The record-union., 1895-04-03
The OAK PARK SHOOTING AFFAIR.
Eugene Palmer Held to Answer in
$4,000 Ball.
j. T. Mitchell and Others Tell How
He Was Peppered With Num-
Der six Bird-Shot.

Justice Candy of Oak Park yesterday
heard the examination of Eugene
Palmer, who is charged by J. E. Mitchell
with assault with deadly weapon with
intent TO commit murder. This is the
case in which Mitchell went on Palmer 3
land for the purpose of gathering some
flowers for his wife, and was peppered
with shot by Palmer. The prosecution
was conducted by District Attorney
Ryan, and Palmer had as his counsel
General a. l.. Hart.
Mitchell first gave his version of the
affair, which was the same as published
IN the RECORD-UNIoN yesterday morn
ing. II was, briefly, that ne went into
the field to pick some flowers for his
wife; that q man who was some eighty
yards away ordered him off, and that
when he (MitchelD asked him what was
the matter he discharged both barrels of
a shotgun at him, and then told him to
! go and read sign on the fence. The
| 1ence was lying fiat in several places and
| Mitchell said he did not regard the field
as an inclosure. He saw no anti-trespass
signs before the shooting, and did not
know that the man in the field was the
shot toe effect in his body, one entering
his ne another his chest, another his
| leg Till another his wrist.
! 5 CrOSs-eXaminatiOn the witness
lawyer Hart had several lively
rallies, but the witness held his own
f! pretty well.
Mrs. Mitchell then related her story of
the shooting. She told how she and
| her husband were walking about the
| grounds at Oak Park on the afternoon in
! question, when she saw a poppy grow
lng III field near by and asked her hus-
band to go and get it for her.
Ihefence at that point was lying fat on
the ground, and her husband stepped
over II and was going toward the spot
where the Hover was growing, when 4
! man (the deiendant) some distance away
called to him to get out of there. The
| latter asked the defendant what was the
matter, and Palmer at once ran a few
| feet, picked up gun and shot at her hus-
band.
MIR. Mitchell then told the defendant
that if he were any kind OF a man he
would have come over and explained
| what he wanted. At this Palmer quickly
raised his gun and discharged the second
barrel direct at her husband. Then he
| said, Il guess that when | tell you to git,
/ you'll git! 60 over there and read that
| sign ~
Mrs. Mitchell, who was outside the
line of Palmer's field, then called to her
| husband, who left the field. They
walked down the fence some distance
and there saw q sign warning people not
to enter the field. After wiping off the
blood that flowed from the shot wounds
on his body they went away.
:. y. Smith, DOOkkeeper for HolbrOok,
| Merrill & S5tetson, who happened to be in
the vicinity Of the shooting when it oC-
| Cured, testified to the facts su ubstantially
Loo vsy,f. o..
did not hear Mitchell say anything after
the first snOt, but did see Palmer raise his
gun and shoot the second time. Palmer
then called out: "I ou
when tell you to get out guess you'll
go!''
Mr.. Smith said he was only few yards
distant from Mr.. and Mrs Mitchell at the
time OF the shooting. lie corroborated
| their statements to the effect that the
| fence was lying fiat on the ground where
Mitchell entered the field.
Henry Norris, the first witness called
/ by the defense, testified that the fence on
! PaImer's S line was broken down in sew
/ eral places, but undertook to say that
| there was no break in the fence where
I Mitchell entered the field. 1t turned out
! however, that he was not present at the
time, but formed his opinion from the
tact that he saw some shot sticking in the
fence, and that there was no break in
( fence al that point.
This testimony was, of course, objected
to by Mr.. Ryan, and the court remark ed
that the shot might have been fired into
! the fence on some other occasion.
District Attorney-Do you know at
what time OF day the shot We're fired into
! the fence?
Witness s-Yes, sir.
/ District AttOrney-Were thew fired in
the morning or the afternoon?
/ NItness-Ihey were fired IN the after
noon.
District Attorney-You know that?
! Witness-Yes, sir.
District Attorney-How did you know
it?
Witness-Well, they were fresh.
Then every body laughed. and Attorney
Hart tried to get his witness to modify
! his answer, but the witness stuck to il
that he could tell.
George Palmer, brother of the defend
ant, testlhed that there were two boards
! on the fence where Mitchell crossed
From where his brother said he stood
when he shot at Mitchell to where the
/ latter was the distance was efrhtv-fiye
yards. People had been in the habit of
! coming out from town and stealing fruit
and tramping over the ground There
fore II had been found necessary to put
| there.
The shot used by his brother was No. 6.
/ some g -.,e pellets penetrated the fence
! boards and some did not The nearest
! opening IN the fence to where the shot
struck Is about thirty feet away.
70 the District Attorney the witness
deuIed having said, since the shooting.
| tnat lie had warned his brother that he
I would get himself into trouble if ne per-
sisted IN taking his gun into the field
/ with hlm. ON being pressed, however
! he admitted that he said his brother was
/ hot headed. There are, he said, twenty
five or thirty breaks in the fence, but
there was fence enough to mark the
boundary line of the field.
Eugene Palmer, the defendant. told his
side of the affair briefly. He said he had
been annoyed by visitors to Oak Park
trespassing on his land where he had
grain growing and ielt obliged to resort
10 the use of a gun 10 drive them off. He
denied having shot at Mitchell. ami said
be aimed the gun off at one side, but that
some OF the scattered pellets happened to
| strike him.
He claimed that he had notices on the
fences warning people against entering
his field, one of which was exhibited in
! court.
The case was submitted without argu-
ment, and Justice Candy held Palmer to
answer with bail at $1,000, which was
given.
DOLLARS OR DAYS
| Sentences Imposed by Justice Davis
Yesterday.