The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1897-08-20
SAM cRowTHER KILLED BY DAN HALL.
The Affair Occurred Near ocala Tuesday
Afternoon in the Presence Of Two Men
ard Halls Little Daughter ---justifiahle
E:mic;5o the coroners' Verdict.

E:rlici5o the coroners' Verdict.
sam CrowthCr was killed near the
Pemberton place about three and g
half miles southwest of Ocala Tuesday
afternoon by Dan w. Hall.
Tuesday morning Mr.. Hall came in
town, bringing in his little daughter
to spend the day with Mrs. b. H
Pyke. In the morning, near the noon
hour, Hall entered the door of w. J.
/ McGrath's saloon and was met by
/ CrOwther, whom he did not know nor
had ever before met. when the latter
grabbed him in the collar remarking
You say shoot your chickens" and
! a, the same time invited him out the
/ back door 20 settle the difficulty,
/ which Hall accepted. Upon reaching
/ The hacE door, aa Crowther attempted
+ TO strike iitn with an umbrella, Hall
/ gave hts antagonist Il severe blow just
un.lei the leit eyc, leaving The impress
sion Of his fist The combatants then
erapplcd. and Cruwther succeed in
getting Halls mead under his arm and
was ihout to proceed To maui him,
when by-stauders interfered and sepa-
rated them. The two men then
quieted down and shortly afterward
took drink together, Crowther re-
marking at the time that he was Just
getting good mad. They then sepa-
rated, Crowther Iemarking he would
get him meaning HalD next time.
About o'clock Mr.. Hall and his
little laughter started on their return
home, and several times along the
way he saw man crouching in the
bushes just ahead of him, whom he
recognized as the man he had struck.
1t was about sun down when they
reached the Pemberton place, where
another road intersects the one on
which Hall was travelling, and as J.
W. Woods and J. J. Dobbins came
into this road they saw man hiding
behind haw bush. Not liking his
actions, and seeing that he was trying
30 keep from their view, Mr.. Woods
hailed him and asked him what he
was doing, but was told to go along
aud leave him alone. At this time
Mr.. Hall came up the road and was
only about Il hundred yards away.
Driving up to where these gentlemen
were, he called to them to notice the
man in the bushes, remarking that he
was bad man and was waylaying
him, intending TO do him bodily
harm. CrOwther, who had started up
the road, overheard this conversation,
AT once retraced his steps at rapid
gait and made for Hall, who seeing
him coming, rose up and placed his
child on the other side of the wagon
to shield her from danger. He then
told Crowther to halt or he would
shoot, but as the warning was not
needed lie jumped from his wagon
and again told his antagonist to halt,
but was again unheeded. BY this
time Crowther had gotten within
Eve or six feet of Hall. who fired upon
him with a 33-calibre revolver, the
ball passing through the fIeshy part of
his left arm. As related by the wit
neSscs, this did not faze the antago-
mist, who with = tiger-like ferOcity
-prang upon Hall, grabbed him by the
q Ia l,n, hi kAo
ground. While in this position Hall
fired the fatal shot, hitting Crowther
in the lower part of the throat just to
the left of the juglar vein, ranging
downward to the left and lodging
somewhere near the heart. BY this
time Mr. Woods rushed in and caught
Crowther by the legs and pulled him
OF. No sooner had he regained his
feet than he made another attempt to
strike Hall, but he had sprung up and
was OF to catch his horse, which had
started 10 run. CrOwther took a few
steps forward, and fell on the ground,
face downward, stone dead.
Mr.. Hall, after sending his child
home, gave himself up to Messrs.
Woods and Dobbins, the latter ac-
companying him to town, where they
related the whole affair to the officers,
who feeling assured that he acted in
self defence, allowed Mr.. Hall to re.
turn home without bond.
Wednesday morning, Judge Robert
Bullock, in the absence of Justice
Crawford, summoned jury, and after
making an investigation of the dead
body, which had been brought to his
home on South Second street, returned
to the court room and began the ex-
animation of witnesses, the facts as
above related being given in, when a
verdict Of iustiflable hOmOcide was
rendered.
The remains of Mr.. Crowther were
inferred in the old cemetery Wednes-
day afternoon from his late residence,
Rev. j. p. HiIburn officiating.