The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-09
CLOSING ACT OF A TRAGEDY
b Kings News Tells of the End of the
SSfayer-RaII Contest

Billings News Tells of the End of the
Stover-BalI Contest.
Guthrie. 0. T., Jan S.-That the future
novelist will find plenty Of color" in the
claim contest tragedies and romances of
Oklahoma is frequently made apparent.
The story of the conclusion of long
disputed, given in the Billings News. is
an instance. The News relates it thus:
I'VE learn that the Slower family, liv-
ing four miles east of Billings, are
moving away this week, presumably
back to Kansas. This is the closing
event in one of the most serious, in its
Probably most of our readers are IA
miliar with the history of the Slower
Ball contest case and the tragedy con-
nected Herewith. However as a great
many people have moved here since
the occurrences TO which we refer, we
briefly review the same: Two days after
the opening of this county on Septem-
Der 16, 1898, Ed Ball, q young unmar-
ried man, drove his stake upon what was
then an unoccupied quarter section of
land four miles east of this place. He
located that day upon what afterwards
proved to be school land. upon which
George Davis now lives. As soon as
Ball learned that he was on school land,
he left it and started to look for a vacant
quarter, with the aforementioned re-
suit. He made some little improvements
and continued to live upon the land, and
in a few weeks went to Perry and filed
upon it, No one appeared to make any
claim against his right for three months,
when William Slower drove in upon it
from Kansas, bringing his family, stock
and farm implements with him He
claimed that he had made the race on
the 18th and staked the claim and that
he was going to have It. He at once
built house and took up his residence
thereon. From that time on they both
continued to live upon the claim, their
houses being about a quarter of a mile
apart
Ball had brought his mothen and sis
ters who were living with him. Slower
fenced in part of the claim and obtained
possession of that part, while Ball held
possession of the rest by breaking and
over a year. In the meantime Slower
had started a contest suit for the land,
but in those days contests had been filed
upon rearly all the land and there was
no knowing when contest filed as late
as this one was, could be heard The
two men frequently met, but while they
generally spoke. did not have any par
ticular controversy over the matter ex-
cept on one or two occasions, in which
both expressed their convictions of being
in the right and the determination TO
hold to it. In the spring of 1895, how
ever, one evening just after dark, the
near neighbors heard three shots fired
in quick succession near Balls house,
and soon afterwards the news spread
that Ball had been killed. In a short
time the men from adjoining claims and
from White Rock were upon the ground.
Ball was found dead in the field north
of the house, where he had been harrow
ing Nearly twenty buckshot wounds
were found in the body and examination
showed that three charges had struck
him, any one of which would have proved
fatal.
taken place, manifested no particular in
terest, but protested in violent Language
against being walked up at that time Of
the night about the matter The next
morning two empty shells were found
behind fence post in Stover's pasture,
about thirty feet from where Ball was
shot and the third shell was found back
from the fence in a dira2t line towards
Stovers house. Slower was charged with
the murder and arrested; the house
searched and a Winchester and other
shells found therein which correspcrded
to those found in the pasture. Some
loaded with buckshot were found, in
which the shot correspondent TO those
found in the dead body. Many other cir
cumstances were presented at the trial.
which convinced the jury thaRtover old
the shooting. and he was sentenced and
is now serving life sentence in the
Kansas penitentiary for tie deed.
THE contest was decided in favor Of
Bars heirs. but was carried = the con-
missioner. where tie decision OF the iocsl
onice was affirmed. II was appealed still
on 10 the secretary .; he interior by
Stover's family. where The decision in
favor of Ball was reaffirmed. Next. the
of Stover's family for a re-
hearing was denied about one month
ago. With this they gave up and have
sold out their improvements and crops,
as we said. and are now leaving the