The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-29
BOTH MEN WERE AT FAULT.
HANDY HOLMES CRIME FINED At
VOLUNTARY MANUFACTURER.

VOLUNTARY MANsLAUGHTER.
CorOner's Jury Brought in n Verdict
10 This Effect, as to the Death of
Wesley Dias, After Few Minutes
DeIiberntiOn-Half "A Dozen Wit
nesses to the Homicide Were Ex-
amined and Their Combined Evil
dence Convinced the Jury That
Neither of the Men Was without
FauIt-shOOting was Done in the
Hold of the Itasca.
The coroner's jury that met last night
TO determine the cause and manner of the
death of Wesley Dias, or Dias West. by
both of which names he seems to have
been known, returned a verdict, that death
had resulted from gun shot wounds in
hicted by Handy Holmes, and fixed the
grade of the offense, voluntary man.
slaughter.
The bare incidents of the homicide are
sufficiently familiar. The man who was
killed was a header in charge of gang
of jongshoremen, engaged Tuesday in
loading the steamer Itasca, of the Mer-
chants and Miners Line. His slayer was
also employed in the same work. but in
a different part of the ship. In an al
tercatlon that occurred between decks,
Dias, or West, was shot by Holmes and
morally wounded and died the next
morning al the Georgia Infirmary. Holmes
was arrested and taken to the police sta
ton house, where ne has since been con-
fined.
So far as these facts are concerned the
various stories told Of the homicide all
agree, but they begin seriously to differ
when it comes to a question of what
brought on the fight, the incidents imme-
diately leading up to it and the positions
occupied by the parties just before the
shooting began. The man who was killed
before his death, had found it possible to
tell his story, according to which the at
tack had been unprovoked and the shoot
ing without reason or even strong passion
to justify or partially to excuse it,
On the other hand, Holmes had made
several statements all to the effect that
Dias was the assailant, that he had been
abused and beaten by the header, finally
attacked with a cotton hook and forced
at last to fire TO save his life. Both tales
had their adheTents and supporters and Il
was this tangled web of contradictions
that the coroner and his jury were called
upon to unravel. 1t is probable that this
object was achieved and that the verdict
brought in by the jury, one of voluntary
manslaughter, about fixes the grade of
Holmes crime correctly. The evidence
showed that neither party was without
fault
Half dozen witnesses, all negro la
borers employed and working on the YES
sci at the time of the homicide, and all Of
whom had seen more or less of the diff
Guilty and it's result, were examined by the
coroner, but the evidence of Edward Por-
ter was the most straightforward, clear
and complete. In all essential particulars
it was borne out by the stories told by the
other witnesses.
Porter said that he and Dias were head
ers of two gangs of men working in the
hold of the ship They had been instruct
ed by the stevedore that when one of the
men not rightfully belonging in the hold
and who had nothing to do with the work
in progress there, came into the hold, he
should be driven up by the headers. This
was to prevent loafng on the part of the
employees. The penalty for the headers
failure to obey these instructions was the
payment of the time of the man they suf-
fered to be absent from his post of duty
On Tuesday morning Holmes came
down the ladder into the hold and Dias
ordered him, somewhat gruffly, to get
back up. There was a quarrel at once.
Holmes said: "Why don't you talk to
people here the same way you do up
town. If you talked that way to me up
town, l would break your head In" Dias
then repeated his order to Holmes to go
up through the hatchway, in even more
peremptory terms. There were some
words about when Holmes would obey the
order, complicated by his refusal to go up
until load of freight, then being swung
down into the hold at the end of a wind
lass, had reached the floor. He dared
Das to come up between decks and set
lie the difficulty, and started up the lad
der, with Dias after him.
The quarrel was renewed when this part
OF the ship was reached. Dias struck
at Holmes with his clenched hand, but
the blow failed to take effect. The next
instant Holmes had drawn his revolver
and pressing it against the body OF Dias
drew the trigger. The weapon talied 10
fire, and Dias drew his cotton hook IRON
his belt, daring Holmes to IRE again
Holmes stepped back and did fire second
and third time. both bullets from the re-
volver taking effect in the body of his
antagonist One had been fired at such
close range that the clothes Of the wound
ed man were on fire.
Dias rushed upon Holmes and grappled
with him and other of the men coming
up at the same time he was seized ana
the revolver taken from his hand.
This was the story of the homicide told
by Porter and corroborated by the test-
mony of the other witnesses. some OF
them knew one part of the story ana some
another but their combined evidence MADE
up practically what Porter had SAID. Inc
jury was engaged but few minutes IN
making up it's verdict of voluntary man
slaughter
There seems TO be some difference of
opinion as to the name of the man killed
His family say il was Dias West, whlle
all of his co-laborers on the wharyes
speak of him as Wesley Dias. Possibly