St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-12-17
SHOOTING SENSATION
AS ssistant Bookkeeper in an
Iowa Bank Hero Of a Sun
day Tragedy.
STOLE A CHECK FOR $500.
Shoots Two Fidelity Officials
and Then Takes His Own
Life.
CROMWELL, OF MINNEAPOLIS
One Of the Men Shot - Re-
ceives Three Bullets, but
May Live.
CROMWELL, OF MINNEAPOLIS

COUNCL BLUFFS. To-, Dec. 16.-At
II O'clock today tragedy was enacted
I'm the private Office of the Citizens
State Bank of Council Bluffs which may
result fatally for three persons. John
Huntington. assistant bookkeeper and
collection clerk, shot c. a. Cromwell, of
Minneapolis, ard F. \. hayden, of Chi
CagO, representatives of the Fidelity
and Casualty Company of New York,
and then emptied his revolver into his
own brain, lntiIcting a wound from
which he died two hours later. Crom-
well and Hayden, it is thought, will re-
cover. Huntington was one Of the best
known men in Council Bluffs. and num-
beIed his friends by the hundred. So
far as could be learned he had no bad
habits. and this is what makes his act
the harder 10 explain. On the Goth of
last July check of $500 was turned
over to him 10y Ira F. Hendricks. one of
the employees of the bank, in the reg
ular routine of business huntington
Charged Up the Check
TO the Union StockyardS National bank,
OF South Omaha. ami from that day to
this nothing whatever has been seen or
heard of it. The day following Hunt
ington left for vacation trip of several
weeks to New York city, The bank
officials kept thinking the check would
turn up sooner or later, and deferred
any action. As time passed on and it
became evident that the bank was out
$780, they sent a message to the Fidelity
and Casualty company notifying them
of the fact ana suggesting that inspect
0rS come on at once and make an in
yestigatiOn. The bank officials claim
that at :he time they had no charges to
make against Huntington or any en-
plOye Of the bank. All of the employees
were bonded in the Fidelity, and they
preferred that the Fidelity company
should make the investigation rather
than make it themselves. Messrs.
Cromwell and Hayden arrived in this
city last Friday and took rooms
at the Grand hotel. They cross
examined each Of the bank employees
through whose hands the missing check
had passed. and among the rest Hunts
lngtOn. They claimed TO have discOy-
cred that he had been spending more
money than the salary of $45 month
which he was receiving would warrant,
and on this, together with the fact that
the check mad been last seen in his
hands, they based their suspicious.
Huntington 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 resumed. At
the hour appointed they were together
and Cromwell and Hayden commenced
to put the young man through a run
nlng cross fire Of questions. j. ID. Ed
mUndsOn aud Cashier Z. B. Hannah,
of The bank, were present during most
of the interview. The conference
had not been in progress more than
fifteen minutes when Huntington rose
from his chair, pulled a revolver and
commenced firing at the representa-
tiyes of the Fidelity company. The re-
vOlver he used was a A caliber that be-
lOnged TO the bank and had been kept
in the desk CT q. F. Spooner, the paying
teller. The first three shots were fired
at Cromwell, who had taken the lead in
the Interrogation, and all three took
effect. The fourth struck Hayden and
then Huntington raised the weapon to
his own head and fired. He fell to the
floor unconscious and remained so until
his death at 1:10 pm. The two wounded
men ran out Of the bank down First
avenue and into the Grand hotel. blood
dripping from them at every step. They
were taken 10 their rooms, and DR..
Donald MacRac jr. was summoned. He
found that one Of the bullets had taken
effect III CromWel'a back, just to the
right Of the spine, about the waist line.
II was found about four inches below
the surface and extracted. The second
bullet struck in The left side OF his
cheek, plOwc its way around the right
side Of his neck and came TO a stop Just
after missing
TBh he Carotid Artery.
The third struck him in the right
wrist, he having thrown up his hand to
strike the revolver out of Huntimgton's
hand. 1t broke one of the bones of the
forearm clear in two, and imbedded
Itself in the other bone, almost severing
it. When the bullet was taken out it
was cut almost IN two, with the pointed
end down. Cromwell will probably lose
the use of his right hand On account of
O stifIeniug of the wrist joint as the re-
suit of the fracture of the bones.
Hayden Jared better. The bullet
struck him in the neck, and, after pass
Ing around about quarter Of the way,
emerged and imbedded itself in a panel
of the door, where it was afterward
found. His wound is not considered OF
serious nature, but variation Of half
an inch would have killed him. The
bullet that took Huntington's life en-
tered the sknl! just behind the ear and
lodged back Of the right eye, where its
presence was shown by discolor-
alton Of the lid. His having the
weapon III MS possession showed lie
had planned it all beforehand, and his
GOODNESS in the face Of the terrible deed
he was ineditatiug was surprising, all
Of the men wE0 were present at The IN
te:9iew teatlfying that they had not the
silShtes: idea anything cut Of Tie usual