The Portland daily press., 1895-10-12
A BACK WOODS TRAGEDY.
The Story of the Killing of John
ROderick.
What VIII Develop at the Forthcoming
Trial of Young Demond-Rum at the
Bottom of it AlI-The Chesuncook's
EemaIe RumseIIars.

Trial of Young DemOnd-Rum at the
Bottom of it AlI-The Chesuncook's
Female Rumsellers.
Greenville, October II The report
that Andrew Morrison, chief state wit
ness in the Chesunoook shooting affair
by which John Roderick lost his life,
had escaped from confinement and was
at large, has excited much interest here.
The fact is, however, that Morrison is
under honds furnished by half dozen
responsible citizens OF Dover and Fox
croft, and is at work for Deputy Sheriff
Nichols in the later town.
civilian Demond, accused of killing
Roderick, is in Bangor awaiting trial at
the Februarylterm. t-.
There will probably be conflicting
stories at the trial, from several witness
es. But Morrison, the only man who wit
messed the ARRAY, and Minnie Stuart of
Chesuncook, will swear to facts that will
make the case against Denond very
black, ,.s 4. FL IS
The story of the crime is rather Gu
rieus tale of q backwoods tragedy. Rode
rick and Demond we're haying on some
islands in the West Branch near the head
of Chesuncook Lake. Along came Andy
Morrison, guide, in his canoe. He
brought some liquor and treated the men
literally
Pretty soon all were more or less intox-
icated, the two lawmakers especially so,
and depute arose over drinking. 1t
is said by Morrison that Roderick, who
L<,,.k ,lI DhD lod md
boy of II. Thereupon the latter took
the canoe and padded down the lake
a.; short distance to a house. Here he
borrowed some cartridges of Minnie
Stuart according to her Story and re-
turned to the hay.fiel
1.-THE first man who takes another
drink of whiskey will get shot. he an
nounced. Roderick raised q tin dipper to
his lips and Dem ond
FIRED AT HIM,
the bullet entering his breast. The fellow
then, according to Morrison, fired Sec
ond shot, but missed his man. Turning
upon the guide he said, 'sIf you ever
say word about this I'll shoot you,
too" As he spoke he aimed the gun at
Morrison. But the latter grabbed the
gun barrel and pushed the weapon down
even as the drunken man pulled the
trigger. The bullet was buried in the
ground. The two men then bore the
wounded Roderiek to canoe and started
down..the river with him. In his delirium
he thought they we're going to drown
him and besought them to set him ashore.
They did SO, at a point almost directly
across from the little island where they
had been haying, and propping the
wounded man on the bank, started away
on foot.
At last when they reached Anson
Smiths hotel, they separated. Demond
entered .the. blacksmith ishop, and Morri-
son walked about for an hour or more,
a number Of people, but when asked why
he wanted to see Smith, he refused to
tell.
At last, the hotel man was found, and
Morrison told him Of the shooting. Then
Roderick was hunted up and brought
down to Mrs Gero's house. AS near as
can be determined,
HE HAD LAIN WOUNDED
in the open air four hours. At about in
the evening Thomas Hennessey of Ban
gor, who was at Smiths, found Demond
and awoke him. He claimed to have
gone to sleep at about II in the forenoon
and to know nothing of what had tran
spired. He was advised to give himself
up to the authorities and started out of
the woods in care of man named Sandy
Mullin, who CHANGED to be going down
to Bangor. Demond was crying almost
continually. At Greenville, after two
days journey, Mullin left the man and
kept on about his business. For "a hours
Roderick hung about Greenville, and
then, unaccompanied, went down to Fox
croft, and delivered himself up.
AS this bloody affair resulted wholly
from rum. the Piscataquis officers decid-
ed to
RAID THE CHESUNCOOK RUMsEL-
LERS
whoa appear to be principally feminine.
Deputy Sheriff Nichols took trip up
that way and secured evidence that In
dicted three, Mrs. Thomas Zero, Maude
Davenport and Mrs. Barnes. At the
Davenport place Morrison bought his
liquor The Chesuncook rumsellers have
never been troubled before and the raid
caused CONSERVATION. 1t took the wom-
en- nearly week to get out to court and
back.