The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-07-24
HETH Is IN JAIL
He Tells His Side of the Shooting Affair
Last Sunday.

Last Sunday.
| Robert Heth, the man who shot Ed
Swartz on last Sunday was brought to
the city yesterday by Harry Sutton
from Joplin, Mo.
He was later taken before Justice
Jones where he waived preliminary ex-
animation and was bound over to the
district court in the sum of 81 500 in
default Of which he was committed to
the county Jail. He is a bright boy,
and tells straight story, but 1t is said
that he has a bad record behind him
and although young in years that his
record is not a fiattering one. In an
swer to questions he said:
We'll 1 will tell you all about it. I
| had been to Sumner county attending
the ball games. Last Saturday 1 went
down to Wellington and played with the
Belle Plain team and on Sunday
/ started with my grip in hand to walk
to Wichita, following the railroad track.
well, when short distance below
this city, 1 sat down my grip by the
eide of the road, and went into an or
chard to get some peaches 10 eat. When
I came out / saw two men coming up
the track that seemed to be in a great
hurry. / did not know what it meant,
the railroad toward town.
MY attention had been attracted to
the two men who were gaining on me,
and 1 had gone but a short distance
when two men stepped out in front of
me, and one of them cooked one barrel
OF a double barreiled shotgun and
ordered me to hold up my hands. That
surprised me, for 1 could not imagine
what ii meant.
when the man told me to hold up my
hands, told him damned if 1 would do
il. / asked the men what they meant
and the one with the gun said that is
all right; you hold up your hands or
will shoot hole through you, and
when he said that he cooked the other
barrel of the shotgun and kept COM
ing. / thought that he would perhaps
shoot and L held up my hands this way
(holding his hands even with his face)
He came on with both barrels of the
gun cooked and pointed directly at my
stomach.
when the man came in reach Of me
and the gun pointed directly at me I
grasped the end of the barrel and 1
wrenched the gun out Of his hand and
struck him over the head with the butt
and knocked him down and broke the
made a jump to catch me, when /
whipped out my revolver and fired at
him, and while he was running around
with his hands on his face l ran into
the cornfield and got away"
Where did you go?"
81 came up along the cornfield and on
UP to town. / crossed the Maple street
bridge and went over home. Then l
came back on the east side and fooled
around the south part Of town until
the Frisco train went out and board
ed 1t, and went to Joplin, Mo. / got
there on Monday morning. and Tues
day night was arrested and this morn
ing came back with Harry Sutton"
II don't know Grant Brownlee, and if
he lives two miles east OF the CarroNon
school house I was not near his place.
1 came along the railroad all the way
from Belle PLANE to town. If those
men wanted to arrest me instead of kill
me, as they said, l don't see why they
did not tell me. Either of the four
are larger than I, and ought to have
handled me, without pointing a shot
gun at me, and of course l knew they
were not officers