The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1896-09-05


shooting which resulted in the death
of Cornell, is reported to have grown
out of matters pertaining to election.
The primaries to elect delegates to the
County Convention having been held
in Hamilton on that day. The two
men were not the best of friends, and
Cornell, who is said to have been quite
. good fellow while sober, was violent,
vicious and very abusive while under
the influence of liquor; he had, &C
cording to report, been drinking
heavily all day, and seemed to be
bent on having row, and was evil
IDENTIFY determined to have it out with
Willis on that day at all hazards, be-
ing the aggressor from the start
The following is the testimony Of VIM
Ross, who testified at the inquest and
whose evidence is corroborated by the
defendent and all the other Witnesses
in every substantial particular:
was in Hamilton in Willis sa-
loon on the evening of Aug, goth.
saw Cornell come into the saloon;
he stood at the end of the bar for q
minute or so, and Peris asked him to
have cigar. He Immediately asked
Peris if he had a gun; Peris told him
no. Cornell said, have one; then
he turned around to Willis and said:
'sYou do not want to talk so much;
you want to keep quiet" Willis asked
him if he had done any taking that
would hurt him; Cornell said no; "but
wanted him to keep d quiet, i"
Willis said, 'Tom, l am in my own
house, and 1 will talk all I wish to as
long as it does not hurt YOU" At
that, Tom made lunge at Dick, then
I and my father and Hoppe, jumped
in and tried to separate them. Cornell
had grip on Willis arm, and it was
hard to make him let 60 his hold.
After we separated them, father and
I started to put Cornell out of the
house. He struck at my father and
father went out of the door; then I
pushed Tom out, and went out and
tried to talk to him, and he struck me,
and was going to hit me again when
l fell down, and caught him by the
legs and threw him into the ditch; then
Hoppe came up and told me not to
hit him. I told him [ was not going
to, all that l wanted, was to keep hiM
out of the house and stop the row.
Hoppe said he would take charge of
Cornell, and took him away. Then. I
went to the side ak and saw Willis
in front of the door; I told-him to go
into the house and he did so. About
that time Cornell broke away from
Hoppe, and was coming towards the
house; then I picked up a rock from
the ground and jumped into the saloon
door. l told Cornell if he came in l
would hit him with the rock He
said: 81 know you, I know you.
I told him he was liable to get filled
with bullets; then he put his head
down and took running shoot at me,
and knocked me to one side in the
saloon, and passed right by me into
the house. The next I saw he was
clinched with Willis-they scuffied
towards the chairs opposite the bar,
and Dick went down and Tom on top
of him; then shot was fired and the
room was full of smoke, then more
shots followed, and l went with my
father out on tho sidewalk and across
the street to Pramenko's and told the
people there, that there was trouble
over at Willis saloon and they had bet
ter 60 over. did not go back until
the Justice arrived.
All the other witnesses corroborated
the above, and all agreed that the
shots were fired in rapid succession.
Peris testified that after the shooting,
he took a rock covered with blood,
from Cornells hand. The rock was
identified and introduced In evidence.
Evidence was also introduced that
previous threats had been made by
the deceased against the life of Willis.
Willis is said to be of a quite retir-