The morning times., 1896-07-20
7ORMENTED BY REN0RsE
william Ellis Tells How It
Feels to Kill a Man.
FELT THE BLADE GO IN
81 Didn't Mean to Hurt Him BAD
and I Didn't Think 1 Did"-The
Mans Story Alleges Self-Defense.
The Knife That Did the business
Was Too Convenient.

A weak-looking, understood, stoop-shoui
dered young man paced resuessly up and
down the stone floor OF cell in the
Second precinct all day yesterday. HIS
eyes were sunken and his face looked
gray and haygard in the dim light OF the
cell room.
His lips were dry and cracked, and his
fingers twitched nervousiy and ciencheu
until the nails sunk into the iiesh. Inc
man was William Ellis, colored' who
killed Frederick Morgan Saturday night,
as told in The Times yesterday.
Ellis leaned against the grated door
of his cell ami told how IL feels TO XIII
man. He spoke in quick, jerky voice.
and clasped and unclasped his hands
against the iron bars as he talked. He
had to moisten his lips several times be-
fore the words would come, and his
eyes opened and narrowed continually
like a man under great strain. This
is the story he told last night:
1T is the most awful thing In the world
to kill a man. l did il in self-defense
and / did not mean to commit murder.
They told me this morning that ne was
dead and it nearly killed me, too.
didn't mean to cut him; l only wanted to
scare him away. The knife was lying
on the back of my wagon, and when l
saw him coming with stone in his HAND
1 picked it up to defend myself. Then
the crowd closed in go that he couldn't
hit me with the stone, but he forced ms
way through and hit me in the face with
his fist and broke my nose.
THEN he CAME BACK.
u didn't use the knife then, for the
crowd showed him away. i didn't have
anything against him and didn't want
any trouble, but Morgan had been looking
for me ever since 1 swore against him
in court. That was the first thing he
asked me about when he came up and
wanted TO fight. After the crowd pulled
him off he went away for a little while.
but came back with another rock and tried
TO hit me. / grabbed up the knife again
and shook it at him, but he kept Coming
right on.
Then he threw the rock but lodged
and struck out with the knife. 1t caught
him just as he turned to run away and
felt the blade go in and then / didn't
know anything more. Oh! 1t was awful
1 s'pose 1 ran They said did. And
by and by found myself up on Twelfth
street, near the Boundary. 1 sat down
on the curbstone and thought about it but
I couldn't think of anything else but the
knife and how I felt it go into his back
II didn't mean to hurt him bad and
didn't think had, but wanted to know
for sure. I knew the police would be
after me anyhow, and I didn't think II
was much use to run, for I guess they
would have caught me anyhow. / sat
there for awhile and thought about 1t, and
then / thought l would go and give my
self up. l went down to that station on
L street and they locked ne up and brought
me down here afterward. slept Some
last night because 1 didn't know he was
dead.
FEELS THE KNIFE.
To-day, after they told me, it's been
awful L couldn't think Of nothing else
and l keep feeling that knife like / felt
it when it went into his back. My mothers
dead and my sister she's dead, too. She
was like a mother to me till she died last
spring They are going to send for my
wife and my father by and by. 1t will
be awful to meet them; they don't know
anything about this yet. I've been mar
RED about year and a half. / used to be
waiter, but lately couldn't get any work
and have been canning q living by working
for a huckster
IT am tweBty-three years old and this
is the first time I was ever arrested.
I never was in court but once and that was
when l was witness against Morgan
I certainly hope they won't tell my wife
what I've done; IL would kill her, know.
don't know what I'm going to do to
night. I know l can't sleep and I keep
thinking about that knife all the time and
how it felt going in his back. Oh, it was
awful, a wful, awful" And he dropped back
onto the bench in his cell and hid his face
in his hands.