlber out. 1t was a self-cOcker,
and, aiming it at Grant as they walked
along side by side, he pulled the trigger.
The first shot missed Grant, but the
second struck him in the head before he
could realize that the man intended to
murder him. AS he fell Curtis fired a
third shot and fed The revolver he
threw away IN his fight was one that
belonged to Curtis brother who had cx-
changed il with the actor, taking his
ivory handled pistol with him.
Curtis friends had often seen that
one, but mono OF the employees of the Tivoli
bad ever seen the black handled weapon
for which it was exchanged. and, there
fore, it could not be identified. As soon
as Curtis was arrested his attorneys tel
egraHhed to his brother to bring the
ivory handled pistol to California as soon
as possible 1t was brought back and
figured in the trial "
The story told by Chief Of Police Crow
ley and Detective Lees was denied to-day
by the lawyer but the police officers re
iterate that hawalsky did tell them.