Evening journal., 1894-08-17

W heu bergman bptheu Nhe buorf hc WINS
shot Dead and Fell at His wife's Feet
Near the Comn Containing Ills Dead
Chnd-The "squatter King" Arrested.
NEW YORK, Aug 17.-Frederick Berg
man was shot to death by gun planted
I'm tho door of Thomas Burlyo's shanty nc
South Beach, Staten Island. Bergman
fell almost at the feet of his wife, who was
mourning her dead, unburiod baby. lie
was tho husband OF BurlSo's only daugh-
Ter, Mary, and they, with Burke wife,
lived together.
Burke King OF tho squattors along
South Beach, is 6s years old, his daughter
is 32, and Bergman was 3d. Nearly all the
squatters hate Burke because ho sold
them land lots TO which he had no title.
Though sturdy and combative for one of
his years, Burke says that ne lived in con
stant fear of assassination
He was tho first person TO squat on
South Bench. He soloctod spot at tho
extreme south end of the beach for homo
because most of the driftwood came ashore
at that point At first no built one
room hut Of driftwOod With tho same
sort Of material he from time 20 time
made additions until ne had "a shanty CON
tanning threo rooms and an outside kitch-
en- 10 is neither clean nor comfortably
furnished The house fronts ON track
Of sand which tho South Boachors call
Bay avenue
Fortified Ills Hut.
Though old Burke has been at war with
nearly every ono for dozen years, it was
only about month ago that he first spoke
of his fear of assassination. Then he bo-
gan making a fortress OF his home. Ho
bought a bear trap asrovolvoriand shot
gun Tho trap. which looks Us II 1t could
snap of ono's hand, was sot in the yard
near tho chicken house 1t wns placed 40
that any ono climbing the back fcnco
could hardly escape los jaws. A bar OF
iron Weighing 20 or 80 pounds was riggod
with trigger inside over tho kichen door
so whom It was set any ono opening the
door would he fellod by tho falling weight
But 10 was 20 defend tho front door that
he bent his best mechanical skin. There
he rugged the gun. The innor wall alone
side tho mob odge of tho door Is sheathDd
for "A few feet, having an open space be-
| tween the shoathing and the wall. In
this hollow the gun was fixed, its muzzlo
/ resting in a hole i'm the door frame. The
vent of this holo is about an inch beyond
| the faco of the closed door. A limo guided
| by screw eyes ran from the trigger up the
/ wall and then go the top of tho door,
whore it was fastened Tho gun was
loaded with duck shot
| Whom ready for business the hammer
was raised and the limo made fast TO the
trigger. To opon the door six inches drew
the limo taut Another inch and down
came tho hammer, exploding the charge.
Tho measurements i'm this murderous con-
triyanco were mado with such nicely that
a person opening the dCsR was brought in
| direct range with the mczgle of the gun,
II by any chance the gun or bar of iron
failed to kill an invader Burke kept his
revolver by him TO DO the rest. Tho pro-
sumption was that these masked batteries
were only 60 be riggod for service at night
fall or when ovory one was away from
home
Quarreied with Burke.
There had been had blood betwoon
Burke and bergman for some time They
hnd fierce Quarrol In the house about 9
o'clock yesterday morning. Then Borg
man left homo TO see Undertaken Martin
Hughes about burying his dead babe Tho
trap could not have heon riggod for firing
when no left the housa, or he could not
have opened the door without detecting
It, About an hour and q half lator Borg
man returned, opened tho door and recciv-
cd the fun charge of shot I'm his right side
just above the hip.
plunging forward. he foll hoadlong into
/ the room in which his wife was watching
the corpse of the babe. Tho woman, too
frightened to speak, picked the dead child
from the pallet and olasped it 20 her
{ breast while sho stood gazing at her dy-
J ing husband Then Burke, who had gone
into the next room "a few minutes before
I ff1
Bergman tried TO rise. Failing, he rolled
. over dead The shot chokod, making a
I hole almost large enough to stick ones
!, fist I'm. Blood ran over the floor The
b clothes Of the dead man were set afre 10y
the powder and Burke extnguishod tho
Z flames.
o An Accident, Says Burke.
b Burke was arrested soon after ant
when questioned would only say:
n "Set the gun TO keep out my enemies
e and thieves as we'll This morning az
soon as 1 got up cut OH the connection
d with the trigger, and / cannot imaignl
n how the gun went of. 1t must have gonl
1t Off Of its own accord-cOntrary guns d
that very thing sometimes when they n
d jarred-or ne shot himself just to max
r. trouble for me.
d The police frankly say they think tha
~ buiht Is lying.
Mrs Bergman made this statement Z
" the police: "l can't tell how it happened
ft 1 heard tho shot, and then Fred fell in
IA Father was angry this morning because
man named Shanloy wanted him 20 rc
ID turn money he had paid for a bit of land
to He made such fuss that Fred said
In | Why on earth don't you shut up
IN Haven't we got trouble enough for on
day without your CARRYING on as Won do
e. / think you ought 60 have that much r,
a spect for our baby. Father went out an
ar began hammering ON the wall Ere
again told him to STOP Father sale
,is What does O dead baby amount 70 an,
vn wayi It's past hearing. Then Fred wer
out and came back, to bo shot He hasn
al. liked Fred for soven years"
," Big Carpet Factory to Bosume.
~ CARLISLE, Pa. Aug 1.-THE StopheI
& Booten carpet factory of this place. Il