Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-06-11

H. W. Dutur, eN-Ch0npiOn wrestler,
the Victim OF DIR. 5. j. ALIENS Rifle at
White River Junction---Dr. Allen
Claims Ne was shooting at Target
---Allen Killed II Man in Boston In
1854,
II. NJ. Dufur was shot and seriously
wounded Thursday night by DR.. Samuel j.
Allen of White River Junction. There
are conflicting stories concerning the
affair. Dufur was passenger on the Pas
sumpsic way freight train, and was sitting
in the caboose which had stopped nearly
opposite DR.. Aliens residence. Dr. Allen
claims that he was shooting at target
and that he missed the mark. The bullet
passed through the car window and struck
Dufur in the right shoulder, cutting his
coat to the lining, and entering his right
jaw and knocking out several teeth. 1t
then struck the inside of his left jaw and
caromed around to the front part of the
upper jaw, coming out directly under the
right nostril. His tongue was nearly cut
off, and his upper lip was torn open.
Mr. Dufur was taken to the junction
House, and several physicians stopped the
bleeding with difficulty. The same bullet
which hit Duur grazed the neck of II. II.
Seeley, the conductor of the train. The
position of the two men in the car was II
feet higher than the mark at which Allen
claims to have been firing. The train
hands claim that while the train was
stopped not far from Dr. Aliens house
they protested against his shooting in that
direction, whereupon the doctor deliberate
ly raised the gun and fired the shot which
inflicted Dufur's wound.
The DOCTORS version of the affair is that
he and his daughter Roxy, IL, were prac-
ticing with the rifle, and that he called to
Miss st. Celton of Boston, a guest of the
family, to come to see how well Roxy
could shoot. The doctor shot once then
Roxy tried her hand at firing, after which
the doctor shot again. Soon after the last
shot a railroad man called to DR.. Allen,
saying that he had hit man. DR.. Allen
started toward the railroad, but seeing the
train start thought joke had been per-
petrated upon him and returned to the
house. The doctor says he knew nothing
more about the affair until he was sum-
moned to his drug store after supper He
was arrested in the evening by Sheriff
Spatford.
A civil suit was instituted against DR..
Allen Friday for $50, 900 personal damages,
and an attachment was levied on all his
visible property. Mr.. Dufur also pre-
ferred a charge of criminal assault against
the doctor, and one was brought by Con-
duCtor Seeley of alleged assault with intent
to kill. At a preliminary hearing before
Justice Pease DR.. Allen waived eXamina-
ton and was bound over to the county
court in the sum of $1,000 and $1,000 on
the two charges.
States Attorney j. G.. Harvey, VIM.
Batchelder of White River Junction, and
Dillingham;, Huse Il Rowland of Mont
pelier will have charge of the prosecution,
and DR.. Allen has retained Pingree IL
Pingree, of which firm eX-Gov. Pingree is
a member.
DR.. Allen shot and killed "Del' Hansell
in saloon on Howard street, Boston,
May %, 1884. Both men had been on a
protracted spree Allen asked everybody
in the saloon to drink except Hansel and
then pOcketed the latter's change. Angry
words followed and Allen drew revolver
and struck Hansell with it. Allen tried to
shoot man named Sullivan who was with
Iansell, but the revolver missed fire. He
then turned and shot Hansell through the
heart. Allen went out tlourishing the re-
volver, and in front of the Austin IL Stone
museum he was overpowered by two young
men and taken to the station house. He
heavy drinking and did not seem to real
ize the seriousness of his position. lie
was sentenced to five years in state prison
the following February. Gen. b. f. But
Ter, who was his counsel, induced him to
plead guilty. Good behavior shortened
his sentence. After his release from pris-
on in 1889 he resumed practice at White
River junction. His crime attracted much
attention. His father was a noted Yer
mont physician, who died at White River
Junction while the son was in prison. DR..
Allen was educated in Vermont and first
practiced in Windsor. He served in the
Civil war in a Massachusetts, regiment, and
for five years after the war was surgeon
with one of Clusters regiments on the
| frontier. He left the army to be married
and practiced medicine at White River
Junction until 1882, when he went tc
Southington, Conn.
H. NJ. Dufur was formerly widely
known athlete and heavy weight wrestling
champion of the world. He went from
Vermont to Marlboro, Mass, where he
was in business several years, but for a
decade or more he has been in the insur
ance business, living at Randolph and
Montpelier, his headquarters of late being
at Bradford.