The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-03-17

THOMAS TOLER, chief or pollCe.
j. T.. HART, city detective.
THOMAS r. GOSLEE, police sergeant.
JOHN WILLIAMS, son of Sheriff Will
liams.
LOUIS HINKLE. driver of a brewery
wagon.
The Wounded
ED SPEARS. shot in the neck; may die.
The shooting was the result of feeling
growing out OF the mayOralty contest which
was under way here. The sheriff was
warm supporter of the regular Democratic
nominee. while Toler, Hart and Goslee were
supporting an opposition candidate. Feeling
ran high, and early i'm the afternoon shots
were exchanged between the sheriff and his
son John i'm front OF the City Hall, on one
| side, and Sergeant Goslee the other, but
no one was injured After this both parties
determined to have it out. Toler, Hart and
Goslee were together walking south on Cen
trail avenue, at about haf-past 3 o'clock,
when they met Sheriff Williams and his two
sons. John and Coffey, and Ed Spears, a
deputy sheriff, i'm front of Lemp's beer
depot. The quarrel was renewed. No one
| can tell who fired the first shot. but in
moment there was general fusillade in
which forty or fifty shots were exchanged.
| When Ii was over Toler Hart, Goslee and
I5inkle, a noncombatant, were dead and
John Williams mortaly wounded. He died
about an hour later. Louis Hinkle attempt
ed to separate the comba tants at the COM
mencement and was shot in the head and
died instantly.
The mayor Immediately after the shoot
| ing appointed Judge l.. ID. Belding chief of
| police, who had a posse of deputies sworn
| in at once. There is little factional feeling
outside of those engaged in the shooting
| Order was easily restored and the city is
| now quiet. The sheriff and his son Coffey
| are under arrest and no further trouble is
anticipated
The mayor says. in an interview at
| o'clock tonight, that the whole affair grew
| out of the intense feeling on the mayoralty
| contest. Il have ordered all saloons in the
| city closed and everything is as quiet as
| usual and there will be no further trouble"
THE SHERIFF'S STORY
Sheriff Williams in an interview at his
| home at 10 o'clock tonight, said that there
| was an attempt made TO assassnate him
| this afternoon by policeman on account
| of his friendship for Belding the popular
candidate for mayor. Williams claims he
| was not armed. but Goslee attempted TO
| assassnate him, but friend of his grabbed
| the pistol and handed the sheriff another
one Goslee started TO run and Williams
| fired several shots without effect This oc-
| CURED about o'clock in the afternoon.
| About o'clock the trouble broke out again,
| beginning with the deliberate assassination
of his son, who was shot in the back of
the head and killed instantly by the police
| man who attempted to take his life Will
+ liams says he was not present until the
| shooting had ceased. He then found that
| his son. the chief of police, Detective Hart
| and two policemen, including the one that
had made attempt to kill him, had been
killed and one citizen had been seriously
wounded.
! The Hot Springs Daily News, in late
extra, says: 1T is impossible at this writ
ing to obtain details learn definitely who
did the shooting. 1t was a bloody sequel
TO the first affray earlier in the evening, in
which Goslee and the Williamses participa-
ted A portion of the police faction headed by
| the chief and a portion of the Williams
faction met on the sidewalk in front of
| Lemp's beer depot when the furious firing
began. The police were going down the
street and the other party coming up. Who
began the affray cannot now be learned.
| Fifteen or twenty shots rang out in quick
succession as the two parties clashed in
mortal combat The streets were crowded
and the widest excitement prevailed. Chief
OF Police Tom Toler and Sergeant Tom Cos
| lee. of the police faction, lay dead upon the
sidewalk On the other side John o. Will
liams, OF the sheriff. lay mortally
wounded and Ed Speer was shot or cut I'm
the neck. Louis Hinkle. driver of beer
cart was also killed by a flying bullet
Hinkle was not party to the feud. Sheriff
Williams was not present when the battle
occurred. but soon appeared and on learning
of the death of his son became frantic
His brother, Coffee Williams. and nephews.
Sam and Will Watt, were with him and all
were armed and crazed with rage and grief
About twenty minutes after the main
fight, another affray occurred i'm which four
or five shots were fired. This occurred on
the sidewalk little below where the other
dead bodies lay. A great multitude which
had gathered stampeded in the widest ex-
citement, tumbling over each other in every
direction. In this fusilade Detective Hart
went down with the whole top Of his skull
blown off. Pandemonium reigned for a
time. Finally Constable Sam Tate and
Deputy Jack Archer succeeded i'm quelling
the excitement to some extent and clearing
the street in the vicinity of the scene
| big freight wagon was ordered up and the
| bodies loaded I'm IL and taken TO Cross
undertaking establishment. When the news
| OF the tragedy was conveyed TO the homes
| of the dead men the shrieks and anguish
| from wives mothers and sisters were heart
rending. Besides his father John Williams